With the support of a unique and powerful consortium of technology companies, the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) investigated the state of Industry X in automotive. The organization recently released the report State of Industry X in Automotive. Brett Smith, director of technology at CAR and the lead author of the paper, will join us to provide an in-depth information session on what was discovered. This is relevant to not only those in auto but anyone who wants to learn more about how technology is being used to transform industries.

Forensic Analysis of Gear & Bearing Failures — Useful Tools for Optimizing Gear Design
A good understanding of individual failure modes and the failure scenarios that led to the actual system failure is an essential skill to designing gear/bearing systems that will operate properly for their full design life. In this course, we will define and explain the nature of many gear and bearing failures and we will also discuss and describe various actual failure scenarios. In addition, a detailed primer on bearing technology prefaces the failure scenario discussions. You will gain a better understanding of various types of gears and bearings. Learn about the limitation and capabilities of rolling element bearings and the gears that they support. Grasp an understanding of how to properly apply the best gear-bearing combination to any gearbox from simple to complex.

The 2021 AGMA Strategic Resources Network (SRN) event is designed for next-generation manufacturing leaders. We are providing presentations that address the agile skills our current manufacturing environments require. This year’s event features a full contract negotiating course, emerging technology and leadership presentations, and a tour of the Clemson wind turbine test facility.

This course is specially designed for engineers and others with technical backgrounds that have had 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 internal geometry, tribology, bearing attributes and applications and explores the basic concepts around manufacturing methods, loads, internal load contacts, lubrication and failure.

Reuters
U.S. manufacturing activity grew at a slower pace in April likely constrained by shortages of inputs amid pent-up demand unleashed by rising vaccinations and massive fiscal stimulus. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Monday its index of national factory activity fell to a reading of 60.7 last month after surging to 64.7 in March, which was the highest level since December 1983.

Engine Technology International
Powertrain engineering specialist FEV says it is picking up the pace of development on hydrogen internal combustion engines (ICE). According to professor Stefan Pischinger, president and CEO of FEV Group, “The hydrogen internal combustion engine is a robust, cost efficient option for zero-CO2 transport. It can be implemented in the current production infrastructure relatively simply and offers potential for existing vehicles."

Engine Technology International
Powertrain specialist Ricardo will apply its experience in niche volume manufacturing, battery R&D, second life and recycling, complex supply chain management and strategic consultancy to try and improve the UK’s supply chain for important EV components. The company has announced that following government funding, it will assess the commercial viability of assembling battery packs for other U.K. manufacturers, which currently produce fewer than 10,000 EVs each year.

Manufacturing.net
VIDEO – One of the smaller pieces of news coming out of the Shanghai Auto Show last week was the unveiling of new, and more colorful versions of China’s most popular electric car. Standing out more than the new yellow, pink and green versions of the Wuling Hong Guang Mini EV is its price tag. Introduced last summer at base prices of under $4,400. Since being introduced last July, GM has sold over 270,000 in China, which has become the largest car market in the world.

Gear Solutions
The quality of a hob directly affects the final quality of the gear it generates. AGMA has developed a standard covering the allowable tolerances for fine and coarse pitch hobs. This standard is ANSI/AGMA 1102-B13, Tolerance Specification for Gear Hobs, which is the latest revision of AGMA120.1. If there is a quality problem in the hob, a manufacturer can usually identify it in the profile of the gear. Some considerations follow to help avoid and troubleshoot this problem.

Manufacturing Global
It is undeniable that 2020 was a challenging year for organizations around the world. For Ford Motor Company, the first quarter of 2020 detailed significantly reduced financial results due to the coronavirus pandemic, with its focus primarily on the protection of people, helping society in response, balance-sheet management and operational excellence.

Mining.com
For the U.S. to move away from coal, it is important to leverage the social cost of carbon as a tool for making key government decisions about coal mining and cleanup while remaining mindful of environmental justice and coal communities as the transition to other sources of electricity pans out.

Mining.com
Major oil producers, for decades the natural resource industry’s top earners, are being eclipsed by once-smaller mining peers who are churning out record profits thanks to red-hot metals markets. The mining windfall is the latest sign of a boom in iron ore, copper and other metals that’s sending an inflationary wave through the global economy, increasing the cost of everything from electrical wires to construction beams.

Forbes
Change has been the one constant over the past year — faster than ever, sooner than expected — bringing tremendous challenges but also incredible opportunities. While the human tragedy is undeniable, the pandemic also created a testing environment no simulation could match, forcing companies to ask, “How resilient is your manufacturing and supply chain?”

Today’s Motor Vehicles
Global engineering technologies company Renishaw has partnered with Davis Technical College, a public technical college in Kaysville, Utah, to provide students with access to the latest in measurement technologies. CNC machining students now have on-site access to co-ordinate measuring machines  and other Renishaw equipment that is helping them to take fast, precise measurement of components.

Modern Machine Shop
One of the odd things we all learned from the pandemic: there are two types of toilet paper. There are the rolls and packages we are all familiar with from buying them at the supermarket. Harrowingly, this supply briefly ran thin last year. Then there are the big rolls shipped to workplaces and institutions. There were always plenty of these. So, perfect — just repurpose one so it could answer the shortage of the other, right? Actually, no.

Gear Technology
Why prototyping with end-mills on bevel gear machines? Manufacturing of spiral bevel and hypoid gears can be conducted in several ways.

Gear Technology
SMW Autoblok has opened a new design and manufacturing production unit located in Petacciato, Italy, that is highlighted in a new 50-page special solutions catalog.

Market Watch
Soaring prices and widespread shortages of parts, materials and labor threaten to undercut fast-growing American manufacturers and throw up a roadblock to a U.S. economy still recovering from the coronavirus. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index fell to 60.7% in April from a 38-year high of 65% in the prior month.

Engineering.com
Robotic drone delivery for small parcels and last-mile applications are in development everywhere these days, and major air framers like Boeing have been working on cockpit automation for decades, but what about the space in between? California startup Xwing has demonstrated fully autonomous gate-to-gate operation of a Cessna 208 cargo aircraft, a type commonly used for short intercity light cargo operations. The technology may fill the gap between heavy lift between major hubs and local door-to-door delivery.