AGMA has two free webinars on emerging technology to start the year, Developments in Nanotechnology will be Wednesday, February 2, and Preventive Maintenance: From Issues Observation to Resolution will be March 2. Complete information and registration available on our website.

Virtual Course
The purpose of this course will be to cover the concurrent design and analyses of gears and bearings in integrated systems like gearboxes, transmissions and electric motor drives, to allow for good integration and faster optimization of the overall system. The instructor for this class is Michael Tekletsion Berhan, Powertrain Gear and Bearing Technical Expert at Ford Motor Company Research and Advanced Engineering.

As events are getting back to face-to-face and some staying virtual, there are some trends to look out for in regard to meetings and conferences. Read all about the latest trends in Gears Matter by Leah Lewis, Director, Meetings, AGMA: 2022 Event Trends. If you are interested in writing for our blog, it is free and easy. For more info, contact brinkley@agma.org.

This is a reminder that all Corporate and Associate member companies will now receive The Gear Market Report as part of their member benefits. The designated member representative for each company will receive an email the first week of February with information on how to download the report. Also, company members in the U.S. are strongly encouraged to participate in the Monthly Market Trend Report (MMTR). This is the only way to track actual booking and shipment data from domestic manufacturers of gears and flexible couplings. Only those that participate receive the published aggregate data. Have questions? Please reach out to doran@agma.org.

Aerospace Manufacturing and Design
Stratolaunch LLC has a research contract with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Under partnership with Booz Allen Hamilton, Stratolaunch is on contract with AFRL to examine and assess the feasibility of hypersonic flight tests of a wide range of Air Force experiments and payloads on a frequent and routine basis. 

Manufacturing.net
A Colorado-based aviation company has chosen North Carolina airport as the manufacturing site for next-generation supersonic passenger jets. If successful, the investment could create more than 2,000 jobs in the region over the next decade, while cutting flight times significantly for a post-Concorde generation of air travelers. Boom Supersonic announced that Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro will be the home for its first full-scale manufacturing plant, including the final assembly line, testing and delivery center for its proposed Overture supersonic airliner.

The Verge
General Motors announced a $7 billion investment in growing its electric vehicle manufacturing capabilities in Michigan, calling it “the single largest investment announced in GM history.” The company will spend the money on four manufacturing sites, with plans to create 4,000 new jobs and retain another 1,000 in the state. 

Manufacturing.net
The French-Japanese auto alliance of Renault and Nissan plans to invest 23 billion Euros ($26 billion) in electric vehicle technology over the next five years. The alliance, which also includes smaller Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motor Corp., will share research, auto parts and technology to bring down costs and produce 35 new electric vehicle models by 2030, aiming at markets around the world.

Gear Solutions
Minority-owned Preco Manufacturing achieves superior finishes for aerospace applications while overcoming V-flange CNC milling problems via JM Performance Products’ high-torque retention knobs.

Manufacturing.net
There are more than 8,000 new technical job openings at General Motors, and the automaker plans to fill them during a hiring spree this year. The Detroit automaker is looking for software, computer, mechanical and electrical engineers, as well as battery engineers, cyber security experts and others.

Today’s e-Mobility
USA Truck Inc. purchased 10 Nikola Tre BEV trucks from Thompson Truck Centers, a member of the Nikola Corporation sales and service dealer network. Thompson will provide sales, service, maintenance and energy infrastructure required for USA Truck Inc. to operate the Nikola Tre BEV trucks, expected to be delivered in the first half of 2022. The agreement also includes the option to purchase an additional 90 Nikola zero-emission trucks over the next two years.

3D Printing Industry
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a new method of invisibly embedding information into physical objects using 3D printing technology. The concept is named “infrared Tags” and it’s all about embedding IR-readable barcodes and QR codes within the interiors of 3D printed parts.

 

New Atlas
Electrolysis is a key component to the cost of green hydrogen, and a Korean team says it’s made a huge breakthrough with an anion exchange membrane that’s not only much cheaper than current proton exchange tech, but offers some 20 percent better performance.

Press Release
When it comes to manufacturing new lightweight, yet strong components for passenger jets, scientists are treating the process like trying to brew the most delicious cup of coffee. By using artificial intelligence and machine learning, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory are intelligently and automatically selecting the perfect settings for a different kind of hot brew — the process of friction stir welding, a common ingredient needed to manufacture airplane components.

Gear Technology
Hy-Tech Engineered Solutions and Power Transmission Group, PTG, have announced the acquisition of Jackson Gear Company of Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, which specializes in the engineering, manufacture and sales of larger gears and shafts. This addition will more than double PTG’s capacity in overall production, as it broadens existing product lines, deepens engineering expertise and improves lead times.

Modern Machine Shop
After acquiring 70 percent of Antil in the summer of 2018, Bystronic has increased its stake and now owns 100 percent of the automation specialist. Since Bystronic acquired the initial stake, the company says it has integrated Antil’s operations, doubled sales and increased the number of employees from 110 to 200.

Wired Magazine
Eric McCarter remembers the first time he operated a forklift truck in France — while sitting behind a desk in California. McCarter used the forklift to move a stack of pallets into a waiting truck using a setup resembling a video gaming rig. He sat behind a steering wheel and pedals that transmitted commands to the forklift thousands of miles away; large screens offered views in front, behind and to the sides of the vehicle.

Industrial Heating
Resiliency concerns revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic are driving companies to embrace sustainable manufacturing for post-pandemic supply chains. Supply-chain sustainability is the management of environmental, social and economic impacts. Reshoring checks all of the sustainability boxes since it reduces environmental impact, has a positive societal effect and stimulates economic activity. Reshoring is a game-changer for driving sustainability.

The Atlantic
The Salmon-Challis National Forest is about a five-hour drive northeast of Boise. It sits atop what is known as the Idaho Cobalt Belt, a 34-mile-long geological formation of sedimentary rock that contains some of the largest cobalt deposits in the country. As the global market for lithium-ion batteries has grown — and the price of cobalt along with it — so has commercial interest in the belt. At least six mining companies have applied for permits from the U.S. Forest Service to operate in the region.