The Fall Technical Meeting will be October 22-24, 2025, at the Huntington Convention Center in Detroit, Michigan. What are the session topics, and why are they relevant today?
The 2025 Fall Technical Meeting will be with the Motion + Power Technology Expo in Detroit; 30 papers are being presented at five sessions: Design and Rating, Electric Vehicles and Emerging Technology, Manufacturing and Inspection, Efficiency and NVH, and Materials and Performance.
Anyone can register for the whole event or an individual session. And I just want to add that any registration comes with a free pass to the exhibition hall. We hope that people can take advantage of the fact that these two events are being held together.
We are seeing technology’s impact on manufacturing in a variety of ways from computing power meeting the moment for simulation to old techniques being improved or used in new and innovative ways, to brand new techniques for things like hardening or surface features.
As emerging tech is your specialty, do you have your eye on any certain topics or papers?
Honestly, even before I got into emerging tech, I always saw the FTM as a great place to catch what’s new and next in the field. This year, I’m especially excited because Session 2 is all about EV and emerging technologies — that’s right up my alley. One topic that really caught my eye is the use of nanocomposite coatings on thermoplastic gears. I think it has real potential to shake things up in the future.
And I’m not going to lie — I’m a car girl at heart, so I always make time for the Ferrari presentations. Outside of that session, there are a bunch of papers focused on noise and vibration, which are major challenges in our industry right now. One presentation I definitely don’t want to miss is the one on 20 years of pulsator tests on helicopter gears. It’s just such a cool mix of deep research and real-world application. It’s exciting to see how global and high-caliber the presentations are this year.
Is there anything new about this conference?
There are a couple of exciting changes to the FTM this year. First off, the schedule’s been completely shifted — now it runs from Wednesday through Friday. That gives everyone more time to explore the show floor and take part in the evening events, which is a big plus.
Second, we’ve added something brand new that I’m really excited about: our “What’s Brewing” Power Breakfasts. These are a completely separate offering, but included with a full FTM registration. They will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings from 8 to 10 a.m. — before the show floor opens at 10. That means both attendees and exhibitors can join in.
Each morning will focus on a different key area — Robotics, Aerospace & Defense, and Public Policy — and we’ve lined up some incredible panelists. For example, in the Robotics session, we’ll be diving into how new robot designs are creating new demands on gear and bearing components. Mitch Tolsen, founder and CEO of Ally Robots, will be joining that panel, along with a gear maker, a bearing manufacturer, and an industry expert. We have Ted Angel, executive director of the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence alongside John Keogh, PhD, LIFT — VP of technology, and Amy Thompson, CTO at the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, who will discuss new vehicles, new materials, and new training to bring these concepts to reality. The third breakfast panel will talk directly to recent impacts on manufacturing through tariffs and other policies. These breakfasts are a great way to kickstart the day with fresh insights, good food, and great conversations.
How will attending the conference benefit participants in their careers and organizations?
The FTM is like attending the who’s who of gear industry research. In three days, you can get a wide scope of what is being worked on at the major research institutes and big industry players. What happens at the FTM usually shows up in industry in subsequent years, and with technology fueling faster outcomes on simulation and data processing, some of these will be out there sooner.
We know that AGMA and ABMA recently merged. How will this impact the FTM this year and in the future?
With the deadline for submission being well before the merger was finalized, folks will not see a huge impact in 2025. However, the future is bright for the MPMA 2026 FTM with a revamp to welcome presentations alongside our research papers. You may even see a dual-track format to fit all the great presentations. We encourage and welcome more papers and presentations dedicated to bearing design, selection, manufacture, testing, and advancement. The presentation format also affords more emerging technology presentations, which, of course, excites me. And we hope to continue to investigate collaborations with other organizations.
