ABB is celebrating the “floor pour” of its newest U.S. flagship campus at 18250 W. Lincoln Avenue. The greenfield location in New Berlin will serve as the U.S. headquarters, manufacturing facility and distribution center for the Drives and Motion Services businesses. The new facility is anticipated to open in late 2024 and will accommodate 720 ABB employees. Approximately $100 million is being invested in the project and is expected to create 100 new jobs over the next three years.

I think I spend more time talking about ball bearings today than at any other time in my career. Ball bearings have always had a large place in automotive, but not typically in high demand positions—other than a few niche areas. High demand positions, such as axles and planetaries, were typically reserved for tapers, needles and cylindricals. The landscape is changing quickly.

The following off-highway, construction and mining solutions hint at the all-electric transition taking place across each industry.

Some 4,000 companies from the general engineering, electrical, digital and energy industries will showcase solutions for the production and energy supply of the future at Hannover Messe. Dr. Robert Habeck, Germany's Federal Minister for Economics and Climate Action, is set to visit Hannover on the second day of the flagship event for dialog with representatives of industry on taking the path to climate-friendly production.

EV developers are finding a competitive edge through efficiency gains not only in new battery pack technology and electronic components, but also through new developments in electric machines.  

Siemens Digital Industries Software announced that the latest release of Simcenter software for mechanical simulation helps streamline electrification engineering projects, assists new aircraft meet margins of safety, simplifies durability testing across many industries and much more.

Electrification is changing the automotive industry wholesale. This online article looks at training and transmission technology courses available in the e-mobility sector today. Coursework includes examining gearbox structure to battery technology to health and safety issues. This expansion continues to prepare engineers, manufacturers, and technicians for the shift toward electric vehicles. 

Nidec Leroy-Somer has signed an agreement with Airbus to develop an electric motor for its hydrogen-powered fuel cell engine prototype, as part of Airbus’ ambition to bring the first zero-emission commercial aircraft to market by 2035. The long-standing expertise and extensive know-how of the French electric motor manufacturer, who already provides proven advanced technologies to many demanding industries, such as Navy, Nuclear, Railway, Automotive and Robotics is now collaborating on Aviation decarbonization. 

This article is Part III in a series of articles on speed rating of bearings. Part I appeared in the September 2022 issue ("Ball Bearing Limiting Speeds"), and Part II appeared in the October 2022 issue ("Ball Bearing Thermal Speed Rating"). Bearings with Norm examines the latest in bearing technology and design. 

Heat is also generated in an e-motor, sometimes quite a bit. In demanding applications, the motor electronics cause the power to be throttled or even shut down completely. But there is another clever way to protect an electric motor from overheating without losing power: using a thermally conductive casting resin as a heat transfer medium. The principle can also be called a static solid cooling system.