Now that the Motion and Power Manufacturers Alliance (MPMA) has officially formed, it’s time to start this hybrid vehicle. Much like a hybrid propulsion system, we have to merge two separate associations (now brands) into one. From a standardization standpoint, we are not going to lose any brand history. AGMA documents will still remain AGMA, and ABMA documents will still remain ABMA. The car is still a car.
What will change is mostly in the operational details. We are incorporating the existing ABMA B3 technical committee under the Technical Division Executive Committee (TDEC), merging the two organizations’ ANSI accredited procedures, and expanding the TDEC roster to include ABMA members. This will be the ECU of our hybrid.
From a numbers standpoint, this will merge the roughly 60 AGMA standards and 40 information the roughly 40 ABMA standards and open the possibility for ABMA information sheets.
What does this mean to you? Well, it opens the possibility to participate in standards projects across both brands. No matter where you are in your career, joining a committee or project working group is an excellent way to develop a deeper understanding of the subject matter and to grow your peer network. Some of our membership requires technical participation as part of an employee’s career development. For our AGMA and ABMA members, participation is open for ANY project or committee. Please see open ABMA projects and open AGMA projects on our websites (www.americanbearings.org and www.agma.org). The only requirements are to be a member and be willing to participate. Now we have our engine(s) for our vehicle.
What does it take to be on a committee or working group?
- Be a member of AGMA or ABMA.
- 2-3 hours a month.
- More than 95 percent of the meetings are held virtually (2-hour meeting). Others are in-person.
- No experience necessary, but have a willingness to learn and contribute as one is comfortable.
- You do not need to share your company’s intellectual property — bring whatever data and experience that can be shared. Standards are a base level of information that is agreed upon by the members.
What are the benefits to you?
- Professional development for career growth.
- Networking with some of the best gearing and bearing experts in the world.
- Helping MPMA continue to be the U.S. standards developer for bearings and gearing.
- If actively participating, you and your company’s name will be written on the published documents.
The successful operation of a hybrid vehicle depends on the seamless coordination of numerous interconnected components. In much the same way, integrating two standards organizations and sustaining vital standardization work demands meticulous planning and execution. We’ll navigate this process slowly and cautiously, steering clear of any potholes.
If you have any questions, or would like to become more involved, please contact tech@agma.org or info@americanbearings.org.
Upcoming Courses
How to Read and Interpret a Gear Inspection Chart
July 16 | Live Online
This half-day online seminar is intended to provide you with a thorough understanding of the information contained within a typical gear inspection report. Specifically, we will look at the contents and meaning of the information contained within the gear charts, as well as the techniques used by the gear measurement system to assess gear quality. An explanation of basic gear measurement techniques, how measurement equipment and test machines implement these techniques, and how to interpret the results from these basic measurements will be covered. We will also discuss how to interpret the results and what corrective actions may be considered if the quality of a particular gear is unsatisfactory.
Loaded Tooth Contact Analysis
August 5 | Live Online
Evaluation of loaded tooth contact and development of tooth modifications using commercially available software to improve and apply a realistic load distribution factor Km in gear rating calculations and reduce transmission error. Two real-life gearing examples will be reviewed in the course, one will have a cantilever-mounted pinion, the other a shaft pinion straddled non-symmetrically by bearings. Both examples demonstrate component deflections under load, which significantly reduce tooth mesh contact, which is then corrected with developed helix and profile modifications. Other gear performance optimization tools will also be presented, Material and Heat Treatment Selection, Profile Shift, Isotropic Finishing, Shot Peening, Accuracy. These design tools along with LTCA are commonly applied by gear designers to optimize design reliability and calculated rating safety factors.
Design Basics of Spur and Helical Gears
August 7 | Live Online
Learn how to develop and understand customer gear drive application specifications and target performance expectations. Review, calculate, and select basic gear terminology variables and design parameters, which define tooth bending and contact rating safety factors on two real-life examples. Learn how to optimize gear fatigue safety factors for a given target design life and fit new gear designs and ratios into existing center distance using profile shift. Use commercially available software to develop gear geometry factors, calculate and optimize gear set power density and performance. Review common gear failure modes if the design or final accuracy does not meet application requirements. Discuss time and cost of more than 20 other gear drive component functions and drive development steps through prototypes to shipment of compliant assembled production drives. There will be an opportunity to discuss gear design challenges which may be unique to participant industries.
EV Automotive Transmission Development
August 19-21 | Rosemont, Illinois
This course will cover all aspects of gearbox concept, development, design, and through the initial stages of analysis as related to product requirements. We will review all the most common EV transaxle architectures, power flow and layout and the whys of packaging as such. Independent of the architecture and/or layout, there are many similarities in the functional and operational requirements of an EV transaxle gearbox. We will work through all of those and develop a workable set of requirements that will then be used as the design basis.
From a high-level point of view the big difference between transaxles for EVs (Electric Vehicles) and transmissions designed for more traditional manual transmissions (MTs) and/or automatic transmissions (ATs) is the lack of the noisy internal combustion engine or ICE motor. An internal combustion engine driving into a typical gearbox provides a great deal of NVH masking. Thus, we need to design quieter gearboxes to reduce the potential of observed gearbox NVH, now potentially unmasked by the lack of the ICE signature and magnitude.
