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System Design

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2025-04-01

FVA–Workbench: The Foundation for Digital Twins

The digital transformation is fundamentally changing the industry, and digital twins play a central role. They enable real-time monitoring of physical systems, simulation of their behavior, and informed decision-making. A dissertation from the TU Darmstadt Institute for Product Development and Machine Elements (pmd) shows how the FVA-Workbench gearbox design software can be implemented as a platform for creating digital twins of industrial gearboxes. The results demonstrate how the combination of detailed modeling, continuous real-time calculations, and engaging dashboard visualization offers an efficient and user-friendly solution for the development of digital twins. 

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2025-03-27

Siemens Completes Acquisition of Altair Engineering

Siemens announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Altair Engineering Inc., a leading provider of software in the industrial simulation and analysis market, for an enterprise value of approximately USD 10 billion. With this acquisition, Siemens extends its leadership in simulation and industrial artificial intelligence (AI) by adding new capabilities in mechanical and electromagnetic simulation, high-performance computing (HPC), data science and AI. 

EVENT | 2025-03-27

Realize Live Americas

Realize Live Americas (Detroit) is the digital transformation conference designed for professionals in engineering, manufacturing, product lifecycle management, design and IT/software administration. ​Connecting users, industry experts and partners to share insights and explore the latest trends, technologies and best practices.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2025-03-20

Teradyne Robotics to Debut AI Accelerator-Powered Solutions at NVIDIA GTC 2025

Teradyne Robotics and its partners are set to unveil a suite of advanced, AI-driven robotics solutions at NVIDIA GTC 2025 March 17-21. The unveiling represents the first public demonstration of the AI Accelerator in commercially viable applications.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2025-03-19

KISSsoft 2025 Available in April

The new KISSsoft Release brings innovations and enhancements for results visualization, allowing you to design even more efficiently, precisely, and productively. Within Gleason’s strategy "Design– Manufacturing – Measure", KISSsoft continues to add functions for simulating cylindrical gear manufacturing. After all, you target a gear design combining the highest strength with low manufacturing costs. KISSsoft offers a variety of rating procedures. Additionally, bearing ratings methods according to Timken have been added.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2025-02-18

GWJ Introduces 2025 Seminar Schedule

GWJ Technology is starting a new seminar schedule in 2025. This year, GWJ is once again offering a wide range of different seminars that can be booked as online seminars or, if desired, as traditional face-to-face events. The online seminars are designed to be interactive and provide a comprehensive insight into the respective topic. Practical exercises deepen the content. Online seminars take place over two or three days and last two hours each. 

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2024-12-12

Virtual End-of-Line Test

Tooth contact analysis is an integral part of the gear design process. With the help of these simulation tools, it is possible to calculate the excitation caused by a tooth contact (Ref. 1). Usually, the load-free transmission error or the total transmission error under load is used for this purpose. However, the calculation with the tooth contact analysis ZAKO3D allows only a quasi-static consideration of the excitation. To better evaluate the behavior in the overall system, it is therefore necessary to perform a dynamics simulation. However, the main disadvantage of such dynamics simulations is the much longer computing time compared to quasi-static tooth contact analyses due to the high computational effort.

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PRODUCT NEWS | 2024-10-23

Siemens Digital Announces Solid Edge 2025 and Solid Edge X

Siemens Digital Industries Software has announced the 2025 release of Solid Edge software, bringing new capabilities to its product development software. The latest release also introduces Solid Edge X software, delivering a cloud-enabled secure Software as a Service (SaaS) environment, enhanced with new AI-enabled tools to help users work smarter.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2024-08-05

Holistic Assessment of Drive Systems with Gears, Shafts and Bearings Using Measured Torque-Speed Data

Verification of a drive system should include all main elements of the system, which are gears, bearings, shafts, and depending on the application other parts such as screws, couplings, and connections. Gears are clearly the most complicated parts for verification, but in many cases, a gearbox failure has its origin in a shaft or bearing failure. The subject of this paper is to explain how verification of a drive system based on measured or simulated torque-speed-time data can be handled. 

PRODUCT NEWS | 2024-07-12

Siemens Digital Announces NX Software Updates

Siemens Digital Industries Software has announced the latest updates to its NX software from the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio bringing new and enhanced capabilities to Siemens’ flagship product engineering software that aim to help designers and manufacturers across all industries deliver better, optimized products to market faster.

