Gear Industry News March 5, 2024
[please visit our sponsor]
AGMA Updates
Basic Training for Gear Manufacturing—Spring
April 8–12—AGMA National Training Center, Chicago
Learn the fundamentals of gear manufacturing in this hands-on course. Gain an understanding of gearing and nomenclature, principles of inspection, gear manufacturing methods, and hobbing and shaping. Utilizing manual machines, develop a deeper breadth of perspective and understanding of the process and physics of making a gear as well as the ability to apply this knowledge in working with CNC equipment commonly in use.Register Today
Detailed Gear Design
April 16–19—The Westin Arlington, Arlington, VA
There is a distinct difference between “designing” a gear and “optimizing” a gear design. In this course, we will address the optimization process via an understanding of those factors beyond basic banding and pitting ratings. Optimization may focus on load capacity, economy of production, or minimization of the overall gear system envelope. In this course, we will learn how to improve gear designs via optimization and gain new insight into concepts presented through illustrations and demonstrations. Explore all factors that go into good gear design from life cycle, load, torque, tooth, optimization, and evaluating consequences.Register Today
EV Automotive Transmission System Design
April 23–25—The Graduate Hotel; Ann Arbor, MI
This course will cover all aspects of gearbox concept, development, design, and through the initial stages of analysis as related to product requirements. We will review all the most common EV transaxle architectures, power flow and layout and the ‘whys’ of packaging as such. Independent of the architecture and/or layout, there are many similarities in the functional and operational requirements of an EV transaxle gearbox. We will work through all of those and develop a workable set of requirements that will then be used as the design basis. From a high-level point of view the ‘Big’ difference between transaxles for EVs (Electric Vehicles) and transmissions designed for more traditional Manual Transmissions (MTs) and / or Automatic Transmissions (ATs) is the lack of the ‘noisy’ internal combustion engine or ICE motor.Register Today
Gear Manufacturing and Inspection
May 7–9—Sheraton Suites; Wilmington, DE
While function and rating are important factors in a successful gear design, to be truly optimal and successful, the gear designer must also design the gears to be manufactured and inspected. In this course, therefore, we will address key factors in a wide variety of manufacturing and inspection processes to enable the gear designer to better design optimal gears considering both rating and the necessary manufacturing and inspection processes to produce the gears as designed.Register Today
[please visit our sponsor]
Take your gear grinding to a whole new level
Leave it to MTB to develop a Recontrol/Retrofit Package that takes your older Profile Form and Worm Thread Grinding Machines to the performance levels of a new machine – all with less lead time and for a fraction of the cost. Available for all popular makes and models, both FANUC and Siemens CNC.
Learn More
Efficient transmission, Infinite Possibilities - WORM drives
Worm drives achieve a balance between precision and power. The teamwork between the worm and worm gear makes a strong partnership. Compact and efficient, this pair exemplifies the outstanding quality of worm drives. CHUN YEH GEAR can manufacture - Max. Module: M10, Accuracy Capability: DIN 1, AGMA 14, JIS 0.
Read More
OES Introduces Stored Program Motion Controllers
Complementing the OES (Optimal Engineering Systems Inc.) growing line of single and multi-axis positioning stages is the Allegra Series of Stored Program Motion Control Systems Controllers. The Allegra Series of Controllers is available as a desktop (pictured) or 19-inch rack mount system.
Read More
Industry News
B&D Industrial Acquires American Gear & Engineering, Inc.
