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.

This webinar builds on basic grease knowledge to emphasize general considerations for many automotive and industrial grease applications. It covers both major and minor greases used on today's passenger cars and light trucks, as well as heavy duty applications such as on commercial trucks and buses. Industrial segments covered include general manufacturing, steel, mining, paper processing, chemical processing, construction and agriculture, railroad, textile, and metal processing. Key grease tests related to these applications are also discussed. 

Our next installment of the AGMA Emerging Technology webinar series brings together a data company and a gear manufacturer for a case study. Join us to hear about an AGMA member is utilizing the power of machine metrics data tools to optimize their factory performance.

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.

Drone Life
Visions of autonomous passenger drones flitting across futuristic cityscapes are still riding a fine line between reality and sci-fi. However, with companies such as EHang and Sikorsky leading the charge, that future may be closer than we think; but the first, aerial baby steps towards a real-world, air taxi service will likely take the form of manned flights.

 

FEDScoop
The U.S and U.K. agreed to forge a partnership over the next two years for developing emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum computers and batteries, under the revised Atlantic Charter signed last week.

New York Times
It was sleek, cone-shaped, a little confusing — like something Hollywood would give a sci-fi villain for a quick getaway. It wasn’t a helicopter. And it wasn’t an airplane. It was a cross between the two, with a curved hull, two small wings, and eight spinning rotors lined up across its nose and tail.

Energy News Network
A high-tech manufacturing training center in eastern Kentucky is widely regarded as a singular success story of federal support for revitalizing Appalachian coal country. The 40,000-sq-ft training center in Johnson County, is home of eKentucky Advanced Manufacturing Institute. In 2016 and 2017, the newly organized institute was awarded two grants totaling $3.5 million form the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization grant program. 

New Equipment Digest
Today’s plant managers are faced with a dearth of automation technologies, but it’s not always obvious what will work best. There is rarely, if ever, a one-size-fits-all approach, Here, Jonathan Wilkins, director of industrial automation parts supplier, EU Automation, discusses what manufacturers should consider when choosing which type of robot to invest in.

Machine Design
Rolling bearings are essential components in automated machinery with rotating elements. They come in many shapes and sizes, but are essentially designed to carry a load while minimizing friction. In general, the design consists of two rings separated by rolling elements (balls or rollers). The rings can rotate can rotate relative to each other with very little friction.

 

Tech Crunch
Waymo will be moving freight for a major customer of transportation logistics company J.B. Hunt Transport Services, under what the two companies are calling a “test run” that will take place in one of the country’s busiest trade corridors.

Gear Solutions
Metal additive manufacturing (AM) 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. 

Manufacturing Global
Voice-enabled solutions are integrated applications that have transformed the way warehouse and supply chain employees interact with their devices in the workplace. Voice-picking technology is a hugely valuable tool as workers can operate hands-free — optimizing productivity and enhancing picking accuracy. Despite the benefits of voice-enabled solutions, adoption is still relatively low with only a quarter of warehouses using voice-directed picking. 

Manufacturing.net
The number of U.S. manufacturing jobs created by reshoring activities and foreign direct investment increased in 2020 — hitting a total of 160,649 — according to the Reshoring Initiative’s 2020 Data Report. Of this total, 109,000 jobs were directly related to bringing offshoring production to the U.S. It’s the first-time reshoring outpaced FDI in seven years.

 

Inside EVs
Porsche and Audi are the only two automakers that currently offer electric vehicles with more than one gear (the mechanically similar Taycan and E-tron GT respectively), and whether or not having more than one speed in an EV matters is a topic that really divides opinions. Now there’s a company called Inmotive from Canada that has launched its own two-speed transmission for EVs and it claims its gearbox has a whole host of advantages.

Manufacturing.net
Crisis is always a catalyst for change. The changes wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic recently prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue a guidance for conducting regulatory inspections remotely. Time will tell whether this signifies the agency’s intent to expand its digital or remotely conducted activities, but it does provide a glimpse into the future of auditing and oversight. 

MDM
U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders totaled $404.6 million in April, a decline of 12% from March, but an increase of 72% from April 2020, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders report published by AMT. Total orders for 2021 reached $1.57 billion year-to-date, which marked a 40% increase over orders place din the first four months of last year.

Today’s Motor Vehicles
The industrial robots market size in the automotive industry is expected to grow by $3.97 billion during 2021-2025, according to the new report from Technavio. The report projects the market to accelerate at a CAGR of almost 7 percent. In addition, the growth in the global automotive industry is anticipated to boost the growth of the Industrial Robots Market in the Automotive Industry Market.

 

Manufacturing.net
American Airlines said it plans to invest $25 million in U.K.-based Vertical Aerospace Group and is considering a $1 billion order for small, electric-powered aircraft that can take off and land like helicopters. The announcement came as Vertical Aerospace disclosed that it has agreed to merge with special-purpose acquisition company Broadstone Acquisition and become a publicly traded company later this year.

New Atlas
In development for over five years, and originally due for production in 2019 before a complete redesign put the brakes on that timeline, the third prototype of the Microlino electric bubblecar from Micro Mobility Systems AG has now been completed.