REVOLUTIONS | 2024-04-19

Hexagon Examines Four Building Blocks of the Industrial Metaverse

It’s common to hear the metaverse described as a 3D experience layer of the internet. The “industrial metaverse” is a more difficult concept to define. According to Forrester, it’s an umbrella term for a collection of different technologies. Some of those technologies have existed for years just waiting to come together.

Following a previous blog on the topic, Understanding the Industrial Metaverse, in this blog Stephen Graham, executive vice president and general manager, Nexus, takes an introductory look at the four building blocks, highlighting some of the key issues.

REVOLUTIONS | 2024-03-01

Mechatronic Methodology

IIjin Electric's collaboration with Siemens began with the company's efforts to effectively integrate electrical design with mechanical design. “This collaboration went beyond simply changing tools. It represented a major advancement in the company's design approach and methodology.

PRODUCT NEWS | 2024-02-13

FVA-Workbench Version 9 Redefines Gearbox Design

With the release of version 9, the FVA-Workbench once again sets new standards in gearbox design, enabling the seamless integration of the latest research results into industrial practice. As a groundbreaking interface between collective research and application, the FVA-Workbench accelerates development and innovation in drive technology. This new release is more powerful than ever, with innovative features for flexible load spectra and improvements in FEM components and shaft-hub connections.

REVOLUTIONS | 2023-11-01

Solid Edge 2024 Focuses on Performance and User Experience

Solid Edge is a portfolio of affordable, easy-to-use software tools that address all aspects of the product development process. Solid Edge combines the speed and simplicity of direct modeling with the flexibility and control of parametric design – made possible with synchronous technology. The following Q&A discusses Solid Edge 2024 with Dan Staples, vice president, mainstream engineering, Siemens Digital Industries Software.

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INDUSTRY NEWS | 2023-08-17

Tianneng Battery Selects Siemens Digital Software Portfolio

Siemens Digital Industries Software recently announced that Tianneng Battery Group Co., Ltd. has selected the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of industry software to help it drive innovation and enable digital manufacturing in new battery production.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2023-04-28

Siemens and IBM Collaborate on Software Product Development

Siemens Digital Industries Software and IBM recently announced they are expanding their long-term partnership by collaborating to develop a combined software solution integrating their respective offerings for systems engineering, service lifecycle management and asset management.
  

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2023-04-06

KISSsoft Expands Fine Sizing Capabilities with Release 2023

In an urgent assignment, a gear has to be designed, with the engineer already knowing the required reduction ratio, torque and speed. On the manufacturing side, the preferred materials, possible qualities and the reference profiles are specified. This initial situation represents an everyday task.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2023-04-06

KISSsoft Supports Student Racing Team in Taiwan

NYCU (National Yang Ming Chia Tung University) Vulpes Racing—founded in 2008—is a Formula Student Team that combines mechanical engineering, industrial design, public relations, video production and marketing expertise. 

PRODUCT NEWS | 2023-03-31

Nord Highlights Drive Solutions at Interpack 2023

At Interpack in Dusseldorf, the drive specialist Nord Drivesystems will present its wide product portfolio and great expertise in the packaging industry from May 4-10, 2023 – from decentralized frequency inverters to energy-efficient drives to high-performance surface treatments for washdown or spray areas.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2023-03-22

A Model for Considering Wheel Body Deformation in Tooth Contact Load Distribution

This study presents a simulation method for considering complex wheel bodies in an analytical tooth contact model. The wheel body is considered using reduced FE stiffness. Reduction points are defined over the width and linked with the analytical gear.

For cylindrical wheel bodies, comparative calculations show fewer deviations from the expected results with the new method. This is due to the additional degrees of freedom in the FEM model. In the calculation with cylindrical wheel bodies, bending due to axial force in tooth contact could also be verified in addition to the deformation in tooth contact and the influence of the shaft-bearing system.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2023-03-21

Ball Bearing Inner Ring Fits and Creep

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.

