AGMA Gear Industry News

American Gear Manufacturers Association

McInnes Rolled Rings

The New York Times

At the sprawling Mack Trucks factory here, the last of the workers laid off in 2016 after sales slowed down are back on the line, and for the first time in years, the company is hiring new employees. The turnabout in the Lehigh Valley, whose shuttered factories inspired Billy Joel’s elegiac 1980s song "Allentown," was evident more broadly on Friday, when the Labor Department reported that manufacturers nationwide added workers last month at the fastest pace in more than four years.

Visit https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/business/economy/jobs-report-unemployment.html to view the full article online.

 

AGMA and ABMA

AGMA, in cooperation with ABMA, is offering this course on rolling element bearings for those involved in industrial equipment design, reliability, and maintenance. It will include a basic overview of rolling bearings, their selection, precision and mounting considerations, service life estimation and lubrication related influences. A hands-on damage analysis session is the featured portion of this program.

Visit https://www.agma.org/education/advanced-courses/at-gear-expo-why-bearings-are-damaged/ to view the full article online.

 

Manfuacturing.net

The U.S. manufacturing sector expanded at the fastest pace in more than six years last month according to the latest survey conducted by the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM's Purchasing Managers Index grew more modestly in July but rebounded hit an index of 58.8 percent in August — the highest level since April 2011. The index remained above 50 percent, which reflects manufacturing growth, for the 12th consecutive month and translated to overall economic growth for the 99th month in a row.

Visit https://www.manufacturing.net/news/2017/09/survey-shows-six-year-high-domestic-manufacturing-growth to view the full article online.

 
German Machine Tools of America
Star SU LLC.
Gleason Corporation
Kapp Technologies

Manufacturing Global

Enterprise business solutions provider HSO has conducted a study revealing that 54 percent of managers in the manufacturing industry believe their business is not effectively using predictive engineering technology. This technology has been hailed as a leading industry trend — so why is it failing to be more widely adopted? With the Internet of Things and predictive analytics software on the rise, it’s also startling to discover that just 15.2 percent of respondents consider predictive engineering a business priority for the next five years. A quarter of the 250 managers involved in the study feel that a lack of integrated technology across departments is a main reason for the lack of implementation.

Visit http://www.manufacturingglobal.com/technology/why-are-manufacturers-failing-make-most-predictive-engineering to view the full article online.

 

ZD Net

There's strong demand in the business world for robotics, and high-profile examples of commercially deployed robots — take Amazon's Kiva, for example — suggest a robot revolution is just over the horizon. However, the automated tools that could be used in warehouses and on factory floors have a long ways to go before they can help transform American manufacturing, according to Howie Choset, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute and CTO of the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute (ARM) in Pittsburgh.

Visit http://www.zdnet.com/article/5-ways-to-advance-robotics-in-manufacturing/ to view the full article online.

 
SCOT FORGE - ATTN: Maggie Dort

Forbes

One of the biggest barriers to building a business in outer space is the cost. Lifting just a few tons of material into space costs anywhere from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars, depending on where you want to put it. That's where startup Made In Space comes in. Its cofounders, who are alumni of the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, have developed a 3D printer capable of working in space, which is already producing objects for its customers. And they're aiming their goals even higher-working towards a robotic system capable of manufacturing large objects in orbit.

Visit https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2017/08/31/made-in-space-is-successfully-taking-manufacturing-into-the-stars/#3ab8ff757d8d to view the full article online.

 

NAM

Manufacturers added 36,000 net new workers in August, its fastest monthly gain in five years and increasing for the third consecutive month. In addition, the June and July data were revised higher, increasing employment in the sector by a total of 19,000 more than originally estimated. As such, manufacturing was a bright spot in the latest jobs data — a sign that the sector has rebounded from global headwinds over the past two years. Indeed, over the past nine months, manufacturing employment has risen by 155,000, averaging 17,222 per month. That is a definite improvement following the loss of 16,000 workers on net for 2016. Moreover, total manufacturing employment rose to 12.48 million, rising by 1.03 million since the Great Recession and its highest level since January 2009.

Visit http://www.nam.org/Newsroom/eNewsletters/Monday-Economic-Report/ to view the full article online.

 
All Metals & Forge Group, LLC

Business Insider

The aerospace supplier United Technologies Corp. has struck a $30 billion agreement to buy the avionics and interiors maker Rockwell Collins Inc., the companies said Monday, in a deal that bulks up UTC's power with plane makers by creating one of the world's largest makers of civilian and defense aircraft components.

Visit http://www.businessinsider.com/united-technologies-agrees-to-a-30-billion-deal-for-rockwell-collins-2017-9 to view the full article online.

 

Manufacturing Business Technology

One of the main purposes of technology innovation is to make tasks cheaper and more efficient. That is particularly the case in the logistics arena, where technology can help make employees more effective and end customers more satisfied. There have already been huge advances made in logistics in recent years, and it will only improve as innovation continues to evolve. Here is a quick look at five trends in technology, the roles they play in logistics and how they may shape the future.

Visit https://www.mbtmag.com/blog/2017/09/5-technology-trends-and-how-theyre-impacting-logistics to view the full article online.

 
Metal Powder Products, Inc.
Specialty Ring Products

Tech Crunch

Imagine some time in the not-so distant future. After making your way to the nearest community landing strip, you’ll pull out your phone and with a single tap, hail the closest air taxi to take you to your chosen destination. The experience will have Uber-like convenience but the mode of transport couldn’t be any more different.

