Electronics manufacturing - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Tianjin explosion shuts down Chinese supercomputer

  The deadly explosion that rocked the Chinese city of Tianjin has caused the country to shut down a nearby supercomputer, also one of the fastest in the world.

• Foxconn's CEO backpedals on robot takeover at factories

  Foxconn Technology Group's plan for a "robot army" won't come as quickly as originally anticipated, according to its CEO.

• Foxconn CEO defends labor practices in wake of protest

  Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group has been on the receiving end of continued criticism over its factories' labor conditions for years. But on Thursday, the company's CEO let loose his outrage over the complaints.

• Apple focuses on making supply chain in China more green

  Apple plans to make its supply chain in China greener as a way to cutdown on carbon emissions from its product manufacturing, the company announced on Monday.

• Without batteries like Tesla's, the power grid could eventually break

  As the number of solar panels on business and home rooftops multiply, America's power grid is bearing an electrical load that it was never designed to handle: the bidirectional power transfer.

• Foxconn expects robots to take over more factory work

  The electronics industry may still be reliant on human workers to assemble products, but Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group is hopeful that robots will take over more of the workload soon.

• Apple ends system of recruitment fees that tied labor to contractors

  Apple has forced its suppliers to end a form of "bonded labor" that saddled assembly line workers with unnecessary hiring fees, and put them in debt to third-party recruiters.

• Foxconn draws flak from Chinese trade union for overworking employees

  Foxconn Technology Group, a key Apple supplier, is setting a bad example for industry by overworking its staff, according to a Chinese trade union.

• Cover-up involving underage workers at Samsung supplier alleged by labor group

  The vocational school in Chengdu, China, offers courses in car repair, mechanics and electronics manufacturing, among others.

• China is eyeing a bigger role in robotics

  Already a major manufacturer of electronics, China is preparing to bolster its presence in robotics with the help of government support and investments.

• Chinese workers strike at Foxconn factory after HP cuts orders

  About 1,000 workers at a factory of manufacturing giant Foxconn Technology Group went on strike on Wednesday demanding better wages, after production orders from Hewlett-Packard were cut, according to a labor protection group.

• China's toxic e-waste capital is cleaning up its act

  If you want to see where your old electronics go to die, take a trip to Guiyu. For two decades, PCs, phones and other electronics have been shipped to this town on the southeast coast of China, where locals in thousands of small workshops pull them apart with buzz saws and pliers to extract the valuable components inside.

• A look inside China's most notorious e-waste town

  Guiyu is the town in China where your old electronics go to die. For years, it's been one of the main locations in the world where PCs, phone and other discarded products are shipped in to be pulled apart and recycled. The work is dirty and even hazardous, but lately Guiyu has been trying to clean up its act. Following is a slideshow to give you an idea what it's like.

• Samsung clashes with labor group over allegations of Chinese underage workers

  A labor protection group is accusing one of Samsung's suppliers in China of hiring over 10 underage workers to build company components. But the Korean electronics giant was quick to dismiss the allegations, and said it had no "child workers" at the facility.

• Apple bans two chemicals from product assembly after protests

  Apple is banning the use of two toxic chemicals from final assembly processes for its products, after watchdog groups demanded the company replace the substances with safer alternatives.