SmartSights, a provider of operational intelligence software that helps industrial teams improve response times, is integrating WIN-911 autonomous alerts notification software with PEER," an issue management and resolution accelerator.
Honeywell and NXP Semiconductors N.V. announced at CES 2025 an expanded partnership that will accelerate aviation product development and chart the path for autonomous flight. This builds on the companies' existing relationship, which is focused on helping optimize how building management systems sense and securely control energy consumption, announced at CES 2024.
The trade show circuit has offered a wealth of e-mobility and motor technologies recently. From IMTS and Pack Expo to MINExpo and CES 2025, there are plenty of disruptors in the motor segment for power transmission components. One area—in particular—is the aerospace industry where vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) rotorcrafts continue to redefine aerial transport, variable frequency drives (VFDs) support aircraft performance, stepper motors provide passenger comfort and software enables engineers to optimize electric motor design.
The Timken Company recently announced the appointment of Kimberly K. (Kim) Ryan to its Board of Directors. Her election increases The Timken Company Board to 13 members.
Regal Rexnord Corporation and Honeywell have announced that the two companies have entered into a multi-year collaboration to build technologies for the emerging Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) market and be installed on Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Airbus UpNext, a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus, and Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Toshiba), Toshiba Group’s energy arm, will cooperate and mutualize experience on superconducting technologies for future hydrogen-powered aircraft.
There’s no such thing as “Too Much Information” when it comes to warfare. Lockheed Martin believes it’s critical in today’s global landscape for a warfighter to act on information as soon as it is available. Leveraging the strengths of manned/unmanned teaming enables rapid action during combat situations. With the assistance of AI, this has the potential to increase situational awareness and improve combat efficiency and effectiveness for any warfighter.
Our next legacy entry is maxon, a global leading provider of electric drive systems. The company provides single-source DC and BLDC motors, gearheads, sensors, control electronics, mechatronic drive systems and more-from individual prototypes to large-scale production. The history of maxon begins with Interelectric AG in Frankfurt.
The Lego Technic NASA Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle—LRV set is a detailed 1:8 scale model of the original moon buggy used by NASA’s last three Apollo crews. Comprising 1,913 pieces, this set follows Lego’s earlier releases of the Saturn V rocket and Apollo 11 lunar module. The new Lego set will be available in stores on August 1.
SKF is providing key components for the next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA), a $2 billion telescope system that aims to peer deeper into the universe than ever before.
The European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope (ESO’s ELT), now being built in Chile, will be the world’s largest visible/near-infrared telescope on completion in 2028. Its 39m-wide main mirror comprises 798 separate hexagonal pieces, attached to a base structure using steel flanges and SKF Vibracon adjustable chocks.
Motion has signed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Allied Circuits, an electrical and automation firm. The transaction is expected to close later this month, subject to customary closing conditions.
Back in 1913, in Ann Arbor, MI., Leander J. Hoover founded the Hoover Steel Ball Company. In 1990, Tsubaki Nakashima company of Japan acquired the US ball manufacturing company and is currently the biggest manufacturer and supplier of precision balls in the world. Its first markets were the growing automotive and precision bearing industries. More than a century later, the electric vehicles (EV) market is becoming more and more relevant, though the combustible auto industry continues to grow. Its market for high-quality precision products has extended to medical, aerospace, military defense, and critical applications. After the great age of steel, a new era opened wide spaces for more extreme materials which paved the way for ceramics.
The robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) system incorporates the first-ever articulating camera. MIRA and spaceMIRA gain its strength in a small size by placing maxon’s motors inside the arms of the minibot. This structure allows the device to tackle a complex multi-quadrant procedure like colon resection across a broad range of patient types. The rigid, non-snake-like arms with internally mounted motors deliver the required strength to perform the surgeries while enabling triangulation of the camera and instruments.
Velo3D, Inc. announced Kratos SRE, Inc., a subsidiary of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., has acquired a Velo3D Sapphire printer to support Kratos’s technology development and ability to rapidly, reliably, and affordability address defense industry customers’ evolving requirements.
Portescap introduces the 08ECP20 brushless DC slotless motor, a mini actuation solution ideal for engineers looking to downsize devices and applications without compromising on performance or reliability. The 08ECP20 is the smallest frame size to join Portescap’s Ultra EC portfolio.
GKN Aerospace has boosted its commitment to sustainable manufacturing, with a £50 million (600 million SEK) investment in additive fabrication technology in Trollhättan, Sweden. GKN Aerospace has been at the forefront of additive fabrication for almost two decades, and has significant research and technology centers in Sweden, the UK and the US.
