The “World’s Fair of Metalworking” was back in town recently showing the world how AI, robotics, automation, manufacturing cells and machine integration is changing manufacturing technology today. IMTS in Chicago is still THAT PLACE, a physical trade show where people discuss the opportunities and challenges customers are encountering across all facets of manufacturing. It remains the one stop on the trade show circuit where you get a firm grasp on where manufacturing is and where it’s going.
Kalamazoo earned the nickname “Paper City” thanks to a papermaking industry that dominated its economy for more than a century. The industry began in 1866 when the Kalamazoo Paper Co. built the city’s first paper mill. The area was well-suited to papermaking because of abundant water from the Kalamazoo River, good rail access, and proximity to timber resources in northern Michigan.
Engineers rarely approach a linear motion project without some idea of the drive technology they expect to use. Previous experience may suggest a ball screw for an application requiring high precision, a lead screw where simplicity and low maintenance are priorities, or a belt-driven system for a long, high-speed axis. Motion designers therefore often begin discussions with manufacturers by requesting a particular solution. The questions that follow, however, are largely the same regardless of the technology specified. Instead of confirming the requested product, the focus tends to be more on understanding what the machine is expected to accomplish.
With sustainability now shaping equipment specifications, material selection, and operational decisions across packaging and processing, Pack Expo International 2026 will give manufacturers a one-stop destination to compare sustainable packaging technologies, learn from experts, and find solutions that support measurable environmental and business goals. The need is clear: more than 82 percent of end users say they are actively engaged in sustainability adoption, according to “2026 The Ripple Effect: CPG Sustainability and the New OEM Spec Sheet,” a new report from PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies.
MotionTech, headquartered in Stockholm, recently announced its entry into the United States market. The launch marks a significant milestone in the company’s international growth strategy, bringing a proven portfolio of automation and packaging technology to North American customers.
Supply chain challenges, global tariffs and rising energy prices make it extremely difficult to collaborate with multiple vendors on a mechanical engineering project. The biggest takeaway from Schaeffler’s incredibly informative and insightful Automotive Symposium in Detroit is how lucky the organization is to avoid these challenges thanks to an extremely robust product portfolio.
It is God’s own private mystery how the algorithms work, but somehow an old Warner Bros. cartoon titled Norman Normal entered my feed this week. Released in February 1968, it runs six minutes and is about a ball-bearing salesman caught in an ethical conundrum.
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Power 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.
