There is an increasing trend toward integrating evermore compact smart components into larger, more complex motion control systems, and advances in AI, ML, and IIoT are helping with the speed and quality of their adoption.

Wind-turbine drivetrains undergo severe transient loading during start-ups, shut-downs, emergency stops, and during grid connections. Load cases that result in torque reversals may be particularly damaging to bearings, as rollers may be skidding during the sudden relocation of the loaded zone. Seals and lubrication systems must work reliably over a wide temperature variation to prevent the ingress of dirt and moisture and perform effectively at all rotational speeds in the gearbox. Many wind-turbine gearboxes have also suffered from fundamental design issues such as ineffective interference fits that result in unintended motion and wear, ineffectiveness of internal lubrication paths and problems with sealing. Improving the resistance of future gearbox designs to all these issues is a key to the future cost of energy generated by wind turbines.

Overall, the Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia saw 3,815 attendees, hosted 94 technical sessions, and had 274 exhibiting companies. Many attendees commented on the value of networking conversation at the show. From 2021 to 2022, TPS saw an increase in international delegates, with just 19 countries represented in 2021, to 44 countries represented in 2022. Below is a taste of the booths we had the chance to visit.

It can’t be easy starting a new car company let alone bringing back an old one that ended almost as soon as it began. The original DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) headed by John DeLorean went spectacularly bankrupt in 1982 due to issues of quality among other things. Yet DeLorean once said, “It’s inevitable that the company come back,” and despite many attempts by various parties to revive the company over the years, DMC is now back to the future of automobiles deep in the heart of Texas.

The Houston Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia (TPS) began as a 200-person Turbomachinery Symposium on the campus of Texas A&M University in 1972. The Pump Symposium was founded in 1984 and joined with Turbo for a singular event in 2011. TPS is a vital industry event that offers a forum for the exchange of ideas between rotating equipment engineers and technicians worldwide. For nearly 50 years, TPS is known for its impact on turbomachinery, pump, oil & gas, petrochemical, power, aerospace, chemical, and water industries through two pathways: the technical program and the exhibition.

The complexity of supply chain issues in a globally interdependent economy is vast, and there are multiple aspects to be addressed in each problem. Food supply has been in the spotlight throughout the pandemic and considering inflation and other factors, the issues aren’t likely to disappear overnight. However, companies like Warner Electric, Force Control, and Miki Pulley are literally putting the brakes on some of these issues with solutions for today and tomorrow. Warner Electric and Miki Pulley both offer brake solutions that include various robotic and battery-powered agricultural equipment being developed for the future while Force Control addresses the here and now with a brake solution for a palletizer problem that was disrupting production at National Frozen Foods.