The COVID-19 pandemic changed so much around our jobs, from how we work to where we work. It brought Zoom into the daily vernacular of the office, and for many of us, that office now bears a striking resemblance to our living room or den or study. One thing that COVID-19 didn’t seem to change…
Entrepreneur Siegbert E. Lapp dies at the age of 70
On Wednesday, April 26th, Siegbert E. Lapp, 70, died in a tragic road accident, for which he was not to blame. With a confident sense of technology and innovation, Lapp had shaped the Lapp Group into a globally recognized company. His life was characterised by passion, entrepreneurial foresight, and the ability to identify electrical trends…
Ohio manufacturer wins igus’ manus international design award
German motion plastics company igus has held the biennial manus awards since 2003. This competition recognizes creative, economical, innovative, and sustainable applications that incorporate plastic lead screws, linear actuators, plain bearings, linear bearings, and slides into industrial designs. This is the third iteration where Design World’s own VP, Editorial Director, Paul J. Heney, served on…
2023 LEAP Awards now open for nominations
The LEAP Awards (Leadership in Engineering Achievement Program) celebrates the most innovative and forward-thinking products serving the design engineering space. This dynamic competition honors the most innovative engineered products/components across several of our flagship brands: Design World, Fluid Power World, and EE World. Submissions for the 2023 LEAP Awards program are being accepted starting today, July…
Bearings in mining, aggregates face tough obstacles
At the recent Conexpo/ConAgg show in Las Vegas, Dennis Ducalo, an industry manager for mining, cement, and aggregate at Schaeffler Group USA, talked a bit about his company’s bearings that can be used in vibratory screens, including an exciting new product update. There are basically two types of series of spherical roller bearings that are […]
Ewellix launches e-MOVEKIT to reduce design time for mobile machinery
Ewellix, which is owned by the Schaeffler Group, has introduced a new e-MOVEKIT to help designers and manufacturers of mobile machinery simplify the specification, assembly, and testing of electric linear actuation systems. The e-MOVEKIT has been developed in response to the growing trend towards electrification of motion systems in mobile and off-highway equipment. In particular,…
IFPE 2023 wrap-up: Ewellix’s new electric actuators for mobile applications
Ewellix launched a new generation of electric actuators at this year’s IFPE/Conexpo in Las Vegas. Designed specifically for use in mobile applications, from agricultural and construction machinery to lift platforms, the new actuators combine exceptional power-density with high levels of energy efficiency, position and motion control and repeatability. The first products to be released later…
ABB to expand robotics factory in U.S.
ABB has announced that construction is starting on the expansion of its existing North American robotics headquarters and manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Mich. The project is expected to be completed in November 2023 and represents an investment of $20 million. The expansion will create 72 highly skilled new jobs in the area and is…
A new way of thinking
One of the most valuable pieces of “real estate” in any magazine is the page facing the inside back cover. Over the years, I’ve known many publications — both trade and consumer — with must-read departments or columns in that sacred space. Many times, they’re on the lighthearted or even humorous side. I’ve even subscribed…
Time saved on energy consumed
By Mark Jones On the second pull, there was a cloud of white smoke and the engine sputtered to life. My 20-year-old snowblower was ready to tackle the fresh snow. The 2-cycle fumes hitting my face come with twinges of guilty. I don’t need to use the snowblower. My trusty snow shovel offers a fumeless,…
Hannover Fair preview: Festo’s PhotoBionicCell and its automated cultivation of biomass
Algae are small climate savers. Even in their natural state they are extremely efficient photosynthesizers and absorb ten times more carbon dioxide (CO₂) than land plants. In bioreactors equipped with appropriate sensors, control technology and automation, the efficiency of algae can be increased to a hundred times that of land plants. This shows that they…
Hannover Fair preview: Lenze’s Nupano bridges IT and OT worlds
Mechanical and plant engineering is an important industry, many well-paid jobs depend on it in Europe. To be competitive in the long term, it needs knowledge of production processes, physics and digital tools for new business models. European machines sell all over the world. However, margins are low and often one-off. Mechanical engineering needs new,…
When team motivation becomes a dead end
Engineering leaders are not immune to that constant management mantra of motivate, motivate, motivate. In fact, some managers I’ve known seem to do little more than try to motivate others, with flowery speeches and too-long-to-read emails ending in statements like “This is going to be THE YEAR!!!” But in his book, What to say when…
