A reader asks: I have heard that new axles no longer need a break-in period. True or false?

What was once targeted specifically toward the machine tool and metalworking industries, IMTS 2014 in Chicago spent a great deal of time and resources on automation, controls, mechanical components, self-diagnostics and an increase in productivity on the shop floor.

It's not a show title that rolls off the tongue, but the Industrial Automation North America and MDA NA @IMTS 2014 show nevertheless may well be one to remember.

See the latest videos online at powertransmission.com, including an overview of mounted bearing technology from Baldor-Dodge.

Most of you probably think you know what IMTS is about—machine tools, cutting tools, and various manufacturing processes. And if you stick to the North, South and West halls, you’ll be mostly right. But there’s a substantial group of exhibitors in the East building that are dedicated to automation, motion control and mechanical components.

How does one draw and mesh involute gear teeth in AutoCAD?

A critical problem for wind turbine gearboxes is failure of rolling element bearings where axial cracks form on the inner rings. This article presents field experience from operating wind turbines that compares the performance of through-hardened and carburized materials. It reveals that through-hardened bearings develop WEA/WECs and fail with axial cracks, whereas carburized bearings do not. The field experience further shows that a carburized bearing with a core having low carbon content, high nickel content, greater compressive residual stresses, and a higher amount of retained austenite provides higher fracture resistance and makes carburized bearings more durable than through-hardened bearings in the wind turbine environment.

If you attended IFPE 2014 in Las Vegas (colocated with ConExpo and Con/AGG), chances are you saw plenty of products and technologies set to redefine the construction and off-highway markets. It's a safe bet, however, that you didn't see everything. Between the outdoor maze of cranes and construction equipment and the eye-opening, innovative booths at IFPE, it's okay to admit that you may have suffered from a case of information overload. Here are a few points of interest for those that didn't attend IFPE this year or didn't see everything they wanted to see.

IFPE offers the right balance of technology and education.

PTE Video from SKF, LinkedIn contribution from Dassault Systemes, Twitter updates on IFPE 2014 and a shout-out to the Gear Technology blog.