CES 2024 is taking place in Las Vegas this week from January 9-12, 2024. While there's plenty of opportunities to find the latest gadgets in personal tech, the show has evolved through the years to include some key exhibitors in areas like aerospace, e-mobility, and automation/robotics.
Portescap introduces the 60ECF brushless DC slotted flat motor, the newest frame size to join its flat motor portfolio and a significant expansion of its brushless flat technology capabilities. This 60mm BLDC motor features a 38.2mm body length and an outer rotor slotted configuration with an open body design, allowing it to deliver improved heat management in a compact package.
Siemens Digital Industries Software has announced that Space Machines Company (SMC), an Australian space on-orbit services and logistics startup, has used the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of industry software to design and build the Optimus Orbital Servicing Vehicle. One of the largest commercial spacecrafts being designed, manufactured, and assembled in Australia, is in development at the University of Technology Sydney’s Tech Lab.
Portescap has announced that its facility in Mumbai, India has attained AS9100 certification. Internationally recognized as the defining standard for Quality Management Systems (QMS) in the aerospace industry, AS9100 outlines a set of rigorous requirements that aerospace suppliers must meet to ensure the quality and safety of their products and services.
Stock Drive Products/Sterling Instrument (SDP/SI), a Designatronics, Inc. company, completed and passed its recertification AS9100:D and ISO 9001:2015 quality system audit. The audit, conducted by Intertek over a 5-day period, certifies SDP/SI’s quality management system conforms to AS and ISO standards.
Sales of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies’ premium Simriz perfluoroelastomeric (FFKM) compounds have increased by more than 100 percent in North America during the past 24 months. Buoyed in large measure by the compounds’ quality, superior performance capabilities, and near-immediate availability at a time when other supplies of FFKM have been unavailable, major companies in the aerospace, fluid handling, agriculture, and construction industries – as well as many of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies’ Preferred Distributors – now rely on Simriz compounds to fulfill their customers’ FFKM component requirements.
Stock Drive Products/Sterling Instrument (SDP/SI) recently announced that they will be manufacturing specialized precision components for a new locking system in support of the U.S. Postal Service’s initiative in preventing the theft of mail.
Hard work and good help can pay off, two young engineers have learned. Mixing undergraduate curiosity and real-world engagement together, two students from Colorado University (CU) Boulder Aerospace Engineering Sciences program, Zachary Lesan and Patrick Watson, started an independent effort on turbopump design and manufacture that is a lesson in determination and industry collaboration. Along the way, their project reinforced some significant points being made about next-generation rocketry.
Fred Young, 80, former president and CEO, Forest City Gear passed away on July 17, 2023. A graduate of Harlem High School, class of 1961, Young obtained his BA in English Literature from Rockford University, class of 1965, and went on to spend a year in the Navy Reserves. After spending nearly 40 years as an adventuring bachelor outdoorsman, he met the love of his life, Wendy Nutter, marrying her on the banks of the Wolf River on June 6, 1981. Fred’s greatest joys were his three daughters, whom he taught to always seek adventure, bestow kindness and generosity, treasure friendship, and work hard and play hard. Fred took over the family business, Forest City Gear, in 1967. Founded by his parents in 1955, Fred took the small mom-and-pop shop to a global level, leading the company to manufacture some of the world’s most difficult gearing for amazing end uses from NASA’s Martian rovers and space station to robotic arms and racing yachts.
After a long and successful OEM partnership with Ansys, RBF Morph has two proprietary products featured among the world simulation leader's offerings: Ansys RBF Morph Fluids and Ansys RBF Morph Structures.
The two simulation tools are based on RBF Morph's 10+ years of experience with 100+ global customers, including some of the top players and OEMs in the automotive and aerospace industries.
It is with great sadness that Forest City Gear announces the death of Fred Young, former president and CEO. Fred took over the family business, Forest City Gear, in 1967. Founded by his parents in 1955, Fred took the small mom-and-pop shop to a global level, leading the company to manufacture some of the world's most difficult gearing for amazing end uses from NASA's Martian rovers and space station to robotic arms and racing yachts.
SKF recently announced a supplier agreement with Lilium, developer of the first all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet. SKF has supported Lilium on the design of electric motor bearings for the Lilium Jet’s electric engine and has agreed to support the program by producing electric motor bearings for the type-conforming aircraft.
