New digital technologies like “non-fungible tokens” (NFTs), blockchain and digital currency are beginning to show promise in revolutionizing international trade, anti-counterfeiting efforts, and supply chain security. In this webinar, a leading group of technology and legal specialists will explain these concepts and emerging legal issues related to them, while examining use cases specific to the U.S. bearing and gear industries. 

It is estimated that 60% of global manufacturing companies will use connected device data for analysis this year. Data is transformative. Understanding all the various factors that can be measured on your machine tools can help you drive profitability. Just think if you knew your real down-time, what actions would you take? How can you drive optimization? Graham Immerman, vice president of marketing for MachineMetrics, understands this space and will provide you with case studies and tools that will help you better understand and utilize your data more effectively.

Gain a solid and fundamental understanding of gear geometry, types and arrangements, and design principles. Starting with the basic definitions of gears, conjugate motion, and the Laws of Gearing, learn the tools needed to understand the inter-relation and coordinated motion operating within gear pairs and multi-gear trains. Basic gear system design process and gear measurement and inspection techniques will also be explained. In addition, the fundamentals of understanding the step-wise process of working through the iterative design process required to generate a gear pair will be reviewed. Learn the steps and issues involved in design refinement and some manufacturing considerations. An explanation of basic gear measurement techniques, how measurement equipment and test machines implement these techniques, and how to interpret the results from these basic measurements will also be covered.

The AGMA Foundation is pleased to announced Mary Ellen Doran as the Foundation’s new Executive Director. She assumed the role on June 1, 2021. The appointment comes after the retirement of Cindy Bennett, who had held the position since 2014. Doran is currently the Director, Emerging Technology for AGMA and she will hold dual roles for the AGMA and AGMA Foundation.

The Driven
Jaguar recently announced that it will no longer manufacture gas or diesel vehicles, but will focus exclusively on its range of electric vehicles (EVs). Since the cheapest Jaguar currently starts around $60,000, and you can pay over $300,000 for a top-of-the-range model, this might not seem like headline news. Barring an unlikely lottery win, most of us are never going to buy a brand-new Jag no matter what fuel it runs on.

Fast Company
Over the past decade, it has become clear that being “on” 24/7/365 is not a recipe for success. Discussions about work-life balance and the need to take vacations are signs that we understand that getting away from work is important for mental and physical health. It’s useful to dig a little more into what you’re trying to accomplish with your downtime, though. The more you understand about what you’re trying to achieve, the easier it becomes to recognize when you might need to take a little extra time away from work. 

United Press Release
United Airlines announced a commercial agreement with Denver-based aerospace company Boom Supersonic to add aircraft to its global fleet as well as a cooperative sustainability initiative — a move that facilitates a leap forward in returning supersonic speeds to aviation. Under the terms of the agreement, United will purchase 15 of Boom’s ‘Overture’ airliners, once Overture meets United’s demanding safety, operating and sustainability requirements, with an option for an additional 35 aircraft.

Press release
Star SU has announced that John O’ Neil, its engineering manager for gear tools, has been elected by the Gear Research Institute (GRI) individual members and member companies to its Board of Trustees for the 2021- 2023 term. The GRI is governed by a tripartite board, which includes membership of the Institute as well as the Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Gear Manufacturer’s Association (AGMA).

Motor 1.com
Ford's official website has a section dedicated to investors where each and every month documents are uploaded about sales and production figures. One interesting piece of information: Ford is already producing more Mustang Mach-E SUVs than the namesake sports car. Through May, Ford has assembled 27,816 electric Mustangs at the factory in Mexico. During the first five months of the year, the Flat Rock plant in Michigan pumped out 26,089 coupes and convertibles. It represents a major milestone in the company's gradual conversion to an all-EV lineup. 

Assembly Magazine
Diversification not only offers benefits when investing. It also provides a way for manufacturers to better serve their current customers and attract new ones. Consider the case of Syracuse, NY-based Gear Motions Inc., a manufacturer that specializes in custom precision-cut and -ground gears for OEMs worldwide. 

 

Press release
Desktop Metal, a leader in mass production additive manufacturing solutions, announced it has qualified the use of 4140 low-alloy steel for the Production System™ platform, which leverages patent pending Single Pass Jetting™ (SPJ) technology designed to achieve the fastest build speeds in the metal additive manufacturing industry. 

Metrology News
It has become abundantly clear that not only are electric vehicles becoming more prevalent on the roads but that almost all automotive companies are announcing plans where EVs will eventually dominate their product portfolio. As the shift from internal combustion to electric continues, the number of drivetrain components will dramatically lessen. And the remaining components found in cars of all types will be more critical to the vehicle’s operation and longevity.  One such area are the gear components necessary to convert the high-force torque from electric motors to the RPMs at the wheel.

SDC Executive
Nanotechnology — particularly in glass — is proving to be one of the most intriguing spaces in the material science-manufacturing revolution.

101 Now KGIN
A manufacturing company in Hastings, NE, plans to close. Members of Eaton’s management team met with employees at the facility this month to announce the company's plans to consolidate gear manufacturing. Right now, the plant manufactures gears for use in automotive differentials and industrial applications.

Machine Design
While the business of manufacturing has bounced back in the year since the pandemic began, the full recovery of the sector still faces significant supply and labor issues. That was the conclusion June 1, when the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released its PMI Index for May. The index grew 0.5 percentage points to 61.2%, more than 50% higher than the April 2020 contraction of the manufacturing economy and more than 20% above the PMI Index growth level of 50%. But persistent labor shortages in many sectors have members of ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee concerned.

Autoblog
The world’s biggest lithium miner wants to extract more of the battery metal from old cars as demand surges and aging electric vehicles are traded in. Albemarle Corp. is making investments and partnering with automotive equipment manufacturers on the recycling effort, which it calls “critical” to its future growth.

Forbes
An economic revolution is underway. The Internet of Things is the face of this new industrial revolution. In 2019 IoT industry was projected to have an economic impact of 11 trillion dollars by the year 2025. A report published by Statista Research Department in 2016 projected that by 2025, 75 billion IoT devices would reach potential consumers worldwide.

Gear Solutions
Metal additive manufacturing is a process with demanding requirements for in-process material management, specifically with regard to the use of powdered metals. The Calibur3 system from Wayland Additive, which is enabled by the NeuBeam® process, not only redefines how the electron beam (eBeam) process can be applied in a more stable and flexible way, but also offers a number of unprecedented powder dispense capabilities for metal AM.

Bloomberg
A little-known automaker in China’s southwest has been dominating the world’s largest electric car market since last July, outselling bigger players and even Tesla,Inc. almost every month with a tiny, bare-bones EV that starts at just $4,500.

Manufacturing Global
Dating back to the 1800s, the first industrial revolution occurred when steam and water-powered machines were developed. As production increased so did small businesses becoming larger organizations. “The industrial revolutions are more than a sequence of events from machines to manufacturing,” says Maddie Walker, Industry X.0 Strategy and Consulting Lead at Accenture (UK&I).