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Examining the EV Revolution

The North American outlook in 2026

We have all seen the Q4 2025 headlines around electric vehicle (EV) sales and they were not good. Ford recorded a $19.5B loss in EV pullbacks (Ref. 1). General Motors posted $6B in EV debt (Ref. 2). Stellantis took a $26B hit which was compounded by underperforming EV sales and recovery from the previous CEO’s disastrous cost-cutting strategy (Ref. 3). Also, notably, was the laundry list of not-long-ago hailed startups that have went bankrupt, often leaving investors, suppliers and employees holding the bag: Bollinger, Canoo, Nikola, ELMS, Lordstown, Fisker, Arrival, Proterra, Volta just to name a few. Many more are on the brink along with dozens of startup suppliers that enticed investors with untold wealth to be gained in the automotive revolution 2.0 (Ref. 6,13,14).

The Future of Medical Manufacturing

New technology trends in medical devices

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Feature Articles

On the Fly Rebuild

The call came into Atlanta Gear Works like any other—a vertical mill drive used for a crusher application in cement needed a gearbox upgrade. The difference this time was the sheer size and scope of the gearbox in question. Similarly-sized gearbox rebuilds could take a month or more to complete, but Atlanta Gear Works had 14 days to complete this rebuild—counting weekends—with a tight schedule leaving no room for error.

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Precision Under Pressure

Mechanical engineering develops the scientific and mathematical principles behind physical machines, but you can’t help feeling a little real-world magic taking place in the manufacture of components needed for large, heavy industrial applications. Cement production, for example, relies on gigantic equipment to grind raw materials using rotary kilns, ball mills, vertical mills and crushers.

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Implementing Mobile Robotics with Bosch Rexroth

Bosch Rexroth continues to expand the ctrlX platform with new capabilities and automation enhancements. The control platform ctrlX COREplus is now available with AI functions on all performance levels. In the area of motion and drives, Bosch Rexroth is presenting compact, energy-efficient, and cabinet-free drives from the ctrlX DRIVE portfolio, which cover virtually all performance ranges. These are complemented by the Motion, CNC, and Robotics software ctrlX MOTION, which is ideal solution for automating production machines and systems. PTE recently had a great conversation with Garrett Wagg, product manager, controls at Bosch Rexroth on new developments in mobile robotics.

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Battle-Tested Tech for Aerospace and Defense Operations

According to a recent study by Deloitte, the aerospace and defense industry stands at a pivotal crossroads as it enters the latter half of the decade. Forces that have shaped the sector in recent years—digital transformation, supply chain volatility, talent constraints, and geopolitical events—are converging with new catalysts such as agentic AI, emerging vehicles and the rapid evolution of autonomous systems. On the defense side, budgets are a key focus, with a growing emphasis on enhancing mission readiness. At the same time, defense priorities are shifting to accelerate the fielding of AI-enabled systems and collaborative combat aircraft. “Speed to field” is becoming the unifying metric across portfolios. (deloitte.com)

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Gear Drives

Gear drives are fundamental in most processing operations, connecting the prime mover to the driven equipment and ensuring that the system has enough torque to effectively move product. Correctly specifying and selecting the proper gear drives for critical applications leads to reliability, greater uptime and profitability.

Gears

The spectrum of machinery and equipment used in industrial automation includes everything from electric motors to robotics and each has its own unique attributes and sealing requirements. David Kaley, Trelleborg global segment manager for industrial automation, shares his expertise on speed reducers covering what they are, how they work and key considerations for correct sealing in this article. 

Bearings

Bearing damage due to electric current in variable frequency drives (VFD) is well understood as a general concept. What is not yet fully developed are the models that better predict when a system is at risk and where we should be looking for early signs of damage.

Motors

Demand for specialty wire and cable—fueled in part by data center expansion as well as new charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs)—is in turn creating greater demand for cable production capacity. As you design machines that will satisfy the demand, you’ll want to incorporate an effective driving method that controls speed and torque with the highest precision.

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Videos

Ultra-Compact Micro Actuator for Robotic Hands

With the goal of building a full lineup of actuators for every joint required in robot construction, Bonsystems has been developing robotic actuators and introducing the BCSA V4 Series. The BCSA Micro Series is a Cycloidal Micro Actuator designed specifically for robotic hands.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Mar 11, 2026

ABB Robotics is integrating NVIDIA Omniverse libraries into ABB Robotics’ RobotStudio to help manufacturers deploy physical AI in real world robotics applications. 

PRODUCT NEWS

The Flender One platform now covers all major industrial gearbox applications. With the latest addition of a universal housing concept, Flender One can now be configured for vertical, horizontal, or any mounting orientation. This advancement opens up entirely new applications that were previously impossible to serve with the platform, including agitators and mixers in chemical, food, and pharmaceutical industries, water screw pumps and aerators in water and wastewater treatment, separators, and travel drives in material handling and logistics.

CALENDAR

WorldPM2026

Jun 25, 2026 - Jun 29, 2026

The Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) presents the largest global powder metallurgy (PM) and particulate materials event that only happens once every six years in North America. The PM industry will come together where three conferences, the WorldPM2026, AMPM2026 and Tungsten2026, will be sintered into one global event. 

Automate 2026

Jun 22, 2026 - Jun 25, 2026

SME Fusion 2026

May 5, 2026 - May 6, 2026

EASA 2026 Convention

Jun 13, 2026 - Jun 16, 2026

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