For the past 22 years, AGMA member donations to the Annual Campaign have allowed the Foundation to continue its mission: to support and strengthen education, training, and research for the gear industry. This year, we hope to raise $100,000 through the Annual Campaign to fund more workforce training opportunities and provide scholarships to young people who wish to enter the gear industry. With your support, the AGMA Foundation will continue to make the industry strong in the next 100 years of gearing.
AGMA Centennial Grant
2016 is AGMA’s centennial year and an exciting opportunity to educate the world on the importance of gearing. The Foundation supports these efforts through a $200,000 grant to AGMA for historical research and education. After three years of research in the AGMA archives and interviews with dozens of industry leaders, the Foundation grant produced a gear timeline exhibit, two AGMA history videos, an interactive history website, and a hardbound book on the history of AGMA and gearing. If you missed seeing the timeline exhibit at recent AGMA events, you may view it on the AGMA centennial website at: agma100.1440n.net. The AGMA history video, “100 Years in 100 Seconds,” and the AGMA centennial video (12 minutes) are also posted on this website. Finally, I urge you to acquire a copy of AGMA’s centennial commemorative book, “Celebrating 100 Years of Gearing,” for a more detailed look at the crucial role that the gear industry has played in war and peace and how the industry has thrived and survived through economic ups and downs. Books may be purchased in the AGMA store at www.agma.org. Proceeds from book sales benefit the AGMA Foundation.
Scholarships for Aspiring Engineers and Technicians
In July 2016, the Foundation received a record number of applications for its college scholarship program and new technical/associate degree scholarships. Applications came in from across North America from engineering students pursuing degrees at The Ohio State University, Taylor University, Western Michigan University, Penn State Erie, Old Dominion University (Virginia), Colorado State University, Louisiana State University, Texas A&M, University of Michigan, Southern Illinois University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Northern Illinois University. All of the applicants wish to enter the gear industry, and many have already worked or interned at AGMA member companies. And, the Foundation is excited to receive its first applications from students studying gearing at the technical/associate degree level. Scholarship winners were named the first week of September, and the complete list is available on the AGMA Foundation website at www.agmafoundation.org.
Education and Training
Recognizing that the gear industry needs a workforce with up-to-date training and education, the AGMA Foundation continues to support programs to keep our workforce vibrant. To date, the Foundation has granted over $200,000 to AGMA for workforce education and training programs. Many of AGMA’s fundamental training courses only exist due to the generous support of donors to the AGMA Foundation. The AGMA three-part Online Workforce Training Program, “Fundamentals of Gearing, Hobbing, and Parallel Gear Inspection,” was created with a grant from the Foundation. The Foundation also provided funding to video of two popular advanced gear training courses, “Detailed Gear Design” and “Gear Failure Analysis.” These courses are now online, giving AGMA members the opportunity to take the training without having to travel. Thousands of industry employees have been trained through these programs.
Pictured above, Jacob Van Dorp, an AGMA Foundation scholarship recipient in 2014 and 2015, is pursuing a Master of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering and is researching gear-cutting through the University of Waterloo Precision Controls Laboratory.
“I am grateful for the continued support from the AGMA Foundation and look forward to continuing my education in gear technology,” Dorp said.
The AGMA Foundation 2016 Annual Campaign
We hope you will make an investment in your future and the future of the industry with a donation to the AGMA Foundation Annual Campaign. For more details on the Foundation’s recent work or to make a contribution, please visit the Foundation website at www.agmafoundation.org. Thank you for your generous support!
AGMA’s Final Centennial Event Celebration
AGMA has filled 2016 with celebrations of the gear industry. During the Fall Technical Meeting, AGMA will close its centennial year with one more event on October 3, 2016, in the city where AGMA started 100 years ago: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This event will be an evening reception at the Bost Building, part of the Rivers of Steel museum. The Bost Building was built in 1892 as a hotel and served as the temporary headquarters for the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers during the Homestead lockout and strike that same year. The exhibits feature the steel industry of the region, highlighting the history and geography that made the Pittsburgh area the number-one steel-producing region in the world. Visitors can follow the 125-year history of the steel industry, from iron-making in the 1850s through the industrial boom of the 20th century to the decline of the industry in the 1980s.
This event is $75 per person.
The Fall Technical Meeting
October 2-4 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
This FTM will have papers presented in five sessions:
- Manufacturing, Inspection, and Quality Control
- Materials & Heat Treatment
- Application and Design & Rating
- Efficiency, Lubrication, Noise, and Vibration
- Gear Wear & Failure
A complete list of papers with presenter and abstract information is available at www.agma.org.
How the Changing Demographics Will Affect Workforce Development Trends
One of the most discussed topics in the gear industry today is workforce; in fact, it’s a critical factor across all of manufacturing. At the upcoming Fall Marketing & Forecasting conference, John Maketa, a noted research analyst and author, will address workforce development trends in a fresh way — using demographics. Understanding changing demographics will help manufacturers plan and help executives lead. Maketa will examine how demographics are playing a significant role in the 21st-century workplace and will discuss leadership trends used by successful organizations.
