Oil, grease, or dry: What is the best lubricant for my gear train?   

Have you ever been driving down the road and the check engine light suddenly comes on? Sometimes the oil service light might come on...

Do opposites really attract?

With Valentine’s Day this month, it is time to celebrate with your partner. Whether you are on your first date with a longtime crush,...

Tolerances in gearing

The linguistic origins of the term “tolerance” define it as the ability to bear pain or hardship. In modern use, there are three commonly...

Unidirectional, bidirectional, and omnidirectional

Have you ever used GPS software to find the best route to get you to a place that you have never been before? If...

Reverse engineering a gear

All of the great literary detectives have that “eureka” moment when the facts they have observed allow them to reach a solid conclusion regarding...

Pitch perfect: Standard over custom eases costs

What is perfect pitch? In music, it is the ability to identify notes without any point of reference. It can be best described as...

Unintended gear failures

At some point in your life, you had the opportunity to meet a set of twins. Maybe they were fraternal twins, or maybe they...

Maximum allowable torque

When participating in a competitive sport, there is a strong desire to maximize the physical output of your body. Whether it is running faster...

When the coronavirus pandemic is over

When we were making our business plans in 2019, the thought of a pandemic was never a consideration. Business leaders and CEOs were looking...

I have a question about your gears!

The concept of using a wheel to redirect motion has been part of the human experience for thousands of years. The simple design of...

Mounting accuracy key issue in gear system design

Some assembly required. These dreaded words are frequently found on the packaging of many weekend projects. Whether it is assembling a desk for that...

The importance of contact ratios

It is expected that when we flip the switch on a device that it will power up and some motion will occur. In the...

Addendum modification and undercut

When you walk onto the sales floor in any furniture store, you are greeted by a smiling, courteous, friendly sales associate. Their job is...

Does all learning happen in a classroom?

Learning takes many forms. Some methods are formal in their approach, such as elementary school and high school. Others, like mentoring, take a more...

How does shaft alignment and speed ratio affect my design?

The motto for the Olympics is “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” which translates to “Faster, Higher, Stronger.” The phrase is also the mantra for most modern...

Heat treating carbon and alloy steels

When considering a material for a gear design, the most significant decision is the ease of machinability vs. the durability of the material. Most...

Are your gears compliant?

The concept of clean living has been around for a long time, but it wasn’t until recently that it became the movement that it...

What, precisely, is my gear made of?

The building blocks for all materials are microstructures known as atoms. Whether the material in question is a plastic, a metal, or even your...

Precision gearing: Accuracy and tolerances

When I was a child, one of the great joys of going on the family vacation was to pull out a paper map and...

Determining tooth thickness of various gear types – Part III

In order to determine the tooth size of a gear after taking into account the backlash allowance, you first must determine what the nominal...