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Reuters
U.S. manufacturing output suffered a record drop in April as the novel coronavirus pandemic fractured supply chains and depressed demand, supporting economists’ views the economy will shrink in the second quarter at a pace not seen since the Great Depression. The Federal Reserve said on Friday manufacturing production plunged 13.7%, the biggest drop in the series’ history. Data for March was revised to show output at factories dropping 5.5% instead of decreasing 6.3% as previously reported. Visit https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-output/u-s-manufacturing-production-posts-record-decline-idUSKBN22R24A to view the full article online. |
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Wednesday, May 20 – Coronavirus, the economy and key machinery markets – current perspective (with Jim Meil)
Wednesday, June 3 – The evolving U.S.-China trade relationship: The phase one trade deal, the phase two negotiations, and how U.S, trade policy on China impacts you (Free for AGMA members) Wednesday, June 17 – 2020 Political Outlook (with A.B. Stoddard) Visit https://www.agma.org/education/online/webinars/ to view the full article online. |
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Forbes
Perceiving the pandemic's hard reset as a chance to grow stronger, more resilient and resourceful dominates manufacturers’ mindsets who continue to double down on analytics and AI-driven pilots. Combining human experience, insight and AI techniques, they’re discovering new ways to differentiate themselves while driving down costs and protecting margins. Visit https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2020/05/18/10-ways-ai-is-improving-manufacturing-in-2020/#584aa4211e85 to view the full article online. |
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Air Force Magazine
Additive manufacturing is changing the way many products are prototyped and developed. But in most cases, its use has been limited to peripheral components. Not anymore. GE Aviation is now using the technology to dramatically reduce the parts count, weight and complexity of jet engine parts – slashing production times and fuel consumption in the process. Visit https://www.airforcemag.com/ge-wants-to-bring-the-speed-of-additive-manufacturing-to-the-air-force/ to view the full article online. |
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The Verge
Dyson’s canceled electric vehicle was known internally as the N526, would have had a 600-mile range per charge and could go from zero to 62 mph in 4.8 seconds, company founder James Dyson said in an interview with the (London) Sunday Times. James Dyson says he even drove the prototype of the SUV-style vehicle, meant to rival Tesla’s electric vehicles, “secretly in a screened-off compond.” Visit https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/17/21261473/james-dyson-electric-vehicle-tesla to view the full article online. |
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BorgWarner press release
(VIDEO) BorgWarner is ready for the future of mobility with the opening of its newest high-tech lab at its Noblesville Technical Center in Noblesville, Indiana. The technical center, a key facility in BorgWarner’s mission to develop clean, energy-efficient propulsion systems, enables the company to develop, build, test and validate prototypes of its electric product portfolio under one roof, creating cost synergies, increasing cross-functional collaboration and improving efficiency throughout the product development and testing process. Visit https://www.borgwarner.com/newsroom/press-releases/2020/05/14/the-future-of-mobility-is-now-new-high-tech-lab-open-at-borgwarner-s-state-of-the-art-noblesville-technical-center to view the full article online. |
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Environmental Leader
General Motors signed an agreement for 100 megawatts of solar energy to fully power GM’s manufacturing plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, starting in late 2022. The automaker signed a green tariff agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority for as much as 100 MW annually from a solar farm in Lowndes County, Mississippi, being developed by Origis Energy. Visit https://www.environmentalleader.com/2020/05/gm-solar-tennessee-plant/ to view the full article online. |
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Design News
This week, Thomas released a survey reporting on the impact of COVID-19 on U.S. manufacturing and industry. The survey quizzed more than 1,000 North American manufacturers and industrial suppliers to find out how they have been affected by the global pandemic. The survey also looked at trends in a post-pandemic world. Both reshoring and the deployment of automation have become more interesting to respondents. The survey reveals that 64% of manufacturers say they are likely to bring manufacturing production and sourcing back to North America, which is a 10% increase from the same sentiment reported in Thomas’ March survey of manfuacturers. Visit https://www.designnews.com/automation-motion-control/how-are-manufacturers-holding-during-pandemic/124103992863029 to view the full article online. |
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Manufacturing.net
India announced Saturday that global companies can new invest up to 74% in the country’s defense manufacturing units, up from 49%, without requiring any government approval. Visit https://www.manufacturing.net/trade/news/21133809/india-ups-foreign-investment-in-defense-manufacturing-to-74 to view the full article online. |