Hannover Fair preview: Pepperl+Fuchs’ innovative technology for 3D measurement
From industrial automation to autonomous vehicles to care robots, mastering the challenges of the future will require powerful 3D sensors that capture their surroundings quickly, comprehensively, and with millimeter precision. A technological innovation from Pepperl+Fuchs in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology ISIT enables maximum precision and performance — while remaining highly cost-efficient.…
Hannover Fair preview: Holo-Light’s AR, VR speed up product development
XR expert Holo-Light will showcase the new, enhanced version of its Augmented Reality Engineering Space AR3S at Hannover Fair April 17-21, 2023, in hall 15, booth F71. In exclusive demos, visitors will experience how immersive technologies simplify and accelerate product development and how to collaborate across Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). Holo-Light’s AR3S…
Hannover Fair preview: OMRON uses AR glasses for digital twin assembly experience
In an evolution of its industry-renowned FORPHEUS AI-based table tennis robot, OMRON will show, for the first time at Hannover Fair, how the emerging concept of harmonized automation can be applied in an industrial context to help ease labour shortages. The highlight of OMRON’s booth, celebrating 90 years of innovation, will be a flexible assembly…
Hannover Fair preview: igus increases the simplicity of Low Cost Automation
igus is stepping up the pace of Low Cost Automation and making entry into automation easier and more affordable than ever before. The interaction of inexpensive hardware and digital innovation puts the future of automation within reach. The company explained that the ReBeLmini is a cobot that costs 3,999 euros and the RBTXperience software allows…
Nearly $125k raised in 1st stage of PTDA Foundation’s fundraising
During the first three months of its 2023 Fund Drive campaign, the PTDA Foundation raised nearly $125,000. Contributions to the annual PTDA Foundation Fund Drive support PT WORK Force, an initiative to empower PT/MC (power transmission/motion control) industry employers to be more successful in their recruitment and retention efforts. “Our industry makes the world go…
Hannover Fair press preview highlights industrial solutions for connectivity, climate neutrality
“Carbon-neutral production, artificial intelligence, hydrogen technologies, energy management and Industry 4.0 – those are the overarching themes of Hannover Fair 2023,” said Dr. Jochen Köckler, Chairman of the Managing Board of the Deutsche Messe group of companies. “Only the interplay of these technologies will make it possible to sustainably safeguard our prosperity and at the…
Smart sensor duo for mobile off-highway vehicles at ConExpo 2023
Elobau will once again be represented as an exhibitor at this year’s ConExpo. In South Hall 4, S85221, the German manufacturer of sensors and operator controls will present its new generation of tilt sensors with the N6 static and the N7 dynamic. The N6 static enables high-precision measurement under harsh environmental conditions, in stationary operations […]
Are smart rocks on the horizon?
By Mark Jones “Dumber than a box of rocks” is a colorful idiom. Suppose it is wrong. Suppose a box of rocks is actually smart. I will admit I checked the cover of Power magazine when I first read about thermal energy storage using a box of rocks. I checked to make sure it wasn’t…
Global carbon capture capacity to rise sixfold by 2030
According to research company BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) newly released 2022 Carbon capture, usage, and storage (CCUS) Market Outlook, the global capacity for carbon capture in 2030 is set to increase sixfold from today’s level, to 279 million tons of CO2 captured per year. Drastic growth in the market has led to a 44% increase in expected…
A thank you to two impactful editors
With the new year always comes change. Here at Design World, we’re bidding adieu to two fantastic editors who are retiring after long and fruitful careers. Leslie Langnau, who served for more than a decade as this publication’s Managing Editor, has truly been my mentor here. She’s covered a bit of everything for us, with…
Hannover Fair 2023: Motion, drive, automation firms accelerate digital transformation
High energy costs, broken supply chains, and rising raw material prices continue to pose new challenges to business. To remain competitive, companies need to take steps to increase their efficiency and contain energy costs, which in turn will lead to a reduction in their carbon footprint. High-tech solutions in this area will be presented at…
A leader for the next generation: Antoinette R. Gant
As a child, Antoinette Gant didn’t dream about a career in engineering or the military — she wanted to be an actress. Gant was part of a theater group in school, and that seemed like the perfect career to her, something in the theater arts. But her parents’ careers and influence showed her a different…