REVOLUTIONS | 2022-09-26

Software Bits 2022

What's the latest in software design and simulation in the power transmission market? Here's a recap of some of the latest software solutions for bearings, gears, drivetrains and e-mobility applications.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2022-09-13

An Automotive and Industrial Difference Maker

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2022-07-11

MESYS Software Version 06/2022 is Available

A new version of the MESYS shaft and rolling bearing analysis software including new functionality is available. The bearing analysis software allows the calculation of the load distribution within the bearing and bearing life according to ISO/TS 16281 and it is integrated in a shaft system calculation with additional possibilities like modal analysis, strength calculation for shafts and interfaces to gear calculations. Currently the software is used by customers in 30 countries on four continents.

PRODUCT NEWS | 2022-05-23

Siemens Digital Offers Simcenter Update to Improve Accuracy, Flexibility and Connectivity

Siemens Digital has added features and updates for Simcenter SPEED, Simcenter Motorsolve and Simcenter MAGNET 2022.1 to improve accuracy, flexibility and connectivity. This 2022.1 update makes Simcenter SPEED and Simcenter Motorsolve more accurate and better integrated to Simcenter STAR-CCM+.

PRODUCT NEWS | 2022-04-20

Gates Launches Belt Drive Software Platform

Gates has announced the launch of Gates Design Power, a new software platform offering multiple digital design tools to support the engineering and specification of belt-drive systems across a broad array of applications, making the process easier and more robust than ever before.  

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2022-04-12

Breaking the 4th Industrial Wall

Manufacturing is facing constant challenges stemming from labor shortages and disrupted supply chains to productivity declines and the high replacement and maintenance costs of legacy equipment. Trends today include equipment upgrades, e-commerce, a push for more robotics and automation and faster software and IIoT solutions.

REVOLUTIONS | 2021-06-07

Maximizing Bearing Performance

Carrier and SKF Collaborate on Centrifugal Compressor Technology The opportunity to improve product design separates market lea...
| 2020-01-14

Signs of a Noisy Reference - Using Successive Approximation ADCs

High speed ADCs have become quite inexpensive and are commonly deployed. Care needs to be done when analyzing their outputs to determine s...
FEATURE ARTICLES | 2019-08-01

Using Couplings to Reduce Downtime

Downtime, downtime, downtime. When it's planned, it's bearable. When it's not, it's not. To maintain machinery, planned downtime is necessary. To fix broken equipment, unplanned downtime is excruciating, especially when your factory is running closer and closer to full capacity.
| 2019-05-02

Schaeffler Optimizes Lubrication Systems with Mechatronics

The following is an update on Schaeffler's DuraSense relubrication system for linear recirculating roller bearing, ball bearing, and guideway assem...
| 2019-03-28

Troubleshooting: Use ALL of Your Senses

Troubleshooting infrequent intermittent problems can be one of the most frustrating engineering...
| 2018-11-01

Chain-Stretch Monitoring System Prevents Plant Downtime

Chain drives are a critical part of the manufacturing process in many industries, whether the chains act as conveyors for glass containers or trans...
INDUSTRY NEWS | 2018-06-01

Industry News

The complete Industry News section from the June 2018 issue of Power Transmission Engineering.
PUBLISHER'S PAGE | 2018-03-01

Smarter Machines Need Smarter Components

The future of motion control is connectivity. Read this issue to learn why.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2018-03-01

A New Standardizable Calculation Method to Predict the Efficiency of Worm Gear Drives

In this work a physically based method for the tribological investigation of worm gears is presented.
PUBLISHER'S PAGE | 2017-06-01

Moving in the Right Direction

Over the past several months, members of our staff have traveled quite a bit, and we've had a lot of opportunities to gauge their confidence. And while nobody is overwhelmingly enthusiastic - nobody has told us this is their best year ever - almost everyone seems at least content with the stability that slow and steady growth provides.
| 2017-02-21

Avoiding Bearings "Made in Wherever"

You can always tell when times are good in the automotive market due to the flurry of acquisitions, mergers and divestitures. As we are coming off ...
FEATURE ARTICLES | 2015-06-01

Transmissions in Transition

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
FEATURE ARTICLES | 2013-02-01

Gear Design Software

When it comes to gear design software, the learning curve never ends. The leading vendors offer various training programs to keep their users well-informed.
TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2012-02-01

Guidelines for Designing Better Motion Control Systems

Motion control systems engineers work chiefly in two well-defined areas: 1) new designs and 2) redesigns or retrofits. This article examines the best approach for each option.
EVENTS | 2009-12-01

Michigan Eyes Investment at AWEA Small and Community Wind Conference

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.
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