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A History of Motion + Power

MPT Expo celebrates gear and power transmission innovation

The first Gear Expo featured 22 exhibitors at the 1986 Fall Technical Meeting in Chicago. It was billed as the “AGMA Fall Technical Meeting & Gearing Exhibition” and provided attendees the opportunity to learn the latest technical advances, state of gear research and gear design. The show highlighted machine tool, software and processing exhibitors to meet the ever-changing needs of the gear industry.

Unlocking Powertrain Density with Motor Control

Drive System Design and Transense Technologies collaborate on fully functional automotive solutions

Pack Expo Las Vegas 2025

Celebrates packaging and material handling solutions

Optimize Cobots for Worksite Efficiency

Precision and productivity strengthen automation and motion control opportunities

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Feature Articles

Unlocking Efficiency in Pneumatic Systems

As industries adopt more automation, the demand for reliable and efficient pneumatic systems, which power everything from robotic arms to air-powered tools, continues to rise. However, despite their widespread
use, these systems often suffer from hidden inefficiencies. Here, Chris Johnson, managing director at SMB Bearings—Oxfordshire, U.K.) explores how an overlooked component, industrial bearings, can improve the
efficiency of pneumatic technologies.

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Communication Without Restrictions

C-COM Satellite Systems, a manufacturer of mobile satellite antennas, has integrated several models of Bodine Electric motors across a variety of platforms. These motors are primarily used to drive the Azimuth
and Elevation axes on their Fly-Away (portable) and Drive-Away (vehiclemounted) systems.

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The Advantages of Automatic Lubrication Systems

Atlanta Drive Systems, Inc., Farmingdale, NJ, offers rack and pinion systems, actuators, gearboxes, servo reducers and lubrication systems for many different industries including machine tool, automation, aerospace, woodworking, material handling, robotic, food, packaging, stone and special machinery. PTE recently discussed the company’s lubrication solutions with Peter Alfano, senior applications engineer.

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Leveling Up Lubrication

The SKF Lincoln SL-6 metering device is a single-line automatic lubrication system injector. Its proven design is thoroughly updated to meet new demands on maintainability, leakage-protection and long-lasting performance even with harsh extreme pressure greases. Today’s manufacturing environment demands less maintenance time, higher productivity demands and little to no tolerance for unplanned production stops.

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Gear Drives

UGRacing is the University of Glasgow’s Formula Student team. Since its inception in 2005, the team has been working to compete at Formula Student UK (FSUK). Over the last decade, the team has grown to over 150 members across ten disciplines. With a strong focus on knowledge transfer and iterative design, the team has worked year after year to develop new technologies and a more refined package. In 2022, the team saw a culmination of all their hard work when they placed first overall in FSUK with their final internal combustion vehicle. The following switch to an electric powertrain brought new challenges. Through the constraint of a new powertrain architecture, the team has explored and innovated drivetrain concepts which, in future years, will improve vehicle performance.

Gears

This study presents a simulation method for considering complex wheel bodies in an analytical tooth contact model. The wheel body is considered using reduced FE stiffness. Reduction points are defined over the width and linked with the analytical gear.

For cylindrical wheel bodies, comparative calculations show fewer deviations from the expected results with the new method. This is due to the additional degrees of freedom in the FEM model. In the calculation with cylindrical wheel bodies, bending due to axial force in tooth contact could also be verified in addition to the deformation in tooth contact and the influence of the shaft-bearing system.

Bearings

Schaeffler continues to advance key technologies shaping the future of mobility and motion. One area of interest—humanoid robots—is where Schaeffler is developing advanced component and system capabilities for the next generation of robotics. PTE recently had the opportunity to discuss these technologies with Al Makke, engineering director, humanoid robotics, North America, at Schaeffler Group USA. 

Motors

Curious about the state of robotics and automation? A day or two at Huntington Place in Detroit this spring should clear everything up. Automate 2025 attendees might see robots serving coffee, robots maintaining shop floors, robots building other robots. We have officially crossed the threshold from future possibility to practical application. 

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Videos

Introducing Small Robots OVR Series from Oriental Motor

The OVR Series is a simple, small, lightweight industrial robot. It can be controlled by the intuitive robot controller MRC01, which achieves automation with a multi-axis robot with little effort. Customers can also replace some of the motors used on the OVR Robots, which helps keep maintenance costs low.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Dec 12, 2025

The Motion + Power Manufacturers Alliance (MPMA) is forming a new emerging technology committee: the eVTOL & Drone Technology Committee. The inaugural virtual meeting will take place on Thursday, January 22, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. This new group will examine this fast-moving sector where electrification, lightweight materials, distributed propulsion, and high-precision drive components intersect. As aerial mobility platforms move from prototype to commercialization, gear and bearing manufacturers are uniquely positioned to support their success. MPMA aims to ensure its members possess the knowledge, connections, and technical expertise to effectively support this new technology.

PRODUCT NEWS

With a new fully integrated gearbox-pinion-rack combination, Neugart expands its portfolio with a high-performance solution for maximum precision and efficiency in rack applications. The new concept combines optimally matched components that enable powerful, dynamic, and precise power transmission.

CALENDAR

CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026

Mar 3, 2026 - Mar 7, 2026

CONEXPO-CON/AGG brings the entire construction ecosystem together in one place, giving over 139,000 construction professionals access to equipment manufacturers, technology innovators, workforce trailblazers and the thought leaders who are changing the world through infrastructure, innovation and leadership. 

PowerGen 2026

Jan 20, 2026 - Jan 22, 2026

AIoT World Expo 2026

Feb 10, 2026 - Feb 12, 2026

CES 2026

Jan 6, 2026 - Jan 9, 2026

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Power Transmission Engineering magazinePower Transmission Engineering is THE magazine of mechanical components. PTE is written for engineers and maintenance pros who specify, purchase and use gears, gear drives, bearings, motors, couplings, clutches, lubrication, seals and all other types of mechanical power transmission and motion control components.

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