Visit https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/05/lilium-raises-90m/ to view the full article online.

 

Manufacturing Business Technology

Many of the technologies that make up Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) are actually well-established in their own right. The diagram below shows six "layers" that make up what most people consider to be IIoT.

Visit https://www.mbtmag.com/article/2017/08/whats-new-about-industrial-iot to view the full article online.

 
Cincinnati Gearing Systems Inc.

AGMA

AGMA is offering a bunch of courses at Gear Expo that cover the gamut of our industry. Take a Basics course, or maybe Taming Tooth Deflections, and get a free pass to the show floor.

Visit https://www.agma.org/education/advanced-courses/ to view the full article online.

 

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Herbie Mays is 3M proud, and it shows — in the 3M shirt he wears; in the 3M ring he earned after three decades at the company’s plant in suburban Cincinnati; in the way he shows off a card from a 3M supervisor, praising Mays as "a GREAT employee." But it’s all nostalgia. Mays’ last day at 3M was in March. Bent on cutting costs and refocusing its portfolio, the company decided to close the plant that made bandages, knee braces and other health care supplies and move work to its plant in Mexico. At 62, Mays is unemployed and wants to work, though on the face of it he has plenty of opportunities: Barely 10 miles from Mays’ ranch-style brick home in this blue-collar city, GE Aviation has been expanding — and hiring.

Visit http://www.richmond.com/business/ap/tech-skills-and-apprenticeship-programs-needed-for-future-manufacturing-jobs/article_98d3384a-f68d-5ffc-8ff5-6b56ed6d7c99.html to view the full article online.

 
SCHUNK

Design News

Metal deposition technology is at the core of metal additive manufacturing (AM), and the materials are generally deposited in powder form. The powder is deposited layer by layer, melted and bound together by the heat from a laser. Because the metal additive manufacturing industry is still in its infancy, few companies are handling high volumes of powdered metal yet. But as production rates and applications increase, so, too, will safety concerns for materials handling.

Visit https://www.designnews.com/materials-assembly/materials-handling-system-additive-manufacturing-using-metal-powders-introduced/91663184657374 to view the full article online.

 

Advanced Manufacturing

Automakers, working closely with suppliers, have reduced the weight of their vehicles, in some cases by hundreds of pounds. They’ve introduced new materials, stepping up the use of high-strength steels, aluminum and magnesium. They’ve found new ways to join parts made with different materials together. Now comes the hard part — continuing the momentum, going deeper into vehicles and components to find weight savings.

Visit http://advancedmanufacturing.org/lightweighting-now-comes-hard-part/ to view the full article online.

 

Today’s Motor Vehicles

June U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $186.57 million according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR) collaboration, was down 2.8 percent from May’s $191.93 million and up 6.0 percent when compared with the total of $175.97 million reported for June 2016. With a year-to-date total of $1.095 billion, 2017 is up 5.8 percent when compared with 2016.

Visit http://www.todaysmotorvehicles.com/article/uscti-amt-cutting-tool-consumption-082817/ to view the full article online.

 
Forest City Gear Company

3D Print.com

3D printing is taking off in Boston, and Rize Inc. is among the companies leading the charge. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with company President and Founder Eugene Giller and VP of Marketing Julie Reece at the company’s Woburn, Massachusetts headquarters. Rize is located in a business park that houses three other additive manufacturing companies, underscoring Giller’s point that the area is a true center of technology due to the many big educational centers nearby as well as the local heritage of 3D printing.

Visit https://3dprint.com/186067/rize-hq-visit/ to view the full article online.

 

3D print.com

Earlier this year, German industrial company thyssenkrupp announced its intention to open a new facility dedicated entirely to 3D printing. The announcement was made in April, and the company stated that the new center would be open by September. This past week, the center officially opened, right on schedule. The TechCenter Additive Manufacturing is located in the German city of Mülheim an der Ruhr, on the premises of a thyssenkrupp steering components facility. Thyssenkrupp plans to leverage its existing experience and research partnerships in its work with 3D printing, which it plans to begin using to benefit customers right away.

Visit https://3dprint.com/186520/thyssenkrupp-techcenter-am/ to view the full article online.

 

Manufacturing Global

Industry 4.0 is still a burgeoning concept. However, rapid socioeconomic developments and changes are causing disruptions to business and society and the fourth industrial revolution is beginning to take its first few steps towards the steep drop. There are three major tipping points that could push Industry 4.0 in the direction of becoming a fully realized concept.

Visit http://www.manufacturingglobal.com/technology/technologies-tipping-industry-40 to view the full article online.

 

AGMA

Explore just what High Profile Contact Ratio (HCR) gears are and under what circumstances they can be an advantage. Learn when HCR gears are not appropriate and why. This fast paced session will cover the detailed tooth geometry changes that are required to effectively achieve optimum performance and benefit. We will discuss how the load distribution along the involute profile changes when the contact ratio increases above two. Because of the longer, generally more slender teeth on a HCR gear the heat treatment and profile modifications that are required for good performance are distinctly different from those for a standard contact ratio gear. The load capacity rating of HCR gears requires the application of modified AGMA analyses as the AGMA Standards specifically do NOT address gears with profile contact ratios greater than 2.0 thus we will also cover the changes required to successfully rate HCR gears.

Visit https://www.agma.org/education/advanced-courses/high-profile-contact-ratio-gearing-concept-advantages-comparison-cautions/ to view the full article online.

 
 
American Gear Manufacturers Association
1001 N. Fairfax Street, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA, 22314-1587
www.agma.org