Portescap announces the release of the 45ECF brushless DC flat slotted motor, the latest addition to join our flat motor portfolio. The 45ECF features a performance optimized design that utilizes an outer rotor configuration with an overall diameter of 43.2 mm and a body length of only 22.5 mm. The motor features hall sensors to easily control speed and torque and can be provided sensorless based on application requirements. Additionally, the motor can be used in combination with existing gearbox designs to provide high output torque at required operational speeds.
The earliest example of a gear train dates to at least 2,000 B.C. when Chinese engineers built a chariot that used a complex planetary mechanism made of wooden gears to let a dragon head continuously point south when driven around (Ref. 1). In Greece, a surprisingly advanced Antikythera gearbox mechanism, incorporating at least 37 precisely crafted bronze gears, was built years later, between 205–60 B.C. (Ref. 2).
On the occasion of the company's 75th anniversary, Faulhaber received a special honor by the municipality of Schönaich: From November 1, the street leading to the company site will be called Faulhaberstraße and the company building will bear the house number 1.
Velo3D, Inc. has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023. The company received the award because of how its technology is being used by innovative companies in key industries like new space, semiconductor and energy, which rely on advanced manufacturing technologies to build next-generation products.
Nidec-Shimpo Corporation (“Nidec-Shimpo”) has added adopter-combined gearhead types to its FLEXWAVE series of precision control reducers currently on sale.
With the all-new Linear Actuator L product family, Faulhaber is offering a unique turn-key-solution for a broad range of applications. The smaller versions 06L/08L/10L are ideal for medical, lab automation, optics and photonics or space applications. The larger versions 22L/32L using the latest GPT gear technology, are designed for applications in the industrial automation and also optics & photonics. The linear actuator Faulhaber L family can therefore be combined with a wide range of DC motors, 4-pole and 2-pole brushless motors or stepper motors and are optimized to leverage at best the torque and speed range of the different Faulhaber motor families.
Siemens Digital Industries Software announced that the latest release of Simcenter software for mechanical simulation helps streamline electrification engineering projects, assists new aircraft meet margins of safety, simplifies durability testing across many industries and much more.
Velo3D, Inc. has announced Visser Precision, a contract manufacturer serving major industries from the racetrack to outer space, has purchased and received two Sapphire printers to expand its 3D-printing capabilities for its aerospace customers. One of the printers delivered is the first Sapphire printer calibrated for Haynes 214 (UNS N07214), a nickel-based superalloy that is now available as a powder option for all Velo3D customers. The other Sapphire printer is calibrated for Inconel 718, which is commonly used in many aerospace and industrial applications for its high strength and corrosion resistance.
Nidec Leroy-Somer has signed an agreement with Airbus to develop an electric motor for its hydrogen-powered fuel cell engine prototype, as part of Airbus’ ambition to bring the first zero-emission commercial aircraft to market by 2035. The long-standing expertise and extensive know-how of the French electric motor manufacturer, who already provides proven advanced technologies to many demanding industries, such as Navy, Nuclear, Railway, Automotive and Robotics is now collaborating on Aviation decarbonization.
Opto Diode Corporation, an ITW company, introduces the AXUV100G, a 100 mm x 100 mm active area electron detection device specially designed for use in radiation detection applications.
Nidec-Shimpo Corporation recently announced that precision control reducers of its FLEXWAVE series have been adopted to control the antennas of communications satellites produced by Canadian artificial satellite manufacturer MDA Ltd. (“MDA”).
Velo3D, Inc. has announced Vertex Manufacturing (a subsidiary of PrinterPrezz) has ordered two new Sapphire XC printers to complement its existing fleet and meet the demands of its customers. The large-format Sapphire printers will help Vertex offer production capabilities at scale, are calibrated for Inconel 718 and GRCop-42, and will be capable of printing parts 600 mm in diameter and 550 mm in height.
The automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler has signed a contract with the CERATIZIT Group for the acquisition of CERASPIN. Based in Livange, Luxembourg, CERASPIN has over 25 years’ experience in the development and production of premium ceramic products, the majority of which are processed into rolling elements for various bearing applications.
Force Control dynamometers featuring Positorq oil shear load brakes absorb extreme torque at very low speed, down to zero rpm. This allows them to accurately capture data at these critical junctures, when dynos equipped with traditional load brakes cannot.
The Timken Company has completed its previously announced acquisition of GGB Bearings.
The Timken Company has closed the sale of its Aerospace Drive Systems (ADS) business to PCX Aerostructures, LLC. Terms were not disclosed. ADS is a supplier of drive system components and sub-assemblies for military and civil rotorcraft applications. ADS revenue is expected to be around $50 million in 2022.
