U.S. flag
        An official website of the United States government
          Here’s how you know
        Here’s how you know**Official websites use .gov**
              
              A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
        **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
              
              A **lock** (  A locked padlock
) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. https://www.nist.gov/manufacturing-innovation-blog-categories/innovation
  Search NIST
    Search
              Menu

      


Close
    Topics
        All Topics
                                                        Advanced communications
                                                        Artificial intelligence
                                                        Bioscience
                                                        Buildings and construction
                                                        Chemistry
                                                        Climate
                                                        Cybersecurity
                                                        Electronics
                                                        EnergyEnvironment
                                                        Fire
                                                        Forensic science
                                                        Health
                                                        Information technology
                                                        Infrastructure
                                                        Manufacturing
                                                        Materials
                                                        Mathematics and statisticsMetrology
                                                        Nanotechnology
                                                        Neutron research
                                                        Performance excellence
                                                        Physics
                                                        Public safety
                                                        Resilience
                                                        Standards
                                                        Transportation
            Publications
            Labs & Major Programs
        Laboratories
                                Communications Technology Laboratory
                                  Engineering Laboratory
                                  Information Technology Laboratory
                                  Material Measurement Laboratory
                                  Physical Measurement LaboratoryUser Facilities
                                NIST Center for Neutron Research
                                  CNST NanoFab
                                                        Research Test Beds
                                                        Research Projects
                                                        Tools & InstrumentsMajor Programs
                                Baldrige Performance Excellence Program
                                  CHIPS for America Initiative
                                  Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)
                                  Office of Advanced Manufacturing
                                  Special Programs Office
                                  Technology Partnerships Office
            Services & Resources
        Standards and Measurements
                                Calibration Services
                                  Laboratory Accreditation (NVLAP)
                                  Quality System
                                  Standard Reference Materials (SRMs)
                                  Standards.gov
                                  Time Services
                                  Office of Weights and MeasuresSoftware
                                                        Data
                                Chemistry WebBook
                                  National Vulnerability Database
                                  Physical Reference Data
                                  Standard Reference Data (SRD)
                                                        Storefront
                                                        License & PatentsComputer Security Resource Center (CSRC)
                                                        NIST Research Library
            News & Events
        News
                                                        Events
                                                        Blogs
                                                        Feature Stories
                                                        AwardsVideo Gallery
                                                        Image Gallery
                                                        Media Contacts
            About NIST
        About Us
                                Leadership
                                  Organization Structure
                                  Budget & Planning
                                                        Contact Us
                                                        Visit
                                                        Careers
                                Student programsWork with NIST
                                                        History
                                NIST Digital Archives
                                  NIST Museum
                                  NIST and the Nobel
                                                        Educational Resources
 
