[advertisement]

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

[advertisement]

Feature Articles

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)

.

Electrification Upgrade

When Australian steelmaker InfraBuild needed two new circuit breakers to provide backup for its main electric arc furnace, ABB had the solution—its VD4-AF vacuum circuit breaker with an innovative servomotor actuation system that delivers more than five times the operations of a standard breaker, supporting greater reliability and safety as well as lower operational costs.

.

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.

.

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.

.

[advertisement]

Gear Drives

Gears

Atlanta Drive Systems, Inc., Farmingdale, NJ, offers rack and pinion systems, actuators, gearboxes, servo reducers and lubrication systems for many different industries including machine tool, automation, aerospace, woodworking, material handling, robotic, food, packaging, stone and special machinery. PTE recently discussed the company’s lubrication solutions with Peter Alfano, senior applications engineer.

Bearings

Between trade shows including MINExpo and CES 2025, we’ve been treated to a great deal of new technology in areas like mining, agriculture, construction and heavy industrial components. Liebherr has modified its component portfolio to include digital measurement, electrification and maintenance-free technologies. Liebherr’s component product segment offers advanced solutions for slewing bearings and slew drives that meet the rising demands across a variety of applications and industries. These components are future-ready and play a vital role in making operations much more efficient.

Motors

As dry running systems, electric motors operate on reduced lubrication versus their gas-powered wet-running counterparts, requiring specific sealing solutions to manage friction and heat generation.

[Sponsored Content]

Videos

Gear Manufacturing Partner | Vector Companies

Vector Companies is a global platform of gear, shaft, and custom component manufacturers that helps innovators move faster from print to production with dependable, high-quality parts.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Mar 31, 2026

The Motion + Power Manufacturers Alliance (MPMA) announces that its President, Matthew Croson, will retire on April 1. Jennifer Blackford will assume the role of President, effective immediately.

PRODUCT NEWS

With its latest IE5+ motor generation, system provider Nord Drivesystems offers high-efficiency solutions to reduce energy and resource consumption. The company has extended the power of its compact permanent magnet synchronous motors to 11 kilowatts (kW). 

CALENDAR

WZL Gear Conference USA

Jul 15, 2026 - Jul 16, 2026

The WZL Gear Conference USA will take place on July 15 and 16, 2026, at KLINGELNBERG America, Inc. This renowned conference brings together North American companies with the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) at RWTH Aachen University and offers a compact overview of current developments and research topics in gear technology.

Fabtech Canada

Jun 9, 2026 - Jun 11, 2026

Hannover Messe 2026

Apr 20, 2026 - Apr 24, 2026

WorldPM2026

Jun 25, 2026 - Jun 29, 2026

[advertisement]

Current Issue


Current Issue
Archives
Subscribe

Buyer's Guide

Accessories Actuators Adjustable Speed Drives Bearings Belting & Belt Drives Brakes Chain & Chain Drives Clutches Controls Couplings & U-Joints Fluid Power Gear Drives Gear Manufacturing Services Gears Industrial Hardware and Machine Parts Linear Motion Devices Lubrication Motors Resources Seals Sensors Services Software

The Power Transmission Engineering Buyers Guide is your complete directory of suppliers of mechanical power transmission components, including great companies like these.


VIEW ALL

×

Like What You see?

Power Transmission Engineering magazinePower Transmission Engineering is THE magazine of mechanical components. PTE is written for engineers and maintenance pros who specify, purchase and use gears, gear drives, bearings, motors, couplings, clutches, lubrication, seals and all other types of mechanical power transmission and motion control components.

E-mail

Choose at least one from the options below:

 Power Transmission Engineering magazine, published 8 times per year (print or digital).

 Power Transmission Engineering e-mail newsletter, published weekly.

 Special Offers and promotions via e-mail from Power Transmission Engineering's advertisers and partners.

*Unsubscribe any time.
Full details in our privacy policy
Already a subscriber? Log in