Emerson Bearing recently delivered this great back to basics blog on rod ends. Emerson Bearing and Action Bearing serve the bearing needs of international and domestic customers. The team at Emerson Bearing caters to global niche markets, while the team at Action Bearing, specializes in solutions for the OEM and MRO markets in New England.
Employees from Forest City Gear recently attended the 2022 International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center. This year’s show attracted more than 86,000 registrants looking to experience the latest and greatest in manufacturing technology.
Motion Industries, Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of the new Motion Ai website, https://ai.motion.com. Announced in February 2022, the Motion Ai business group unifies acquired technical companies, including Applied Machine and Motion Control (AMMC), Axis New England/Axis New York, BRAAS, F&L Industrial Solutions, Integro Technologies, Kaman Automation, Meier Transmission and Numatic Engineering.
Portescap is pleased to announce the release of the 20ECF brushless slotted flat motor, which is the latest motor to join the flat motor platform. The 20ECF is characterized by a flat architecture, as well as a compact package size that is a hallmark of Portescap’s existing brushless motor portfolio.
The Timken Company has reached an agreement to acquire GGB Bearing Technology (GGB), a division of Enpro, Industries (including exclusive negotiations with respect to the French operations of GGB). Founded in 1899, GGB serves a variety of diverse customers, markets, geographies and applications with a product portfolio that complements existing Timken industry-leading engineered bearing solutions. GGB revenue is expected to be around $200 million in fiscal year 2022.
Velo3D, Inc. has announced Hermeus, a company developing hypersonic aircraft for defense and commercial applications, has acquired an original Sapphire and a large-format Sapphire XC that is designed for high-volume production. The printers, both of which will be calibrated for Inconel 718, will be used to build parts for Hermeus’ Chimera engine and Quarterhorse aircraft.
We’ve covered SKF in medical, wind turbine, hand tool, solar panel, and compressor applications. We’ve examined SKF bearings utilized in crazy, out-of-this-world, aerospace applications. Nothing, however, tops the seal of approval coming from a professional skater in Europe.
Siemens Digital Industries Software recently announced that REGENT has adopted the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of cloud-based software and services to help pioneer a new category of vehicle called the seaglider. The seaglider is a high-speed zero emission vehicle that operates exclusively over the water to drastically reduce the time and cost of moving people and goods between coastal cities.
Sensors Expo & Conference got its start 37 years ago with a focus on sensor technology. Over the years it has expanded and diversified to include the electronics technologies and embedded systems that work hand-in-hand with sensors, as well as new and emerging application areas such as IoT, Connectivity, Autonomous, Medical, and more. Join us as we explore the entire ecosystem, from sensing to processing to analyzing and connecting.
The Mars helicopter team was recently awarded the Collier Trophy for being the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet. NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter flies with electric motors from the Swiss company maxon, a provider of precision drives. This prestigious award was presented on June 9th in Washington D.C. by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA).
Aerojet Rocketdyne uses metal 3D printing technology from Velo3D to make a critical flight component lighter, smaller, and much less expensive than its predecessors
Kollmorgen will exhibit their next-generation TBM2G series of frameless servomotors at the 2022 Automate Show, June 6 - 9, in Detroit, MI. Kollmorgen will also speak on the topic of Improving Robot Efficiency Through Permanent Magnet Motor Design and Selection at the breakout session on the afternoon of June 8.
S. S. White Technologies is supplying the flexible shafts that transmit power to activate and synchronize the deployment of the Thrust Reverser Actuation Systems (TRAS) on 150 CFM International LEAP-1A turbofan engines that have been selected to power UK based Jet2’s latest order for up to 75 Airbus A321neo aircraft.
Piezo Motion, a Brain Scientific company, and Micro Technology Group (MTG) recently announced a partnership. Piezo Motion is a developer and manufacturer of automation technology. MTG, headquartered in Mansfield, Massachusetts, is a business development company providing technical marketing and sales services for leading manufacturers.
Kollmorgen has announced the new TBM2G series of frameless servomotors, introducing features that simplify the design of collaborative, surgical, aerospace and defense and other robots while delivering optimal performance in a lighter, more compact package. These new motors will complement Kollmorgen’s existing TBM and KBM series of frameless motors.
IKO introduces its LWLF2 linear motion rolling guide, which addresses the demand for device miniaturization with a compact, lightweight design that makes mounting easy in tight spaces.
S. S. White Technologies is supplying flexible rotary shafts specifically designed to transmit rotary torque for the manual override on the Honeywell Aerospace Starter Air Valve.