 Manufacturing Innovation Blog Powered by the Manufacturing Extension Partnership
 Innovation A Story of Student-Run Manufacturing Enterprises
                        October 31, 2022National Manufacturing Day (MFG Day) provides students, parents and communities a glimpse of modern manufacturing. It’s held on the first Friday of October and
 Innovate Your Way to Growth While Minimizing Risks
                        April 14, 2022Manufacturers work hard to minimize disruptions to their operations and invest significant resources to minimize production risk. They also are under constant
 Inventor Saves Thousands on Design and Testing
                        June 22, 2018Many people have ideas for inventions, but only a few act on them. Doug Gaus of Innovation in Mind quietly produces numerous inventions from his home in Boise
 Production Problem Solved, One Pellet at a Time
                        May 22, 2018This article originally appeared on Industry Week . Guest blog post by Phil Mintz, director of the North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NCMEP)
 Overcoming Challenges with the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program
                        February 21, 2018Over 45 percent of the manufacturing companies that the MEP National Network TM serves identify product development as one of their top three challenges over
 Manufacturing – Creating Opportunity through Innovation
                        September 6, 2017op·por·tu·ni·ty   äpərˈt(y)o͞onədē, noun,   a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.     When we think of champions of
 Let Us Now Give Thanks for the Munchifier!
                        November 21, 2016Three years ago I put together a post for this blog about how to use a Raspberry Pi controller to get your Thanksgiving turkey to provide you with status tweets
 DOE Labs “Road Tour” Opens Doors to their Treasures
                        October 26, 2016This autumn was hot for four states selected by the Department of Energy (DOE) to host bootcamps, associated with the MITEC pilot discussed in a previous blog
 White House Week of Making—Good for Makers and MEP Centers
                        June 1, 2016The third White House Week of Making will be held from June 17 – 23, 2016 and NIST MEP is once again participating! It’s an opportunity to showcase how the MEP
 Five Technological Applications Impacting Manufacturing Innovation
                        May 24, 2016“Let’s go invent tomorrow instead of worrying about what happened yesterday.” – Steven Jobs   A manufacturer can be innovative in various ways beyond the use
 MITEC is Our Tech
                        May 17, 2016Last week, a few folks from Oak Ridge (ORNL), National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and Sandia got together with a few folks from MEP Centers and some of their
 VA Innovators Network Continues to Make Progress to Improve the Veteran Experience through Innovation
                        April 26, 2016This article originally appeared on VAntage Point , Official Blog of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. Guest blog post by Andrea Ippolito, VA Innovators
 Funding U.S. Manufacturing Innovation with SBIR
                        March 9, 2016The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a highly competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research
 Medical Alley and Innovation Celebrated at Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History
                        January 4, 2016In the 1950’s a doctor and an engineer in Minneapolis, Minnesota helped to launch an entire industry and with it, the fortunes of an entire region, Medical
 The Manufacturing Resurgence in Rochester
                        October 22, 2015This article originally appeared in the FuzeHub Blog. Guest blog post by Steve Melito, Owner, Thunderbolt Business Services.   “Rochester, the future is here
 Manufacturing Innovation: Gaining the Advantage In a Fiercely Competitive Global Economy
                        February 23, 2015This article originally appeared on the Commerce Blog .   Good ideas—for new products, new processes, or new services—are terrible things to waste.   Yet
 Learning by Example from Manufacturing Success Stories
                        January 13, 2015I have a confession: I’m not a fan of PowerPoint presentations. I just struggle to learn when I’m being taught things via bullet points on slides. For me, real
 Reclaiming “Innovation” for Small- and Mid-sized Manufacturers
                        December 9, 2014What comes to mind when your hear the word, “ innovation ?” Quick – grab a pen and paper and jot down the first five things that you think about. Many decades
 Zombie Coffee
                        October 31, 2014Grow manufacturing business by picking brains   Imagine: You find someone you’d like to connect with on LinkedIn. You email them to ask if you can “pick their
 Reflections on the I-Corp Training Experience
                        October 28, 2014This article originally appeared on SBA.gov . Guest blog post by Javier Saade, Associate Administrator for Investment and Innovation, and G. Nagesh Rao, Chief
 Smalltime Superheroes
                        October 21, 2014It looks like the suit of armor Tony Stark wore in Ironman. But instead of flying up into the stratosphere, it allows an explorer to dive deep into sea, and go
 Digital Intensity – To Live or Die in the Digital Age
                        October 16, 2014To be, or not to be, that is the question— Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune, Or to take Arms against a
 The Five Hottest Innovation Tools
                        September 16, 2014This article originally appeared in the InnnovationTrends monthly newsletter. Guest blog post by Robert Tucker , president of The Innovation Resource Consulting
 Wearable Technology In The Manufacturing Workplace
                        June 12, 2014This article was originally posted on Manufacturing.net . Guest post by Kylene Zenk-Batsford, Kronos Incorporated   Today, wearable technology — devices such
 A Simple Guide for Manufacturers on When to Choose a Robot
                        June 3, 2014When considering automation, the first thing that many people will imagine is a robot. As a result, many of us who work in the design of automated systems find
 Smart Bolt
                        January 29, 2014Waiting for me in my inbox this morning was an e-mail from a long-time friend who works in the financial industry (that fact is sort of important later). The
 Cobblers Elves are Hard at Work Shaping our Future
                        December 24, 2013Long gone are the large R&D infrastructures vertically integrated within large companies: ah, the good ol’ days of Bell Labs, Kodak, and Xerox. Well we
 What’s In Your Garage?
                        June 3, 2013The idea of the garage as an incubator for start-up businesses is as American as hot dogs, baseball and apple pie (although I like apple cobbler better). From
 Secrets
                        May 6, 2013“All the secrets of the world worth knowing are hiding in plain site.” ― Robin Sloan , Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore   Some secrets are intentional, some
 This is not your child’s paper mache
                        April 30, 2013Materials for 3D printing are no longer limited to plastics and metals. And 3D printing is not happening only in garages or nifty service salons. European
 Pagination
    Page 1
                    Next page
            Next ›
 Search Put exact phrase in quotes (e.g., "advanced manufacturing")
 Email alerts Subscribe to free e-mail alerts from the Manufacturing Innovation blog by entering your e-mail address in the box below. Enter Email Address
 Stay connected Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Youtube GovDelivery
 Categories -- Choose --3D PrintingAdvanced ManufacturingBusinessCommercializationContinuous ImprovementCybersecurityData and TrendsExportFinanceFood IndustryForeign InvestmentsGrowthHappy HolidaysInnovationMade in AmericaMakersManufacturing DayMarketing for ManufacturersMedical DevicesMEP National NetworkQuality Management SystemsReshoringSmart ManufacturingSTEMSupply ChainSustainabilityTechnologyTechnology Driven Market IntelligenceTechnology ScoutingTrendingU.S. ManufacturingUncategorizedWorkforceWorkplace Safety
 About this blog Manufacturing Innovation, the blog of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), is a resource for manufacturers, industry experts and the public on key U.S. manufacturing topics. There are articles for those looking to dive into new strategies emerging in manufacturing as well as useful information on tools and opportunities for manufacturers. The views presented here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of NIST. If you have any questions about our blog, please contact us at mfg [at] nist.gov(mfg[at]nist[dot]gov).
 Blogroll CMTC Manufacturing Blog
DVIRC Blog
IMEC Blog
Impact Washington
Industrial Strength Marketing Blog
Made In New Jersey Blog 
Manufacturing Success Blog – MAGNET
MassMEP Blog
MEP Supply Chain Blog 
MEPoL Blog
Missouri Enterprise Blog
MMTC Blog
MMEC (Montana) Blog
NCMEP Blog
Polaris MEP
OMEP Blog
The Commerce Blog
The CONNSTEP Blog
The Rodon Blog
TMAC Blog
VMEC Blog
WMEP Blog
 HEADQUARTERS
            100 Bureau Drive
              Gaithersburg, MD 20899301-975-2000
            Webmaster | Contact Us | Our Other Offices
        Twitter
            
Facebook
            
LinkedIn
            
Instagram
            
YouTube
            
Giphy
            
RSS Feed
            
Mailing List
                              How are we doing? Feedback

  
  Site Privacy
                      Accessibility
                      Privacy Program
                      Copyrights
                      Vulnerability Disclosure
                      No Fear Act Policy
                      FOIA
                      Environmental Policy
                      Scientific Integrity
                      Information Quality Standards
                      Commerce.gov
                      Science.gov
                      USA.gov
                      Vote.gov