Despite a lukewarm sustainability agenda here in the United States, global bearing manufacturers continue to be motivated by eco-friendly technologies, environmental awareness and energy efficiency regulations. Material innovation is one of the key strategies to reduce environmental impact moving forward. Concerns include energy consumption in manufacturing, waste generation, emissions from lubricants and raw material extraction. The end goal is to provide longer-lasting components with less waste.
An innovative technology for the next generation of high-speed, high power density traction and propulsion systems has been jointly developed by Drive System Design (DSD) and Transense Technologies. David Hind, principal engineer, DSD, presented “Unlocking Powertrain Power Density with Innovative Motor Control,” earlier this year at the CTI USA Symposium 2025 in Novi, MI. The presentation built on initial simulation studies performed in MATLAB Simulink; a software tool used to design and simulate systems before moving to hardware. While simulation trials proved successful, achieving quality experimental results proved far more challenging. Hind examined these challenges and potential solutions at CTI.
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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.
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Collaborative robots have been hugely beneficial for manufacturers of all sizes over the past 15 years, and their share of the total robot market continues to grow every year. As of 2025, hundreds of different cobot models are available from dozens of manufacturers. Today, we will discuss the differences between industrial and collaborative robots, advantages of cobots, typical cobot applications, case studies, and some specific robotic solutions.
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Pack Expo Las Vegas, one of North America’s most comprehensive packaging and processing events is celebrating a milestone: 2025 marks 30 years since the show’s debut. Today, Pack Expo Las Vegas continues to be a global hub for industry innovation and collaboration. Show producer PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, has elevated Pack Expo Las Vegas from a regional trade show to a global industry force—expanding its scale, influence, and relevance across international markets. This year, the show spanned over 1 million net square feet, featuring 2,300+ exhibitors.
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This paper examines the selection process, operation, maintenance practices, and state of a Sumitomo gearbox after over 24 years of operation. It is demonstrated that a quality product and careful consideration of all these factors are essential for a longer service life of the gearbox. Detailed information is provided on the operation of the gearbox, as well as the maintenance practices that should be taken to ensure its longevity. Finally, the paper examines the state of the gearbox after over two decades of use and how all these factors result in lowering carbon emissions.
Future electric and hybrid electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles will require high-efficiency and lightweight electric motor-driven propulsion systems. One key to designing an optimum electric motor-driven propulsion system, is to have a method for estimating the mass and efficiency of a gearbox for different power levels, motor speeds, and propeller speeds. Understanding the trade space for gearbox mass and efficiency allows the overall optimization of the propulsion system.
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.
More energy efficiency, higher performance and better controllability are the main reasons why more electric drive systems are being operated with frequency converters. However, these devices can cause high-frequency, asymmetrical interference currents, which, as a current passage through the output and fan-side bearings, can cause damage and premature failure.
Current-compensated CoolBlue toroidal cores made of Magnetec’s nanocrystalline material Nanoperm have proven to be effective protection against such conducted interference and its consequences. In addition, the Nanoperm Line Absorbers NaLA can also be used to significantly suppress symmetrical interference currents.
The drive system choice is dependent on key motion features of your application. Lead screws offer self-locking capabilities, while ball screws require brakes to prevent back-driving. The choice between them hinges on efficiency, cost, precision, and speed, with the screw drives themselves paired with a linear guide for optimal performance.
Bellows couplings are commonly used in applications requiring precise rotation, high speeds, and dynamic motion transmission. With zero backlash and a high level of torsional stiffness, they offer clear performance advantages in many servo-driven systems.
The Simplicity self-lubricating linear plain bearings are built to last, and they will often out-perform and last longer than a traditional linear ball bearing. Called the “little red bearing” by loyal customers, they have been a popular replacement for failing ball bearings. Simplicity plain bearings will not catastrophically fail.
The difference between a smooth-running drive and constant headaches? The right timing belt and pulley plus a whole lot more. Discover what works, what doesn’t, and put your design skills to the test—engineer your best system yet!
Discover how Regal Rexnord’s Bauer™ PMSM gear motor helped a transportation company streamline inventory, cut energy use, and save $80,000 annually. Learn how this scalable solution delivers financial, operational, and sustainability gains across facilities.
Forest City Gear manufactures extremely high-precision gears made for the most advanced robotics, right in Roscoe, IL. This family-owned team of gearheads specialize in high-precision gears engineered to handle the most demanding robotic applications—on Earth, and way beyond.
Feb 11, 2026
The Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) of RWTH Aachen University has entered the two-year “NAFTech” research project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Together with the Institute of Electrical Energy Conversion (IEW) at University of Stuttgart and the Chair of Manufacturing Automation and Production Systems (FAPS) at FAU Erlangen, the PEM team will be developing an electric motor as a traction drive that does not require the use of rare-earth elements and will still offer a great degree of compactness, efficiency, and high torque density.
Turntide Technologies (Turntide) will unveil the Turntide Axial Flux Electric Drive Unit (EDU) during CONEXPO-CON/AGG (CONEXPO). This Axial Flux EDU provides electric and hybrid system manufacturers of any size with a configurable, proven and scalable platform that can remove months, if not years, of component-level testing, decreasing time and cost to market.
Mar 17, 2026 - Mar 18, 2026
The Generis American Manufacturing Summit (AMS) has a rich history as an exclusive platform for manufacturing leaders—and now in its 12th year, it remains a premier manufacturing summit and one of the top manufacturing events for executives, built for high-level, in-person knowledge exchange and solution exploration.
Oct 18, 2026 - Oct 21, 2026
Nov 17, 2026 - Nov 20, 2026
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Power 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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