Stellantis and Dongfeng signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for a Stellantis-led 51/49 Europe-based joint venture covering sales, distribution, manufacturing, purchasing, and engineering for Dongfeng Voyah new-energy vehicles in selected European markets; the companies also cite potential Dongfeng NEV production at Stellantis' Rennes plant in France under Made-in-Europe requirements, following related plans for Peugeot and Jeep NEV production in Wuhan for China and export.

Ford Energy and EDF power solutions North America announced a five-year framework agreement under which EDF can procure up to 4 GWh per year of Ford Energy DC Block battery energy storage systems, for up to 20 GWh total; the systems are described as U.S.-assembled products for utility, data-center, industrial, and commercial customers, giving a measurable demand signal for Ford Energy battery-storage manufacturing after its announced entry into the BESS market.

Moment Energy said it is building a Vancouver, British Columbia battery-repurposing facility over six weeks, expected to be complete and fully operational by the end of June 2026; the company says the site will produce second-life EV battery systems, reach 1 GWh capacity by 2030, create more than 100 skilled jobs, operate as a vertically integrated intake-testing-integration-deployment system, and support data centers, industrial customers, utilities, factories, hospitals, and microgrids across North America.

Richardson Electronics announced a technology partnership with Gotion to commercialize U.S.-manufactured battery energy storage systems assembled at Gotion Illinois' Manteno, Illinois manufacturing hub; the companies cite two platforms, a 760-kWh system for commercial and industrial storage and a 5 MWh system for utility-scale projects, with deployments ranging from customized C&I installations to projects in the hundreds of megawatts and Illinois CRGA rebates of up to USD 250 per kWh for standalone battery storage.

GM said Fairfax Assembly & Stamping is using batch builds of 30 similarly equipped 2027 Chevrolet Bolt vehicles to simplify scheduling, supplier flow, and line execution; the plant tracks electrical first-time quality, holds two bodies for each roof and color configuration so a matching clone can replace any vehicle pulled for a quality concern, and plans to carry the method into Chevrolet Equinox and a new Buick compact SUV production.

Moment Energy announced an oversubscribed Series B of more than USD 40 million, bringing total capital raised above USD 100 million, to expand second-life EV battery storage manufacturing across the U.S. and Canada; the company says its commercial BESS systems have UL 1974 and UL 9540A safety milestones, target industrial, utility, data-center, hospital, factory, and microgrid customers, and use a pack-swapping architecture intended to extend system life to 30 years with up to 164 MWh of storage per acre.

OPmobility, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, and JobsOhio announced construction of a new Wood County, Ohio manufacturing plant serving the greater Toledo automotive region; the company says the site will be its first Midwest plant dedicated to exterior solutions, start production in the second half of 2027, create more than 500 jobs across production, logistics, engineering, and support functions, make exterior systems including bumpers, grilles, and tailgates, and use advanced injection molding, a high-efficiency double-sided paint line, automation, digital manufacturing, and traceability tools near a region representing more than 40% of U.S. automotive production.

Stellantis introduced STLA One, a global modular vehicle architecture launching in 2027 for B, C, and D segments across multiple powertrains; cited targets include consolidating five platforms into one scalable architecture, 20% cost efficiency, 30-plus models, more than 2 million units by 2035, 50% of company volume on three global platforms by 2030, up to 70% component reuse, STLA Brain/SmartCockpit/steer-by-wire integration, cell-to-body battery integration, LFP scaling, and 800-volt capability.

Metrology News reports Horse Powertrain deployed Siemens Inspekto Visual Inspection through Aurobay Technologies at its Skövde engine production plant, replacing manual engine-station defect checks with a vision camera on a collaborative robot; engines arrive by automated guided vehicle, defect analysis runs in seconds, images are stored for traceable searchable production records, the system connects through Siemens TIA Portal to Simatic S7 and HMI panels, and teams can evaluate a live-product go/no-go decision within two hours of installation.

Honda said it will rebuild its automobile business around resource reallocation, manufacturing-structure strengthening, and external-resource use, targeting more than JPY 1.4 trillion in consolidated operating profit for the fiscal year ending March 2029; the plan shifts excess Ohio auto-plant capacity to gasoline and hybrid vehicles, makes all North American auto plants hybrid-capable, converts part of the L-H Battery Company EV battery lines to hybrid-battery production, raises local motor and inverter assembly/component content by more than four times, launches 15 next-generation hybrid models globally by FY2030, and targets more than 30% lower hybrid-system cost plus more than 10% better fuel economy versus the 2023 hybrid system.

GM described use of a 3D Metra Scan tool at its Defiance, Ohio metal foundry for engine blocks and cylinder-head castings, replacing point-only CMM checks in some investigations with full-surface scanning at 1.8 million data points per second; GM says the process helps reveal grooves, internal channels, and surface conditions faster, giving plant teams earlier feedback before parts leave the shop.

GM described production-quality AI and analytics deployments including Device Level Analytics, WeldBrAIn, and paint-shop vision systems; at Fort Wayne, DLA data narrowed a missed-weld containment review from 5,600 vehicles to fewer than 10 suspects and kept nine affected vehicles from leaving the plant, while Factory ZERO is piloting WeldBrAIn to move from manual checks of four parts per shift to real-time checking of every weld on every body.

