Each Friday AGMA sends out an email highlighting something of interest for gear manufacturers. This week, Sony put out a new video on the development of their car. In January at CES, they debuted their own version of an electric car. See the video here.
If you would like to start receiving these emails, contact doran@agma.org.

The Gear Market Report is a comprehensive snapshot of the gear industry. Those that purchase this report receive a baseline forecast; a recession alternative forecast and; the gear industry & markets outlook. All of these are updated for you quarterly. Beyond the macro-level information the economists that produce this report use data from the AGMA MMTR and the U.S. Department of Commerce to develop an econometric model for demand for gearing products from ten user industries.

Markiteconomics
Flash U.S. Composite Output Index at 55.7 (58.6 in November) 3-month low; Flash U.S. Manufacturing PMI at 56.5 (56.7 in November) 2-month low.

Forbes
Digital advances in manufacturing and supply chain technologies have enabled the many business adjustments and pivots that were required to keep things rolling this past year, with few serious supply shortages.

Press release
The Timken Company announced the start of production at its new manufacturing facility in San Jose Iturbide, Mexico. The facility manufacturers tapered roller bearings using the industry’s most advanced automation and manufacturing technologies.

3D Printing Media Network
Porsche has produced its first complete housing for an electric drive using 3D printing. The engine-gearbox unit produced using the additive laser fusion process passed all the quality and stress tests without any problems.

Gear Technology
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA (SAWPA) successfully achieved Nadcap AC7101/4 accreditation for their captive metallography laboratory, becoming an approved Boeing Process Source (D1-4426). The accreditation will allow SAWPA to test for microhardness, surface contamination, intergranular oxidation and grain size in accordance with various aerospace specifications including many Boeing process specifications.

Drone Life
Drones manufactured in the U.S. are gaining traction – and a new partnership between U.S. manufacturer Skydio and Arris, a leader in advanced manufacturing of high-performance products, could help revolutionize drone design and manufacturing.

Manufacturing.net
The greater operational independence offered by autonomous manufacturing technologies can allow for focusing more on profits and efficiency.

NikkeiAsia
Honda Motor will trim India output of four-wheel vehicles by 40% and close one of its two manufacturing plants there.

Freight Waves
Manufacturing has proven resilient in the face of great uncertainty this year. Despite dramatic drops and general pandemic-related volatility earlier this year, the segment has experienced a steady upswing as lockdowns have eased across the country and consumers have started to abandon toilet paper hoarding for somewhat more normal buying habits.

Cleveland.com
The transportation sector is identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as one of the country’s largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. With rising concerns about climate change, consumers, corporations and legislators are taking action by encouraging the incoming administration to drive forward ambitious climate solutions, including opting for more energy-efficient vehicles.

Industrial Machinery Digest
A complete configuration for an industrial machine is incredibly complex. There are many reasons for this ,such as designing across technical domains and the ongoing evolution of part designs. To be successful, all information needs to be managed correctly. Siemens’s Advanced Machine Engineering can do just that. Download the latest white paper produced by CIMdata to learn how.

Modern Machine Shop
Wireless capability that is as fast and reliable as hard-wired connections is desirable for obvious reasons. However, advantages extend beyond flexibility and convenience. At the 5G Industry Campus Europe, an expansive space for research and collaboration in Aachen, Germany, applications are redefining the role of robotics, in part by making full-power industrial arms as safe as their “collaborative” cousins. Other research, such as using workpiece- and toolholder-mounted sensors for automatic, in-process corrections for vibration and cutting-edge wear, applies 5G on the level of tool meeting metal.

CIO
The application-first economy and future of work that was emerging over the past few years suddenly got a jolt of adrenaline when the pandemic hit. COVID-19 forced everything from digital computing, healthcare, large scale supply chain, the service economy, and even home and family life to reinvent themselves. For 2021 and beyond, there are a few top-of-mind predictions that look at the bigger picture for the future of work, as so many of us are re-imagining what that will be and how some things have changed forever.

CNN
The last time a person stepped foot on the moon was 1972. Now, the moon is back on NASA’s space agenda. This time around the agency isn’t just visiting — it’s planning to stay.

Science Daily
Researchers have utilized a catalytic reaction that causes a two-dimensional, chemically-coated sheet to spontaneously "morph" into a three-dimensional gear that performs sustained work.

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