The AGMA Foundation is updating the strategic plan that was established in 2017. As part of this work, please provide your input by taking the survey available at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8KLHJSV
Your voice is vital to making certain that our work aligns with the needs of the gear industry. It will take no more than 15 minutes to complete. 

August 4, 2021 | 1:00pm – 2:00 p.m. | REGISTER
We continue to discuss the paradigm shift in automotive manufacturing. The future is uncertain. In order to have a comprehensive picture one must include the consumers. Escalent’s EVForward™ is the largest EV study of the next generation of EV buyers. Mike Dovorany and his team talked with 10,000 new vehicle buyers. Come and listen to what they discovered from this research as we work to move forward in this space.

Reverse engineering a gear system is a not too unusual task and in many, but not all, cases the process goes fairly well, thus it is easy to become complacent. It is important, however, to fully understand the process and the best practice procedure for reverse engineering a gear system. Failure to fully follow best practice can result, at best, in an unhappy gear user, but in the worst case it can lead to expensive, time-consuming and reputation-damaging litigation. 

This course will discuss the basic types of reverse engineering projects (e.g., upgrading an existing system to increase power or extend operating life or improve noise level; replacing gear that has simply reached the end of its otherwise successful useful life; emergency, short term, interim gear replacement resulting from an unexpected failure; responding to a system that is not providing acceptable performance, etc.). The need for understanding the operation of the system in which the gears will be used, the conditions that led to the need for the project and especially, the specific nature of the failure that occurred, if that is the reason for the project, are key, often ignored, elements of the process. 

AGMA and NFPA are working together to provide members with comprehensive economic data. Join us on August 16-18, for the IEOC in Chicago. This conference offers hard data and expert analysis for manufacturers. Experts will provide economic data on the national and global scale, and AGMA has secured Tom Ruinewicz from IHS Markit to specifically talk about the gear market. 

Industry Week
Disruptions during the past year have forced us to critically re-examine every aspect of the supply chain. What better place to start than with mining, the origin of so many components of our products and processes? Concerns about global warming add to the importance of scrutinizing mining, since mining accounts for 2-3% of global energy consumption, and a World Bank report predicts that batteries and other components of green energy systems to reduce global warming may increase demand for graphite, lithium and cobalt 500% by 2050.

Manufacturers Alliance press release
Talent management will separate how manufacturers perform in the future to levels unimagined before the COVID-19 pandemic. A new report, “The Future of Flexible Work in Manufacturing: Workforce Priorities for a Hybrid World,” by Manufacturers Alliance, in collaboration with Aon plc, finds five major drivers of success for manufacturers as they shift out of the pandemic and into the future.

 

Automation World
As Industry 4.0 continues to transform every branch of the manufacturing industry, marketing is no exception. Learn how implementing automation into your marketing approach can increase customer success.

Automotive News Europe
Volkswagen has begun certifying prototype 3D-printed structural components, with the aim of producing 100,000 parts annually by 2025. VW is teaming with Siemens and HP to industrialize 3D printing of structural parts, which can be significantly lighter than equivalent components made of sheet steel.

3D Printing Media Network
Metal binding jetting, in particular via ExOne’s more established technology, is finally entering large-scale production. In particular, two major AM service providers—Xometry and Shapeways, which target different audiences—have both scaled up their activities with this technology.

 

 

Aerotech News
Lockheed Martin has opened its Spacecraft Test, Assembly and Resource (STAR) Center in Titusville, FL. The STAR Center features business and digital transformation innovations that will expand manufacturing, assembly and testing capacity for NASA’s Orion spacecraft program and ultimately, future space exploration.

Today’s Motor Vehicles
Today, General Motors (GM) announced a more than $71 million investment to establish a new campus in Pasadena, California, for GM’s Advanced Design Center operations, a move that will substantially increase the center’s capacity and create more jobs in the area. The facility’s relocation from its existing space in North Hollywood to the nearly 149,000-square-foot campus will make room for expanded advanced technology teams that will help accelerate GM’s goal of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. 

Today’s Motor Vehicles
To assist manufacturers on their Industry 4.0 journey, global engineering technologies company Renishaw, has partnered with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, Inc. (CCAT). This applied technology demonstration and training center validates, demonstrates and assists with the adoption of leading-edge industrial technologies into the global manufacturing and supply chain. The two organizations will assist businesses in executing new manufacturing strategies and accelerating the implementation of new digital technologies.

Gear Solutions
For high-speed applications, gears of large dimensions and high-power density are used. Temperature distribution in those rotors is much different in operation as compared to manufacturing. Therefore, the tooth contact as it can be validated by blue ink during assembly is not only affected by distortion and bending under load but also by non-uniform thermal growth. As power density and specific load are continuously increasing over time, for highly sophisticated applications, this influence should be accounted for with suitable lead modification, as it is demanded by the latest version of API 613.

Gear Solutions
Advanced finishing and grinding technologies will be needed to produce extremely complex and precise surface features in gear teeth to enhance efficiency and reduce noise, thereby improving customer satisfaction.

Venture Beat
GlobalFoundries hosted an event at its headquarters in Malta, NY, to tout why it’s important for the United States to have local semiconductor manufacturing. The technology is so critical to the U.S. infrastructure that it’s a key national security issue, and it’s also important to have a robust semiconductor supply chain, as we’ve seen how the industry has suffered from a huge shortage that has affected everything from game consoles to car manufacturing during the pandemic.

ZD Net
There's a new role that is becoming an integral part of many warehouses, distribution centers and factories globally: the robot expert. As labor shortages strain the manufacturing and supply chain sectors, business leaders need to realize the value of the robot expert and how they can help solve these challenges. By upskilling individuals to manage a team of robots, mundane tasks can be left to the machines while experts handle big picture thinking and overall management of the warehouse. But where do decision makers, who often see a need but don't have technical expertise in automation, start looking? Where are the opportunities and what's at stake for companies that don't adapt?

LLNL
Developed by an industrial partnership between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Seurat Technologies Inc. of Wilmington, Massachusetts, the technology, called Large-Area Pulsed Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LAPBF) Area Printing™, has the potential to revolutionize metal additive manufacturing (AM). Companies requiring larger metal parts, such as aerospace and automotive manufacturers, are among the industries that could benefit from industrial metal printers with unparalleled speed and resolution.

Fast Company
Virtual reality is fun. But what if it could be more than fun? What if VR could make you smarter? For more than 70 years, scientists have known about a brain phenomenon called the “theta rhythm.” To oversimplify it, your brain thinks not just in frequencies but in syncopated beats. And the theta is the most prominent rhythm in the brain. 

TechXplore
Going to space equals stress. As launcher propellant tanks are filled with fuel, or spacecraft structural panels experience the strain of orbital ascent, they undergo major force loading in multiple directions at once. ESA's new Bi-Axial Test Facility—installed at the Agency's Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory at its ESTEC technical center in the Netherlands—replicates the bi-directional application of load, allowing higher-fidelity testing of candidate materials for space missions. 

Power Transmission Engineering
Dana Incorporated has announced the Spicer HVT1, an advanced powersplit transmission that enables the superior performance and sustainability of agriculture telehandlers. The Spicer HVT1 supports power inputs from 110 to 155 horsepower (80 to 115 kW) and offers fuel savings of up to 30 percent when compared with agriculture telehandlers that use conventional transmissions.