However, and moreover, the signature from an ICE is much different than from the electric motor. The new input signature, frequency, and magnitude cause a shift to higher frequencies and generally lower magnitudes of vibrational energies. That in turn becomes a more significant consideration in terms of gear design and application. We will discuss this and more throughout the course.
Taming Tooth Deflection
August 26 | Live Online
Tooth deflections under load can cause involute interference, leading to very high tooth surface loads in regions of high sliding and low tooth curvature radius. These conditions loads can produce scoring, spalling, and wear failures.
Proper profile modifications applied to both members of the mesh eliminate the deleterious effects of the deflection-induced involute interference and allow the gear set to yield its maximum inherent load carrying capacity. Proper profile modifications also allow a gear set to operate with lower noise and vibration levels.
High Profile Contact Ratio Gearing
August 28 | Live Online
High Profile Contact Ratio (HCR) gears, both spur and helical, have been shown to provide significant reductions in gear-mesh frequency noise and vibration levels and, depending on the specific configuration, improved load capacity as well. The design of HCR gears is, however, far from a simple task and must be carefully accomplished. In addition, HCR gears are not appropriate for every circumstance.
In this seminar, we will learn just what HCR gears are and under what circumstances they can be used to their advantage. Similarly, we will learn when HCR gears are not appropriate and why. We will cover the detailed tooth geometry changes that are required to effectively achieve optimum performance and benefit. We will learn how the load distribution along the involute profile changes when the contact ratio increases above two.
Because of the longer, more slender teeth on an HCR gear, the heat treatment and profile modifications required for good performance are distinctly different from those for a standard contact ratio gear. The load capacity rating of HCR gears requires the application of modified AGMA analyses as the AGMA Standards specifically do NOT address gears with profile contact ratios greater than 2.0 thus we will also cover the changes required to successfully rate HCR gears.
Basic Training for Gear Manufacturing
September 8-12 | Chicago, Illinois
Learn the fundamentals of gear manufacturing in this hands-on course. Gain an understanding of gearing and nomenclature, principles of inspection, gear manufacturing methods, and hobbing and shaping. Using manual machines, develop a deeper breadth of perspective and understanding of the process and physics of making a gear as well as the ability to apply this knowledge in working with CNC equipment commonly in use.
Detailed Gear Design
September 16-25 | Live Online
There is a distinct difference between “designing” a gear and “optimizing” a gear design. In this course, we will address the optimization process via an understanding of those factors beyond basic banding and pitting ratings. Optimization may focus on load capacity, economy of production, or minimization of overall gear system envelope. In this course, we will learn how to improve gear designs via optimization and gain new insight into concepts presented through illustrations and demonstrations. Explore all factors that go into good gear design from life cycle, load, torque, tooth, optimization, and evaluating consequences.
Operator Gear Grinding
September 17 | Live Online
Explore precision gear grinding processes, machine input variables, kinematics, machine alignment, setup errors, pitfalls, common gear fatigue failures, and expectations related to finish ground gearing. Learn definitions of gearing component features, application loads, and process steps from blanking through heat treatment to finished part ready to ship. Study aspects of quality assurance, inspection documentation and corrective actions for measured non-conformances. Understand pre-heat treat, heat-treatment distortion, and post heat treatment operations including the hows and whys to produce finished gears that conform and perform to end user expectations. Calculate gear form grinding cycle times for real-life examples for various accuracy levels on commercially available software.
Involute Spline Design and Rating
October 7-8 | Live Online
This course will address both geometry and rating of involute splines of various types. The types of spline joints and their applications will be discussed. Spline configuration variations, including half depth, full depth, and special function designs, will be addressed. Both fixed and flexible spline configurations will be examined in terms of usage and design. Lubrication methods, including grease, oil bath, and flowing oil, as well as coatings appropriate for various spline applications, are examined. Shear and compressive stress rating methods are discussed with analyses methodology presented in both equation and graphical methodology via various rating charts.
To register for a course, go to: www.agma.org/events-education/upcoming-courses.
Upcoming Meetings & Events
Emerging Technology Committee Meetings
AGMA has four emerging technology focus areas. Each committee meets at least four times per year to discuss emerging technologies at the crossroads of the topic and the gear and bearing industry. Anyone is welcome to join a committee. Send an email to doran@agma.org for complete information
August 14:Electric Drive Committee Meeting – Online.
September 23: Robotics Committee Meeting – Online.
October 9: IIoT/AI Committee Meeting – Online.
Motion + Power Technology Expo
October 21-23 | Detroit, Michigan
Registration is now open.
Innovation Accelerated — It’s your 3-day pass to transformation: learn, network, and discover at the Motion + Power Technology Expo.
- Explore the latest advancements in gearing and power transmission technologies.
- Expand your skills with educational sessions led by industry experts.
- Connect with key decision-makers and expand your professional network.
- Compare products and services from more than 300 exhibitors.
- Fall Technical Meeting
October 22-24 | Detroit, Michigan
Technology is fundamentally changing the way manufacturing is done. The gear industry is faced with emerging trends and innovation that is challenging engineers to stay in course with cutting-edge technology to keep design, quality, materials and analysis efficient. It is imperative that researchers and gear engineers communicate ideas with fellow experts in the field. AGMA’s annual Fall Technical Meeting (FTM) is the perfect forum in which to share research and to disperse knowledge for the benefit of the industry at a global level.
For more information on AGMA Events, go to: www.agma.org/events-education/upcoming-events.