Gear Technology
B&D Industrial, a leading independent distributor and service provider specializing in industrial applications, is thrilled to announce the recent acquisition of American Gear & Engineering, Inc. (American Gear), a premier gear manufacturing organization located in Westland, MI. This strategic move marks a significant step in B&D Industrial's commitment to vertical integration, enabling the company to provide an expanded range of offerings and greater value to its customers.Read More
Sikorsky Tackles S-92 Supply Chain
Aviation International News
The resurgent offshore energy industry is driving fresh demand for the S-92A, Sikorsky’s largest civil helicopter. These helicopters will be delivered in the upgraded “A+” configuration that includes the new Phase IV main gearbox and a menu of choices including uprated GE CT7-8A6 engines that offer better high/hot performance. The upgraded gearbox uses a supplemental oil pump and additional oil lines to reuse main gearbox oil that is accumulated in a lower sump in the event of primary lubrication failure.Read More
GKN Powder Metallurgy Awarded Platinum Medal for Sustainability Excellence
Gear Technology
GKN Powder Metallurgy, a global leader in powder metallurgy and innovative, sustainable solutions for a wide range of automotive and industrial applications, has been awarded the EcoVadis Platinum Rating for outstanding performance in sustainability. Across all business units and with a total of 27 manufacturing sites worldwide, GKN Powder Metallurgy has been recognized with the Platinum Medal that puts the company in the top 1 percent of more than 125,000 companies assessed in the areas of Labor & Human Rights, Environment, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. This award represents a benchmark for the companies demonstrating the highest standards of sustainability management.Read More
 |  |
Chinese Electric Cars May Be Coming to Spy on You
The Week
The Biden administration said this week it was investigating whether Chinese electric cars and other internet-connected vehicles could pose a national security threat on American roads. Echoing U.S. concerns about other Chinese high-tech gear, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said these cars are like "smartphones on wheels." "They collect huge amounts of sensitive data on the drivers — personal information, biometric information, where the car goes,’' she said, as quoted by The Associated Press last week. "So it doesn't take a lot of imagination to figure out how a foreign adversary like China, with access to this sort of information at scale, could pose a serious risk to our national security and the privacy of U.S. citizens."Read More
Servo Worm Gear with Backlash Down to 1 Arc Minute
Electronics Weekly
Apex Dynamics has unveiled its latest motion control product – the JDLB series of high precision servo worm gear units. With backlash down to 1 arc minute and aluminium alloy housing, the gearboxes have low noise and long service life.Read More
Precision Gear
Australian Mining
High temperatures, abrasive materials, constant operation. It’s no revelation to say that the equipment used in Australian mining operations often faces harsh and demanding surroundings. And it’s critical for machinery and parts to have the ability to withstand such conditions. This need extends to gears and gear boxes, of which family-owned Hardman Bros is a renowned supplier.Read More
 |  |
After 10 Years of Development, Apple Abruptly Cancels Its Electric Car Project
NPR
Apple has ended its secret plans of building a self-driving electric car, a decade-long effort that was seen as one of the most ambitious undertakings in the company's history. Apple executives on Tuesday informed teams working on the tech giant's vehicle, called Project Titan internally, that hundreds of employees who worked on the car will be shifted to divisions working on artificial intelligence, according to multiple reports. The push at Apple to build an autonomous vehicle is estimated to have cost the company billions of dollars, with around 2,000 employees working on the endeavor.Read More
Bell Signs First Bell 525 Purchase Agreement with Equinor for 10 Aircraft
Vertical
Bell, a Textron Inc. company, announced a signed purchase agreement with Equinor for the sale of 10 Bell 525 aircraft for North Sea offshore operations with deliveries expected to begin in 2026. The 525 offers Equinor superior technological innovation in terms of helicopter safety, reduced CO2 emissions, pilot support systems, passenger comfort and internal and external noise reduction.Read More
ABB and CERN Identify Energy-Saving Opportunities in Heating and Ventilation Motors
Power Transmission Engineering
ABB and CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, have identified significant energy-saving potential through a strategic research partnership focused on the cooling and ventilation system at one of the world’s leading laboratories for particle physics institutes, located in Geneva, Switzerland. The study included energy efficiency audits which have helped to identify a savings potential of 17.4 percent across a fleet of 800 motors.Read More
Figure Raises $675M for Its Humanoid Robot Development
IEEE Spectrum
Today, Figure is announcing an astonishing US $675 million Series B raise, which values the company at an even more astonishing $2.6 billion. Figure is one of the companies working toward a multipurpose or general-purpose (depending on whom you ask) bipedal or humanoid (depending on whom you ask) robot. The astonishing thing about this valuation is that Figure’s robot is still very much in the development phase—although they’re making rapid progress, which they demonstrate in a new video posted this week.Read More
 |  |