John Maketa is a fellow and advisory board member of Work Institute and a guest lecturer at Temple University. He is a co-author of two books and a research analyst of the “2014 EDA Trends in Executive Development Benchmark Report.”
In addition to Maketa’s presentation, the Fall Marketing & Forecasting Conference on October 19-20 in Rosemont, Illinois, will again feature Tom Runiewicz, a principal/senior economist with IHS Global Insight. His presentation forecasts the gear industry’s activity for both near and long term. Runiewicz uses a wide variety of resources to deliver his report. One of the more important resources for the information that is presented is the AGMA Monthly Market Trend Report (MMTR). This report, managed for AGMA by the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), tracks actual booking and shipment data from domestic manufacturers of gears and flexible couplings. The MMTR by itself is a statistical benchmarking tool by which a company can assess its competitiveness in the industry.
Runiewicz will also present the bigger-picture information on the U.S. and global economy. What are the projections for key indicators like exports and imports? What impact will light-vehicle sales have moving forward? How can you look at the numbers from the Gear Market Report as they relate to labor compensation and productivity? His presentation will be packed with information that can be used by companies immediately. IHS economists provide AGMA member companies with intelligence and tools to help target opportunities, formulate new product cases, and forecast financials and volumes.
Having the right information is important, but the AGMA Gear Market Report is not a one-time future predictor. It is compiled by forecasts based on historical data and current and anticipated conditions. Conditions change, so updated forecasts are necessary for the most effective planning. The Fall Marketing & Forecasting Conference allows attendees to hear and engage with economists whose perspective on the latest numbers and indicators will help registrants make strategic decisions for their gear manufacturing companies.
Register for the Fall Marketing & Forecasting conference at www.agma.org.
SRN Regional Event
November 1-3, 2016 | Cleveland, Ohio
The Strategic Resources Network (SRN) 2016 event, featuring a robust lineup of speakers, will take place in Cleveland, Ohio, this fall. In addition to the busy schedule of presentations, attendees will still receive some much-needed networking time while perusing displays at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Attendees will tour Horsburgh & Scott and stay for presentations from president and CEO, Pradeep Saha, and executive director of risk management, Dean McClelland. Matt Croson, AGMA’s new president, will be on-hand to provide information on his position and his vision for the association.
Two special presentations will look at emerging technology:
Lubricants for the Future and Their Impact on Gear Manufacturing
Frank Cooney
Technology Development Manager, The Lubrizol Corporation
Lubricants utilized in industrial power transmission applications are facing challenges from many fronts today. Lubricants and the additive systems they employ are expected to influence performance in areas such as energy efficiency, environmental impact, resource conservation, asset preservation, and consumer experience, among others. This performance envelope is broad and diverse and requires an organization to optimize its full complement of people, processes, and technology to consistently exceed customers’ expectations. Today, with forward-looking industrial equipment manufacturers and users, lubricants have become design elements rather than an afterthought. Cooney will discuss some of the ways in which Lubrizol meets the challenges of product development in today’s environment and provide specific examples of successful efforts and the elements of the process that were critical to their success.
Additive/Hybrid Manufacturing: Overview and Applications in the Gear Industry
Nitin Chaphalkar
Product Manager, DMG MORI USA Inc., and AGMA Board Member
Additive manufacturing/3D printing is a game-changing technology in the manufacturing space today. This presentation will provide insights into the world of 3D printing and the latest developments in the field. Attendees will hear about innovations in this technology as it is being brought into the manufacturing landscapes, with discussion of both successes and pitfalls of this new technology. Attendees will also hear information about how additives and subtractive manufacturing techniques are combining in hybrid environments. What are the benefits of additive manufacturing technology? Where does this technology add value? How can this technology be leveraged in my business? There will also be two presentations on different aspects of the steel industry by specialists from Timken Steel and Ellwood Materials Technologies. The event will finish with a presentation by Timothy Krantz, Ph.D., the technical lead of Drive Systems at NASA Glenn Research. He will discuss their current work on making gears out of composites and his work on the Vibration Ring project. Attendees will also tour the NASA facility.
* This event is only open to AGMA members and space is limited.
Detailed Gear Design — Beyond Simple Service Factors
AGMA’s last advanced education course of 2016, Detailed Gear Design, will be held November 15-17 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This course, taught by Raymond Drago, explores all factors that go into good gear design from life cycle, load, torque, tooth optimization, and evaluating consequences. Students should have a good understanding of basic gear theory and nomenclature.
Following this seminar, participants will be able to:
- Improve their gear designs.
- Apply their understanding of gear rating theory and analysis methods.
- Investigate differences in stress states among various surface durability failure modes.
- Discuss time-dependent and time-independent failure modes related to tooth design.
- Use computer-generated graphics to examine mesh action and tooth interaction.
- Discuss the concepts presented.