Experts gathered at the 9th CTI Symposium to discuss the challenges of reducing noise, improving energy efficiency and meeting the changing demands of the marketplace

At Hannover Messe, Power Transmission Engineering had the opportunity to sit down with Stefan Hantke, president of the Industrial North America division of Schaeffler USA, to discuss the current stateof- the-art in bearings manufacturing, the trends in industrial bearings and the current state of U.S. manufacturing. (In the meantime Stefan Hantke has taken over responsibility for the global sales activities of Schaeffler Industrial)

Behind a thick sheet of unblemished glass that stretches from wall-to-wall, ceilingto- floor at Delta Gear, just south of a shop lined with ultramodern grinding machines whirring away, is Scott Sakuta’s aquarium.

Machine and equipment manufacturers today are feeling more pressure than ever to reduce costs without sacrificing machine performance — a balancing act difficult to achieve. OEMs often overlook a simple solution that can have a positive, long-term impact on profitability for themselves and their customers, i.e. — the elimination of bearing lubricant.

End market conditions for the power transmission industry continue to worsen. With the Euro down 13% year to date and U.S. oil production surging we are seeing increasing headwinds, if not storm clouds, for the sector.

Circular pitch gives me the size of the teeth in my mind, but diametral pitch does not. What is the purpose of the diametral pitch concept? Does it merely avoid pi in calculation?

Enhancing production with — and for — less is the standing order in today’s manufacturing world. Speeding up production while at the same time looking for ways, to cut, for example, energy costs, is a tricky equation with no single answer; where and how management goes about achieving that can take several paths.

During the past three decades there has been an evolution in the advancement and use of highly engineered plastics in bearing applications.

After a sluggish 2013, annual installations of new wind turbines grew by 44% in 2014, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. And while much of that growth has been in Asia— particularly China, which now leads the world with 114 GW of installed capacity—the USA, Europe, and the rest of the world expect steady growth for the next couple of years as well (Fig. 1).

The first thing you see when you walk into Winzeler Gear is a pretty face. No, scratch that — the face is beautiful. Streamlined with chiseled cheek bones, delicate yet bold and strong, a half dozen photos of the feminine face line the building’s entranceway, enclosed tastefully in simple black picture frames, beckoning you to come further in with its pleasant warmth, repelling you to turn and leave with its foreign presence in such a location.