Archives

Isembard is a distributed manufacturing company using a franchise model to build a network of modular, software-enabled factories that scale production from prototype to factory-level output.

Machine shops exist across the U.S. in all shapes and sizes; however, that “uniqueness” can sometimes cause customers to question consistency in the final product. But what if machine shops could be franchised like a fast-food chain? In hindsight, it seems like a no-brainer, but it took the minds behind Isembard to make the franchising […]

Developing an algorithm to detect and quantify tool wear on gear cutting tools using computer vision methods, with the aim of balancing workpiece quality and manufacturing costs by controlling tool wear.

By Melina Kamratowski, Christopher Janßen, Mareike Davidovic, and Thomas Bergs

Gears are commonly soft machined using manufacturing processes with a geometrically defined cutting edge, with the aim of balancing workpiece quality and manufacturing costs by controlling tool wear. Early detection of critical tool wear is therefore a key factor. In this article, an algorithm for detecting and quantifying tool wear on gear cutting tools using […]

Based on the measurements and tests carried out in this study, test results show it is important to ensure good geometric quality in the manufacturing of gears so gear meshing can take place undisturbed.

By Lennart Schierholz, Jaacob Vorgerd, and Manuel Oehler

This article presents the results of tests performed on a back-to-back test rig for large module gears (center distance a = 508.33 mm, module mn = 25 mm) and on an FZG gear test rig (a = 91.5 mm, mn = 4.5 mm) in order to investigate the micropitting load carrying capacity using 5-axis milled […]

MacLean-Fogg began life working on a railroad, but, over a century, the company has expanded to servicing a wide range of industrial sectors.

In 1925, MacLean-Fogg began as a small, family-owned manufacturer serving the railroad industry. One hundred years later, the company remains a global supplier of precision fasteners and engineered metal components, deeply embedded in the automotive and industrial sectors and closely connected to the gear industry. Reaching a century in manufacturing requires more than endurance. It […]

Hard gear skiving with PCBN tools offers a technically and economically viable solution for the hard finishing of internal gears, particularly in applications with high demands on gear quality.

Due to the increasing demand for drivetrains with even higher power densities, high efficiency, and low noise emissions, new gearbox concepts with planetary gear sets are increasingly being developed. Internal gears with a high load capacity and geometric accuracy in a thin-walled design are required for these concepts. These requirements can be met in particular […]

A comprehensive experimental assessment of the NVH performance of plastic gears in comparison to conventional steel gear pairs is studied, resulting in guidance for gear designers and engineers in selecting suitable polymer materials and lubrication strategies to achieve superior acoustic behavior.

Rising expectations regarding user experience increasingly necessitate the minimization of noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) in gearbox systems. Polymer gears exhibit considerable potential for addressing these NVH challenges in modern transmission applications. Replacing traditional steel gear pairs with steel-polymer or polymer-polymer gear combinations offers a straightforward and effective strategy for achieving substantial NVH reduction. Despite […]

Nichiei Co. is a precision injection molding company specializing in high performance engineering plastics, using a unique injection molding technology for the design and creation of gears, bearings, and various mechanical parts.

Plastic gears are just part of the normal makeup of the gear industry now, but for the Nichiei Co., that journey began inside a washing machine almost 50 years ago. And, as it has grown and branched out over the years, Nichiei now designs and manufactures plastic gears for many industries in need of high-performance, […]

Gear software has largely emerged to meet the defense industry’s need to design the most compact gearboxes possible (particularly for the aerospace industry) and now serves a dual-use purpose for commercial applications, such as e-mobility.

The desire for more compact, efficient and quieter powertrains in the Electrification Age has once again brought gears into the spotlight. In the field of modern gear design and analysis, loaded tooth contact analysis is one of the most important simulations performed. Gear stiffness plays a fundamental role in this simulation and is calculated slightly […]

Examining TIFF through a series of case studies that intentionally push gearsets beyond their functional limits ­– studies that demonstrate how targeted validation, microgeometry control, and heat-treatment optimization can be used to diagnose, mitigate, and ultimately prevent subsurface fatigue failures.

This article presents a comprehensive framework for identifying and mitigating tooth interior fatigue fracture (TIFF) in straight-toothed, net-forged bevel gears used in automotive differentials. As modern drivetrains demand higher torque in increasingly compact and reliable packages, traditional gear design methodologies are being pushed to their limits. While surface- and near-surface-initiated failures are well understood and […]

For 110 years, Surface Combustion has provided thermal systems and equipment to enhance the physical properties and surface characteristics of the materials used in gearing and more and improve the performance and competitiveness of customers’ products.

A company doesn’t just make a ripple in the industrial sector after more than a century in business — it makes a splash. Surface Combustion celebrated is 110th year in 2025, and it’s come a long way from its humble beginnings of a couple of scientists working on a joint patent. Now, the company is […]

The design freedom enabled by additive manufacturing offers new opportunities for developing lightweight, material-efficient, and NVH-optimized gears.

The increasing demand for sustainability and e-drive transmissions is reshaping the gear industry, requiring mitigation of noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH). In this scenario, laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is a promising additive manufacturing technology offering design freedom while maintaining a mechanical behavior suitable for gear application. Despite the capabilities of AM, there remains a […]

Nanocomposite coatings have been shown to be potentially beneficial to gear applications, with those benefits including an increased load capacity, decreased temperature of operation, corrosion resistance, a retention of the heat treatment state after coating, and a reduced friction between surfaces in mesh.

Plasma-deposited nanocomposite coatings can offer substantial operational performance and durability improvements to interfaces in rolling or sliding contact without significantly adding to overall part volume or affecting heat treatment of the substrate. This coating system is typically implemented by depositing thin layered metallic or organometallic films using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). These layers […]