Siemens Digital Industries Software recently announced the opening of eXplore Live at The Smart Factory @ Wichita, an experience center convened by Deloitte that marries an ecosystem of world-leading organizations with business strategy and cutting-edge technology to demonstrate Industry 4.0. 

Industrial maintenance consists of keeping equipment running as long as possible. Corrective, preventive and now predictive maintenance has taken a long time to be recognized as an activity in its own right. Since then, it has shown its importance and added value to the point of being a lever for continuous improvement and development in companies.

The first fully automated McDonald's has arrived in Fort Worth, Texas. Here, a conveyor belt serves customers food they order online or using a kiosk machine. The fast-food restaurant has no seats, tables or drive-thru greeters.

The Dudley, UK factory of The Timken Company supplies the engineered bearings it manufactures into a multitude of industries including mining, food and beverage, pulp and paper, cement, marine, and wastewater. Recently there has been a significant increase in demand for larger bearings up to 1,200 mm in diameter for use in the construction of wind turbines, which promises exponential growth in the coming years as countries across the globe work towards meeting their green energy targets.

For optimal gear design in accordance with requirements, it is essential to consider load spectra under the most realistic conditions possible as early as the virtual basic design phase. This is the only way to ensure that all components are loaded as evenly as possible to avoid overdimensioning.

Optimized design saves resources and costs and improves the CO₂ balance – an aspect that is becoming increasingly important in the current environment and can offer a competitive advantage. Load spectrum calculations are also important for replacing complex time and cost-intensive experiments by simulating test rig damage tests.

Next-generation technology—everything from the electrification of vehicles to e-motors, bearings, mechatronics, and thermal management—was discussed during the Schaeffler Symposium 2022 in Detroit. I sat down with Jitesh Modi, director of engineering, during the event to discuss the “reinvention” of bearings for EV applications.

Across three days, the relaunched Smart Production Solutions (SPS) 2022 event in Nuremberg, Germany, attracted a total of almost 44,000 visitors in November.

Patience was the theme in Dearborn, Mich., in late October when Gerdau hosted speakers from the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), Wards Intelligence, Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association, Munro & Associates, American Axle, AGMA, and the company’s own Denise Correa De Oliveira for a comprehensive discussion on the present and future challenges facing the electric vehicle market.

NORD DRIVESYSTEMS delivers intralogistics solutions that focus on high-efficiency, intelligent automation, and reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Their innovative drive solutions are extremely versatile and used throughout the world in a wide variety of applications including storage and retrieval systems, transfer carts, and conveyor systems. NORD’s modular product portfolio consists of reliable, UNICASE gear units with long service life, powerful high-efficiency motors, and dynamic variable frequency drives that optimize automation. Easy to service and maintain, NORD drives reduce standstill times and contribute to an increased efficiency and availability of entire systems.

Kollmorgen is all about innovation, constantly investing in collaborations and research projects to exchange knowledge and expertise with partners and universities across the world. Not only does it generate creativity amongst employees, but it also helps customers, partners, and students worldwide to realize their ideas. Someone who is much involved in Kollmorgen’s innovation projects and initiatives is Simon Bokesand, senior innovation engineer.