Metrology News reports BMW Plant Leipzig introduced das-Nano Irys terahertz measurement for automated, non-destructive paint-layer thickness inspection on plastic exterior components in series production; sensors mounted on two robots in the existing end-of-line measurement cell measure individual paint layers in seconds with micrometre-level accuracy, replacing destructive scalpel-and-microscopy checks, enabling earlier process-deviation detection, and creating digital data for future AI-based paint-shop process optimization across colours, skids, other BMW plants, and suppliers.

GE Aerospace announced an INR 100 crore investment in its Pune, India manufacturing facility for new welding technologies, advanced inspection equipment, precision tools, gauges, fixtures, and infrastructure to increase production capacity and process precision; the company says this brings Pune investment to more than INR 510 crore over three years, supports GE90, GEnx, GE9X, and CFM LEAP engine components, works through more than 300 local suppliers within a broader 2,200-supplier India network, and trains more than 500 apprentices annually through a two-year program and Weld School.

RTX said Collins Aerospace is investing USD 26.5 million to expand its Largo, Florida facility for commercial aviation radar and multi-domain defense security production; the project adds more than 100 engineering and factory-operations jobs, supports FAA Radar System Replacement Program work including Condor Mk3 and ASR-XM radar production, and is expected to make the new radar production area fully operational by late 2026.

Howmet Aerospace reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of USD 2.31 billion, up 19% year over year, with adjusted EBITDA of USD 740 million, up 32%, and 32.0% adjusted EBITDA margin; commercial aerospace revenue rose 20%, defense aerospace rose 10%, gas turbines rose 39%, Engine Products sales reached USD 1.25 billion, up 29%, and the company completed the approximately USD 1.8 billion CAM acquisition for precision fasteners, fluid fittings, and other aerospace and defense components.

Airbus said AirAsia placed a firm order for 150 A220-300 aircraft, the largest single firm A220 order to date and enough to push the program beyond 1,000 firm orders; AirAsia becomes launch customer for a 160-seat A220 cabin configuration enabled by added overwing exits, while Airbus cited 501 A220 deliveries to 25 operators as of end-March 2026 and 3,600 nautical miles of range for the type.

Metrology News reports Hexagon added the Bluetooth-connected HYPERPROBE wireless contact probe to its HYPERSCAN target-free laser-scanning workflow, letting users switch between scanning and probing in the same coordinate frame for hidden features, fixture alignment, composite moulds, and transmission casings; cited specifics include probing accuracy down to 0.05 mm, supported measurement volumes up to 5.5 m with HYPERSCAN Ultra and 7 m with HYPERSCAN Super, 0.72 kg handheld weight, up to four hours of continuous-probing battery life, and support in HHscan, Geomagic Control X, and selected third-party metrology software.

Metrology News reports Photoneo launched MotionCam-3D Color (Blue), a blue-laser 3D vision camera for moving-part robotic automation and inspection; cited figures include 50% higher 3D scanning performance, 25% better reconstruction of transparent and reflective objects, 97% logistics-item pickability without pre-sorting, in-motion scanning up to 40 m/s, scan-time reduction from 1.5 s to 0.7 s at 4 m, up to 2.5x throughput versus static scanning, and 30% cycle-time reduction in multi-camera setups.

Metrology News reports Cognex launched the In-Sight 6900 Vision Controller, a modular machine-vision controller powered by NVIDIA Jetson technology for edge AI inspection without external PCs; cited capabilities include interchangeable cameras, lenses, optics and lighting, few-sample classification with as few as 10-20 training images, pixel-level segmentation for challenging surfaces, OneVision deployment across plants and lines, up to 157 TOPS of AI performance, and TensorRT-supported real-time inference for high-speed production lines.

Hexagon published PC-DMIS 2026.1, adding PC-DMIS FUSION for inspection-program analytics, one-click reporting workflows, and enhanced metrology support for ASME, Creo, and Teamcenter environments; the release is relevant for CMM teams standardizing reporting, CAD interoperability, and production-quality data review across existing PC-DMIS deployments.

Metrology News reports RESONIKS moved QCFlex from pilot work to an industrial inline acoustic-test product for 100% inspection of structural defects; the system combines calibrated MP2 microphones with 20 Hz to 80 kHz bandwidth, a precision hammer on a SCARA robot, auditable AI pass/fail models, automated environmental protection against vibration, temperature, humidity, and dust, interchangeable robotic fixtures, and part capacity up to 800 mm and 200 kg for metal, composite, ceramic, and other rigid components.

Metrology News reports preML and IDS detailed a modular plug-and-play AI visual-inspection system combining preML Vision Lab software, edge computing, lighting, and an IDS uEye XC industrial camera for users without image-processing expertise; cited specifics include a 13-megapixel onsemi AR1335 sensor, autofocus for changing component heights and surfaces, 20 fps at full resolution, one-cable installation, real-time on-device model teaching and evaluation, and production examples for plastic parts, electronic assemblies, and manually assembled printed circuit boards.

