The complete Industry News section from the December 2009 issue of Power Transmission Engineering.

The first trade show dedicated specifically to small and community wind took place in Detroit, Michigan November 3–5. Denise Bode, American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) CEO, was pleased with the turnout for the event and the increasing potential for this segment of the wind energy market.

The complete technical calendar from the December 2009 issue of Power Transmission Engineering.

The Bearing Specialists Association explains the role of bearings in ensuring the efficient operation of machinery.

Sunnen grows product portfolio with motion control solution from Siemens.

In the history of machine tools, spindles have been very good relative to other bearings and structures on the machine. So quality professionals have developed a cache of tools—-ball bars, grid encoders displacement lasers, etc.—-to help them characterize and understand the geometry of the structural loop. But as machine tools have improved in their capability and precision, and the demands of part-geometry and surface finish have become more critical, errors in spindles have become a larger percentage of the total error.

Now more than ever, manufacturing companies are examining what steps need to be taken to ensure improvements to machine reliability by predicting system failures and minimizing downtime.

The recent trend toward using segmented laminations as a means to increase slot fill and facilitate automated fabrication of electric machines comes with a penalty of increased core loss at the segment joints.

Wind is the talk of the town. It has become especially relevant to the power transmission community where bearings, gears, couplings, motors and gearboxes are providing the equipment for this thriving alternative energy industry. It comes as no surprise that the Windpower 2009 Conference and Exhibition, arriving in Chicago from May 4–7, will be the largest gathering of wind energy professionals and technologies to date.

The federal government estimates that manufacturing uses about one third of the energy consumed in the U.S., so manufacturing companies can play an important role in building a sustainable future.