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AGMA
AGMA has dynamic market intelligence programs for the gear manufacturing industry that allow you to see your company’s place clearly by both benchmarking performance and actual booking and shipment data. Visit https://www.agma.org/membership/statistical-reports/ to view the full article online. |
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Gear Solutions
Hybrid steels show many interesting properties relevant to gear applications, somewhat depending on the area of application and the working conditions. Visit http://gearsolutions.com/features/performance-and-properties-of-a-new-alternative-gear-steel/ to view the full article online. |
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Gear Technology
Why prototyping with end-mills on bevel gear machines? Manufacturing of spiral bevel and hypoid gears can be conducted in several ways. Visit https://www.geartechnology.com/articles/0520/Prototyping_on_Bevel_Gear_Cutting_and_Grinding_Machines/ to view the full article online. |
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The Fabricator
For decades the robotics story has been the same: You need a huge batch size to get any benefit. In many areas robotics has been a game restricted to mass manufacturers, while any shop churning out a variety of SKUs has been left out of the question. Visit https://www.thefabricator.com/thefabricator/article/automationrobotics/how-manufacturing-robots-program-themselves to view the full article online. |
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New Equipment Digest
AMRs have made vast improvements for manufacturers and 3PLs, but if we want to transform the sector and unlock the true value of automation, we need to think differently about the potential of AMRs. Visit https://www.newequipment.com/research-and-development/article/21130996/industry-40-is-yet-unrealized-but-amrs-can-help to view the full article online. |
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Reuters
Electric car maker Tesla, Inc. plans to introduce a new low-cost, long-life battery in its Model 3 sedan in China later this year or early next year that it expects will bring the cost of electric vehicles in line with gasoline models, and allow EV batteries to have second and third lives in the electric power grid. Visit https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-tesla-batteries-exclusive/exclusive-teslas-secret-batteries-aim-to-rework-the-math-for-electric-cars-and-the-grid-idUSKBN22Q1WC?utm_source=reddit.com to view the full article online. |
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Electrek
In February, we started getting more hints that Volkswagen plans to build and sell a lineup “ID.R” electric performance cars. Now, Volkswagen executives have confirmed that it’s in the works. Visit https://electrek.co/2020/05/18/volkswagen-confirms-plans-for-r-badged-high-performance-electric-cars/ to view the full article online. |
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Manufacturing.net
The automaker vowed to continue investing in electric cars despite interruptions from the coronavirus pandemic. Visit https://www.manufacturing.net/automotive/news/21130907/daimler-says-shift-to-electric-cars-nonnegotiable to view the full article online. |
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Farm Bureau
Agriculture depends on safe and efficient infrastructure. Rural roads and bridges are a critical link in our nation’s food supply chain. Preliminary data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics Commodity Flow Survey show that more than 70% of America’s freight worth $10 trillion is moved on the highway system. U.S. roads and highways link farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and service industries to grain elevators, ethanol plants, processors, feedlots, markets and ports. Visit https://www.fb.org/market-intel/the-challenges-and-opportunities-of-improving-a-critical-link-of-the-agricu to view the full article online. |
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The Western Producer
The on-road electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid market is far more mature than the off-road market that includes agriculture applications. In the on-road market there are plenty of components, from generators and batteries to safety systems that vehicle makers can use, which is one of the reasons there have recently been new offerings on the market. Visit https://www.producer.com/2020/05/electric-hybrid-equipment-finding-foothold-in-agriculture/ to view the full article online. |
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GreenBiz
While many around the world, ordered indoors amid the COVID-19 pandemic, are coming up with innovative ways to plant small victory gardens in, around and on top of their homes, plenty of change is afoot in big ag – much of it driven by new technologies. Visit https://www.greenbiz.com/article/robotic-hybrid-electric-future-agriculture to view the full article online. |
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May 21 – External Spur and helical gear mesh contact analysis
June 23-24 – Operator Grinding Course July 14-15 – Basics of Gearing July 21-23 – Detailed Gear Design Visit https://www.agma.org/education/online/video-training/ to view the full article online. |