Gear Industry News June 27, 2023
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AGMA Updates
Plastic Gears Reinvented: 3D Printed Molds for Rapid Product Development
July 12, 1:00 pm–2:00 pm (EST)—Emerging Technology Webinar
Modern advances in thermoplastics have positioned materials including acetal and nylon as prime candidates to produce gears. While these materials have many benefits over traditional metal gears, the associated manufacturing process of injection molding can be prohibitively slow, especially during the development of new gears. Leveraging the speed of 3D printing, Fortify is reinventing injection molding with quick-turn mold tooling. This presentation will take a deep dive into how Fortify is able to rapidly produce molded gears in advanced thermoplastics. Through the lens of real-world examples, attendees can expect to learn how and when to implement quick turn molds to speed up development cycles along with what makes Fortify’s printer technology so unique.Register Today
U.S. Defense Policy Update
July 19, 1:00 pm–2:00 pm (EST)—Webinar
The annual debate surrounding our nation’s defense budget is kicking into high-gear in Washington as Congress looks to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024. In this program, we’ll examine the programs likely to be funded, those on the chopping block, and what bearing and gear companies can expect for market opportunities in the aerospace and defense sectors in the year ahead.Register Today
Detailed Gear Design
July 11–13—Morrison House Old Town Alexandria, Autograph Collection; Alexandria, VA
A distinct difference exists 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. Also 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
Operator Precision Gear Grinding
July 25–26, 12:00–4:00 pm (EST)—Live Online Virtual Training
Explore precision gear grinding processes, machine input variables, kinematics, machine alignment, setup errors, pitfalls, common gear fatigue failures and expectations related to finish ground gearing. Learn definitions of gearing component features, application loads and process steps from blanking, through heat treatment to finished part ready to ship. Study aspects of Quality Assurance, Inspection Documentation and corrective actions for measured non-conformances. Understand pre-heat treat, heat treatment distortion and post heat treatment operations including the how’s and why’s to produce finished gears that conform and perform to end user expectations. Calculate gear form grinding cycle times for real life examples for various accuracy levels on commercially available software.Register Today
Steels for Gear Manufacturing
August 8–10—Chicago Marriott Oak Brook; Oak Brook, IL
Gain a basic understanding of steel and its properties. Learn to make use of steel properties in an application and understand the potential that different steel and heat treatment options can offer. Explore how performance of the material depends on how the steel is produced.Register Today
Essentials Concepts of Bearing Technology
August 8–10—Chicago Marriott Oak Brook; Oak Brook, IL
This course will give you an overview of the bearing industry as well as basic bearing types and applications. Knowledge of the key players, bearing types, and terminology will ensure that everyone has a basic knowledge of the industry upon arrival. This course is specially designed for engineers and others with technical backgrounds that have limited exposure to bearings and need to adapt their technical training to bearings or seek an upgrade to their technical knowledge. The Essentials Course focuses on understanding basic tribology, bearing attributes, and applications and explores the basic concepts around manufacturing methods, loads, lubrication, and failure.Register Today
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Industry News
Mazak’s Dan Janka Brings a Lifetime of Manufacturing Experience to AMT Chairman Position
Gear Technology
With experience in the manufacturing industry dating back to the age of 13, Mazak President Dan Janka once again has accepted the position of chairman of the board of The Association of Manufacturing Technology (AMT). Janka, an AMT member since 2005, last served as chairman in 2010. He retired from the board in 2013, but remained an active committee member and attended the association’s forecasting conferences.Read More
Sustainable Industry Repair Using RoboDK
Robotics Tomorrow
FORCE Technology, a Danish technology consultancy and service company, has completed in partnership with Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence and RoboDK a revolutionary project focused on making gear repair a more sustainable process for manufacturers. The purpose of the project was to improve laser welding procedures and determine if sustainable gear repair was possible using robot toolpath programming, digital twin, simulation, and post-processing. Improving this practical application with robot simulation reveals a sustainable gear repair process that can guarantee high-quality results. Repairing the gear using industrial robots and robot simulation will help industries reduce waste, energy consumption, and the cost of replacing components. This application is designed for the Maintenance, Repair, and Operations process and focuses on safely restoring repaired gears to service.Read More
Invenergy Given $1 Billion Blackstone Vote of Confidence
North American Windpower
Invenergy Renewables Holdings LLC, a developer, owner and operator of sustainable energy solutions, has received an approximately $1 billion equity investment from funds managed by Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, to continue growing its expanding business. This amount is additional to Blackstone’s nearly $3 billion investment in Invenergy in 2021 and 2022.Read More
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EMAG Announces New CEO
Gear Technology
Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Prokop handed over the CEO position to Markus Clement on April 1, 2023. Clement can look back on a successful career in the EMAG Group and has held many positions of responsibility in the group over the past 24 years. He started his career in the service division, where he worked for over six years. This was followed by positions in production management, engineering, and customizing including twelve years of experience at EMAG China. Most recently, Clement served as CEO of EMAG China.Read More
Chevy Silverado EV Debuts with Monster Battery, 450+ Mile Range for Better (or Worse?)
eletrek
There’s a lot to go over with Chevy’s Silverado EV, but what makes it really unique is the huge 200+kWh battery and the 450+ mile range that it provides. But that monster battery also has a few well-disguised drawbacks, including putting the truck at a whopping 8,500 lbs.Read More
Pinion Combines an E-Bike Motor and Sealed Gearbox in Its New MGU
New Atlas
For 11 years now, German company Pinion’s sealed mid-mount gearbox has offered a tougher alternative to derailleurs. It’s now been combined with a motor, resulting in a two-in-one ebike module called the Motor.Gearbox.Unit—or MGU for short. Serving as the main component of the new Pinion E-Drive System—and as a rival to Valeo’s existing gearbox/motor unit—the MGU is located adjacent to the bottom bracket, keeping the weight low and central.Read More
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How Attachments Turn Machines into Multipurpose Tools
For Construction Pros
The new Cat Cold Planers are designed for small paving jobs in residential and commercial applications for use on asphalt and concrete surfaces and to efficiently mill imperfections prior to resurfacing and remove deteriorated pavement and traffic lane stripes. The cold planers come standard with a cut depth indicator to offer the operator a quick view of set depth. Milling depth is manually adjusted and locked in for consistent depth control. Their heavy-duty gear motor is designed for high torque and efficiency across the speed range.Read More
Parvalux Teams Up with Keller Industrial Products, Inc.
Power Transmission Engineering
Parvalux—the UK’s largest manufacturer of fractional horsepower, geared, electric motors—has recently teamed with Keller Industrial Products, Inc., headquartered in Rochester, NY. The experienced team at Keller has specialized in mechatronic applications for OEMS and advanced manufacturing sites since 1937. As business development professionals who focus on motion control automation applications, components, and accessories, the company provides expert representation in the industry.Read More
GM to Invest Nearly $1B in Ohio Engine Facility
Construction Dive
General Motors plans to invest $920 million to quadruple the size of its DMAX engine production plant Brookville, OH, VP of North American Manufacturing Mike Trevorrow announced at the facility last week. The expansion will bolster production of internal combustion engines for use in the automaker’s heavy-duty trucks, which saw its largest YoY improvement in market share in 2022.Read More
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PTDA Industry Summit Offers New Discoveries
Power Transmission Engineering
The Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) will convene for the PTDA 2023 Industry Summit in Amelia Island, Fla. on October 19–21, 2023. This year’s program—themed “Discover”—will offer cross-channel networking, shared learning and collaborative experiences.Read More