April 6 | 1:00 p.m. (free for all attendees)
Interact Analysis and AGMA partnered a year ago to bring more intelligence insights to the AGMA membership. They provide, for free, their quarterly Manufacturing Industry Output Report, the MIO Tracker. This presentation will walk you through the production data and forecasts as well and provide some new data sets that will be included in the reports moving forward. Manufacturers and suppliers are looking for more data to make smarter decisions and this webinar will assist them.

April 19-21 | Clearwater Beach, FL
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. 

The AGMA Foundation awards scholarships to outstanding engineering students at the Associate/Technical, Undergraduate and Graduate levels. The scholarship program was created to help fill the need for skilled employees in the gear industry. 

April 20 | 1:00 p.m.
While still young, this year has already seen the launch of important new U.S. trade and tariff initiatives that will have a significant impact on U.S.-based bearing and gear manufacturers and consumers. In this webinar, our panel of trade experts will explain these developments, how they will impact your business, and how you can be prepared to take advantage of them.

Press release
DARPA’s Novel Orbital Moon Manufacturing, Materials and Mass Efficient Design (NOM4D) program is underway with eight industry and university research teams on contract. The selected teams are tasked to provide foundational proofs of concept in materials science, manufacturing and design technologies to enable production of future space structures on orbit without the volume constraints imposed by launch. The vision is to ferry raw materials from Earth and collect lunar materials for on-orbit manufacturing. 

Manufacturing.net
A nearly $17 billion, 16-year transportation revenue package that will pay for a variety of projects across the state, including building four new hybrid electric ferries, was signed by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

Gear Technology
At Ford’s Advanced Manufacturing Center, Javier is tasked with operating the 3D printers completely on his own. He is always on time, very precise in his movements, and he works most of the day. This innovative robot on wheels from supplier KUKA, called Javier by Ford’s additive manufacturing operators, is integral to the company’s development of an industry-first process to operate 3D Carbon printers with an autonomous mobile robot rather than a fixed, stationary unit.

Smart Industry
Manufacturers are no strangers to industrial robots. Manufacturers were among the earliest adopters, with automation central to Industry 4.0 ambitions. Yet, many have been laggards when it comes to autonomous mobile robots (AMR), mainly because they struggle to define the direct and indirect return on investment (ROI).

E&T Magazine
It seems there will be little let-up in supply chain disruption in 2022 for U.K. manufacturers — and many are focusing their investments on digital transformation accordingly, with sources saying that the smart money’s on digital transformation projects that aim to fortify fragile supply chains.

Gear Technology
Eaton’s Vehicle Group is celebrating 50 years of MLocker differential production. The mechanical locking differential provides drivers with best-in-class traction without the need for pushbuttons, shift knobs or other driver intervention, and is applicable to vehicles with both internal combustion engines and electrified vehicles (EVs).

 

Engine + Powertrain Technology International
Stellantis has released details of its latest twin-turbocharged, 3.0 liter, inline six-cylinder engine for the U.S. market. Dubbed the Hurricane, it is pitched as a downsized alternative to naturally aspirated V8s and will be available in two variants.

Modern Machine Shop
Editors across sister publications of Modern Machine Shop share their thoughts and experiences on being a woman in manufacturing.

 

 

Gear Solutions
Amorphology Inc., a NASA spinoff company founded from technology developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology, has partnered with Additive Technologies (AddiTec), a founding partner of Meltio, an additive manufacturing company pioneering the development of affordable metal 3D printing systems. Together, Amorphology and AddiTec are developing the additive manufacturing of large steel strain wave gear flexsplines.

Manufacturing Global
Additive manufacturing is more sustainable & energy efficient than traditional processes, but many don’t understand what it is or what the benefits are.

New Atlas
Indiana's Pete Bitar has quite a few pots on the boil right now. Between prototyping his LEO Coupe eVTOL "flying supercar," developing directed energy weapons for the U.S. Military through his XADS company, manufacturing electric ducted fans, selling heavy-lift drones through his Vertipod company, working on small personal flight vehicles, and developing and testing electric jetpacks, among other things, you'd think he'd have his hands full.

Bloomberg
A world economy jolted by three supply shocks in four years — the U.S.-China trade conflict, the pandemic and now Russia’s war in Ukraine — has helped turn shipping into something that seemed improbable before all the disruptions: a mainstream investment.

Automation World
This interview with educators at Patrick & Henry Community College, conducted by Festo, dicsusses the ways that improving workforce development outcomes and closing the skills gap can depend on how well institutions and industries can work together. 

Digital Journal
In the fast-developing world of electric vehicles, it appears that small, unknown startups are driving the future of motoring technology. Global developments have added fuel to the debate about whether electric vehicles could and should become a more viable option going forwards.

Reuters
A year ago, Tesla dismissed the alternative path of electric car battery swapping as “riddled with problems and not suitable for widescale use.” It seems Beijing disagrees. In fact, China is pushing hard for swappable batteries for electric vehicles as a supplement to regular vehicle charging, with the government throwing its weight behind several companies advancing the technology.

Robotics and Automation
Vecna Robotics, a provider of flexible material handling automation solutions, has partnered with forklift maker Big Joe to launch a robotic pallet jack. The two companies jointly announced the development at MODEX 2022.