Every year, the LEAP Awards recognizes and celebrates cutting-edge products and technologies in the engineering field. The 2025 LEAP Awards Winners in the Mechanical category are as follows
Gold
Ogura Clutch
Micro Holding Brakes: Spring-Applied Holding Brakes – Down to 10mm OD
Judges’ Comments: The compact design makes it easier to integrate into ever smaller product applications, and this innovation brings plenty of new value!
Ogura’s new Micro-sized, MCNB Series, holding brakes are changing the way robotics, medical, and aerospace equipment designers look at power-off holding brakes. The product offering is smaller (down to 10mm OD), lighter, uses less power, generates less heat, has ultra-fast response times, and simply improves the equipment around it. These are typically used for both safety and precision motion control. For surgical robotics, other end-of-arm robotics applications, aerospace applications, and more, the opportunity is to make products safer, more efficient, faster, lighter, and more reliable. They also consume very little power and generate a very small amount of heat, which is critical to these compact installations.
Ogura is making brakes as small as 10mm OD today, with designs as small as 8mm. In typical Ogura fashion, they are also designed and manufactured in a way to enable them to be mass-produced. Holding brakes are usually mounted on the backs of motors. The Ogura micro brakes are made to operate in very high rpm zones. A finely tuned magnetic airgap allows for the highest electromagnetic efficiency, lowest power requirements, low heat generation, and faster response times. The braking torque is generated mechanically using coil springs along a radius. The brake prevents a shaft from rotating when no power is applied to the brake’s coil. When power is applied, the brake coil generates an electromagnetic field which actuates a disc in the axial direction, which then allows the shaft to freely rotate. Lastly, these are one-piece construction assemblies.
Silver
ABB
ABB Baldor-Reliance SP4 Motors
The ABB Baldor-Reliance SP4 motor line delivers NEMA Super Premium (IE4) efficiency in standard and severe-duty AC induction motor designs, reducing energy losses by up to 20% and extending equipment life. Originally launched in rolled steel open drip-proof and TEFC configurations (¼ to 20 HP), the SP4 line now includes new cast-iron, totally enclosed fan-cooled (TEFC) models (25 to 300 HP) built for harsh environments. Certified for Division 2, Class I Groups A–D and Class II Groups F & G, and IP55 rated, these motors are suitable for explosive or dusty settings.
Compatible with direct-on-line (DOL) setups and even more efficient when paired with ABB variable speed drives, SP4 motors simplify upgrades with drop-in compatibility, no design changes or drives required. Available in 2, 4, or 6-pole configurations, they support pumps, fans, compressors, and conveyors across industries, including oil and gas, wastewater, manufacturing, and material handling. SP4 motors are the result of targeted design refinement and thermal optimization, built with user feedback to address durability and energy savings. Their cooler operation extends bearing and component life, reducing downtime and maintenance costs. With a standard 48-month warranty and full compliance with current DOE and 2027 MEM efficiency regulations, SP4 motors set a new benchmark in industrial motor efficiency.
Bronze
Bodine Electric Company
The Gearmotor Of Automated Things
The Bodine Electric Company, celebrating its 120th anniversary in 2025, applied lessons learned from past applications in warehouse robots to develop a new gearmotor for all kinds of automated machinery. They started by creating a new brushless DC motor dubbed the “42B” and integrated it with Bodine’s industry-standard “FX” gearbox. The 42B is a 24-volt 8-pole brushless DC motor with 120-degree commutation and rated for a continuous load of 210 oz-in at 2400 rpm (1/2 HP). The 42B construction is totally enclosed, nonventilated (TENV), and has an ingress protection rating of IP-66 for wet or dirty operating environments. It has popular Amphenol connectors for electrical connections, which make integration with servo controllers easy for the installer.
The standard design includes a 256 pulse/revolution magnetic encoder output for positioning control, but many other options are available as a custom design. Also available is a temperature switch embedded in the motor winding and terminated in the Amphenol connector. In IIoT applications, the switch can alert the system controller to problems in the gearmotor related to overloading, or a high ambient temperature, or damage to the motor. The controller can then initiate a controlled shutdown for maintenance. The FX gearbox, with hardened steel helical gears for high torque and long life, is available with gear ratios from 5:1 to 15:1. It also has an industry-standard mounting interface that facilitates an upgrade in an existing machine from a more basic type of gearmotor to this higher-performance unit.
See all of the winners here!
Filed Under: LEAP Awards, Awards • acquisitions