I am bummed my schedule prevented a quick trip to CES 2026 in Las Vegas this year. Last year, I was wandering the technology halls studying the latest drones, e-bikes, humanoid robots, and electric motor technologies.
Greetings 2026! As expected, EV demand has waned following some deregulation and tax credits being dropped as of September 2025. For us industry folks, this is simply reality catching up with the narrative. On the plus side, 2025 was a very good year for global vehicle sales–the best since 2019 (Ref. 1). A good economy can forgive many blunders. As gearbox designers, our work continues as our EV offerings are likely a permanent part of our product lineup, even if at a reduced volume. When it comes to single speed offset gearboxes, many OE’s have a similar 3 parallel shaft design, running ratios typically between 7:1 to 15:1. Some higher speed boxes are going above 20:1 ratio now, but the basic architecture is unchanged. The Tesla design shown here is a common baseline design:
Due to the need for mass reduction, tight packaging, and overall car performance, it is necessary to reduce the weight and dimensions of every component of the car, including the gearbox and other drivetrain components. It is also very important to ensure that gears, bearings, and shafts can withstand the whole racing season and have the necessary safety factor. Using KISSsoft software, FSB Racing Team was able to develop a new gearbox for the AWD Formula Student car, which can easily fit inside upright and withstand 50 hours of racing.
Drones are tasked with providing state-of-the-art autonomous capabilities, unique movements, automated inspection, urban delivery solutions and advanced military operations. They upgrade agricultural farming technology, provide safety and logistic solutions and report key disaster and engineering mapping. PT components such as motors, controllers, and sensors are an integral part of their core structure.
Humanoids and cobots are rapidly serving the needs of the warehouse, logistics, material handling and packaging sectors allowing skilled workers to turn their attention to more pressing matters on the shop floor. According to MasterControl (matercontrol.com) digital transformation is revolutionizing life sciences manufacturing, driving key trends in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.
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.
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.
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)
Productive Robotics sets the new standard for simplifying robotic automation. OB7 ensures simplicity in use and versatility, easy automation of existing production and new set-ups, increased output, consistency, and quality. It emphasizes teaching the robot rather than programming. Productive Robotics' OB7 collaborative robots are currently used in many diverse applications due to their simplicity, capability, and affordability.
For decades, motion power engineers have quietly driven the planet toward efficiency. High-performance motors, tighter tolerances, variable-frequency drives, predictive maintenance—incremental gains multiplied across millions of machines have reduced energy waste and carbon footprints. These advances were rarely celebrated, but they mattered.
ABB launched the Baldor-Reliance V*S Master RS to give operators a cost-competitive, variable-speed solution for vector-duty applications. Its rolled-steel frame provides dependable durability in a lightweight, economical design.
The latest model ETP Shaft Locking Devices from Zero-Max work via a self-contained hydraulic system and provide more key benefits than traditional mechanical wedge-style shaft locking devices, ensuring high performance, accuracy, and durability in today’s motion systems. They provide far superior timing, synchronization and adjustability features.
Gravity-loaded axes in robotics applications must be safe. At the SPS 2025 in Nuremberg, Mayr Power Transmission showed the new generation of ROBA topstop safety brakes make this possible in smart environments. The compatible ROBA brake-checker module enables permanent brake monitoring. Combined with the ROBA gateway, the system delivers valuable data for proactive machine maintenance, a digital twin, and smart production environments. In addition, a practical checklist supports brake validation.
With a new fully integrated gearbox-pinion-rack combination, Neugart expands its portfolio with a high-performance solution for maximum precision and efficiency in rack applications. The new concept combines optimally matched components that enable powerful, dynamic, and precise power transmission.
Quaker Houghton has announced the launch of three new hardware within its QH Fluid Intelligence platform, significantly expanding the company’s portfolio of automated fluid management solutions. The new QH Fluidcontrol XMS 100 & 200 systems deliver automated monitoring and control of fluid parameters with accuracy that far exceeds traditional hardware, while the QH Fluidmonitor GQ provides precision monitoring for demanding grinding applications.
Actuators transmit torque with high precision and minimal compliance and are essential for enabling humanoid robots to move accurately and efficiently. On average, 25 to 30 actuators are required in total for joints such as the shoulders, knees, and hips. While conventional actuators often offer limited or no back-drive-ability – that is, the ability to move the drive in reverse – Schaeffler’s planetary gear actuator enables smooth back-driving and high precision thanks to its innovative design. In addition, Schaeffler manufactures all components entirely in-house, ensuring the highest levels of quality and reliability. Humanoid robots will play a key role in the industry of tomorrow, as they can be seamlessly integrated into existing work environments, relieve employees of repetitive and ergonomically demanding tasks, and significantly increase productivity as a result.
Whether it’s moving a coil of sheet steel to a stamping line or setting a massive cast iron forging onto the bed of a CNC boring mill, manufacturers depend on cranes, trolleys, and hoists to lift and transport heavy objects. This is the job of OMi Crane Systems, a company that’s been designing, building, and servicing industrial lifting systems since 1969.
Flender, a global manufacturer specializing in mechanical and electrical drive technology, has certified Atlanta Gear Works as a Flender Service Partner.
A 125-year-old company headquartered in Bocholt, Germany, Flender offers a wide range of gear units, couplings and generators for various heavy industries, with a particular focus on the wind energy sector. Its services include installation, commissioning and maintenance.
Teradyne Robotics will open a new U.S. Operations Hub in Wixom, MI, in 2026. This strategic expansion reflects Teradyne Robotics’ commitment to operating close to its customers and meeting the growing manufacturing demand in the U.S. and the Americas.
The team at David Brown Santasalo (DBS Canada) recently carried out the successful delivery of a time-sensitive and complex service project for a valued, long-standing customer in the mining industry. This project supported operations at a gold mine located in one of the most remote regions of northern Canada, just below the Arctic Circle.
AILOS Robotics has raised €3.5 million to industrialize its patented R2poweR gearbox, targeting lighter, safer, and more energy-efficient actuation for humanoids, cobots, and wearable robotics. The VUB BruBotics spin-off is backed by a cross-border group of Belgian and German deep-tech investors and is moving into pilot projects for next-generation robotic systems.
The Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) announces that registration is now open for the 2026 STLE Annual Meeting & Exhibition: Innovating Through Tribology & Lubrication, May 17-21, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. The STLE community and global tribology and lubrication engineering experts will gather for five days of technical training, industry education and business networking at the meeting.
Portescap has reached a major milestone in its aerospace journey: all three of its manufacturing facilities – West Chester, Pennsylvania; Mahape, India; and Mumbai, India – are now AS9100 certified. This achievement underscores the company’s alignment with the aerospace industry’s highest standards for quality and safety.
Siemens Mobility has awarded Schaeffler the 2025 Supplier Award in the ‘Moving Beyond’ category. The award was in recognition of the newly developed bearing for inboard-mounted powered wheelsets, which was optimized in collaboration with Siemens Mobility for use in high-speed trains. It will be used, for example, in the Siemens Velaro in Deutsche Bahn’s ICE fleet.
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