DailyCADCAM reports SCANOLOGY launched the AccuArm portable coordinate measuring machine for shopfloor, assembly-line, and metrology-lab inspection; cited capabilities include ISO 10360-12 certified accuracy, aerospace-grade carbon-fiber construction, high-precision encoders and bearings, automated thermal and force compensation, multi-frame optimization, plug-and-play probe changes without recalibration, 360-degree joint rotation, S/E/C accuracy grades with 1.5-4.5 m reach options, and integration with DefinSight, PolyWorks, Metrolog X4, and Verisurf workflows.

Metrology News reports Bruker Alicona unveiled the micro-CMM NEO optical coordinate measuring machine, combining Advanced Focus-Variation, Vertical Focus Probing, Focus Probing, and Real3D in one platform for dimensional, positional, form, and surface analysis without changing setups; cited capabilities include full-surface 3D capture within seconds, up to twice the predecessor measurement speed, EUni:Tr:ODS,MPE axis accuracy of (0.7 + L/600) microns, five-axis kinematics, wear-free axes, first customer order placed, and initial deliveries planned for Q4 2026.

Metrology News reports SHINING 3D launched the OptimScan Q12 HD four-camera fringe-projection scanner for high-resolution industrial metrology; cited capabilities include accuracy up to 0.004 mm, minimum point distance of 0.02 mm, high-resolution capture of turbine-blade edges, complex aerospace surfaces, miniature electronics and injection-molded features, batch-inspection integration with robotic automation, and non-contact digitization for medical-device and cultural-heritage geometries.

Metrology News reports researchers used Advanced Photon Source X-ray imaging synchronized with melt-pool thermal monitoring to train a machine-learning model that detects laser-powder-bed-fusion keyhole pore formation from thermal images alone; the work targets real-time qualification of metal additive manufacturing by identifying pore formation on timescales below one millisecond, reducing reliance on post-process CT or destructive testing, and moving toward closed-loop defect detection and repair for aerospace, automotive, medical, and energy components.

Metrology News reports Mahr launched the Mar4D PLQ 4200 cylinder coordinate measuring machine line for rotationally symmetrical parts, combining optical and tactile measurement close to production; cited capabilities include workpieces up to 210 mm diameter, 1,000 mm length, and 50 kg weight, CNC-controlled centering/tilting with 1 micron residual eccentricity, optional Renishaw SP25-2/5 probing, real-time temperature and vibration compensation, and one-run inspection of length, diameter, form, position, contour, roundness, roughness, and 3D geometries.

Metrology News reports Bowers Group integrated a Baty Venture FV 2020 automated non-contact vision measurement system at its Bradford, UK bore-gauge manufacturing facility to reduce operator-dependent anvil inspection variability; the system batch-inspects multiple anvils for XT3 digital internal micrometers, classifies components into tolerance bands, and cuts inspection time from 90 minutes to 20 minutes while making repeatable shopfloor operation less dependent on specialist fit-testing experience.

Metrology News reports GelSight released Mobile 4.4 for surface-analysis inspection workflows, adding average/minimum/maximum offset output statistics for multi-profile analysis, animated step-by-step Modulus sensor calibration guidance, customizable PDF report templates, stacked routines in Operator mode, and PLY export; the update targets reduced training, inspection, and post-processing time while keeping laboratory-grade surface metrology usable by production inspectors.

Metrology News reports Nikon introduced the NEXIV VMF-K6561, a 3D confocal optical measurement system with a 650 x 610 mm stage sized to inspect complete 600 x 600 mm panel-level packages in a single setup; Nikon also increased stage-glass thickness for stability and positions the system for high-speed 2D/3D dimensional inspection of reflective, transparent, and high-contrast semiconductor packaging surfaces without multiple repositioning steps.

Metrology News reports Renishaw will demonstrate its Robot Calibration System cell at Automate 2026 booth 3853, emphasizing in-field robot calibration and cell recovery after collisions or process interruptions; the same exhibit will include Equator-X dual-method gauging for high-throughput manufacturing, supporting both absolute and comparative measurement strategies for tighter automated process control.

NIST updated its May 27-28 AI for Manufacturing Workshop page on May 5, noting registration is full for the 60-attendee event and that discussions will assess standards gaps across generative and agentic AI, multi-agent coordination, physical AI and digital-twin integration, data infrastructure, interoperability, and cross-SDO roadmap prioritization; outputs are intended to feed a forthcoming NIST Advanced Manufacturing Series report with prioritized gaps, actions, and suggested standards-development homes.

Metrology News reports Hexagon added FeatureDetect AI computer vision to the Leica Absolute Tracker ATS800 ecosystem, automatically locating circular features such as bolt holes and mating points before direct laser scanning; cited details include high-resolution direct scanning from up to 40 m, portable six-to-12-hour battery operation, PowerLock reflector tracking for robot, rail, or AMR-mounted workflows, ARGON-reported five-to-10-times efficiency gains, and inspection-cycle reductions from multiple days to hours for aircraft, shipbuilding, wind-energy, MRO, and large-casting applications.