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Times change, as do markets, and only those companies nimble enough to shift their stance in response will stay in business for six decades-as this one has.

If you visit P&G Machine & Supply’s website, you’ll see a picture of a filling station that once stood beside Old Shell Road — a major thoroughfare in Mobile, Alabama. “That was my grandfather’s place, and it’s where my father and his partner started this company,” says Paul Gerhardt, the current president. “They were welders, […]

Plastics are quickly becoming a contender for some power gearing applications, and the lessons learned in development will apply to other engineering design challenges.

Molded plastic gearing is rapidly becoming a real contender in moderate power gearing applications. Custom gear design, precision molding equipment, and new formulations of engineering thermoplastics are offering real breakthroughs in performance. With proper processing, material control, and precision inspection, molded gears can lead the way for improved performance at lower cost with plastics. Molded […]

An understanding of factors such as bond type, grit size, and concentration will help you choose the proper CBN wheel for grinding sharper edges on your cutting tools.

As with all work, there’s a right tool for every job. In manufacturing, successful machining depends on sharp, well-maintained cutting tools that not only ensure precision, but also speed. Successful sharpening of cutting tools depends upon the use of the correct grinding wheel, tool set-up, and method of grinding for each type of tool. This […]

An industry leader, Klingelnberg puts theory to the test in explaining the benefits of modified crowning in spur and bevel gears.

Is there anything that can still be considered new in bevel gear tooth theory? Most experts in the transmission layout industry would probably find the question interesting, but not crucial. The thing that really matters in the calculation and design of axle transmissions is the quest for more clever bridging of the gap between the […]

Careful stewardship over three generations has allowed this company to remain at the leading edge of modern forging technology.

For three generations members of his family have overseen the legacy created by Gordon Walker in 1950. Having worked for Walker Manufacturing — which was also owned by his family and produced a wide range of automotive supplies — he wanted to go into business for himself, which he accomplished by purchasing a spring and […]

Smart planning and major capital investments have transformed a collection of companies into a true powerhouse in the gear manufacturing industry.

Trained as a chemical engineer — and having spent some 25 years with Uniroyal — Bipin Doshi was looking for a new challenge; namely, going into business for himself. His last assignment with his employer had led him to a town just outside of South Bend, Indiana, where the company had a plant. In charge […]

At the turn of the last century, drawings on an engineer’s sketchpad led to the founding of an industrial giant.

In the early 1900s the maintenance engineer at a textile plant in Göteborg, Sweden, found himself puzzling over a problem. The land on which the facility was built had a tendency to shift due to weather conditions, which was affecting the rigidity of the central drives that powered the plant’s machinery — wreaking havoc on […]

A better understanding of fatigue factors in powder-metal parts—along with the tests used to determine them—will result in stronger, more-dependable gears.

Surface densification provides the opportunity for PM technology to advance into the manufacture of highly stressed product groups, such as automotive transmission gears. A key durability design requirement for such applications is the determination of allowable operating stresses for gear tooth rolling contact fatigue. The paper shows that rolling contact fatigue performance is defined by […]

Electrolytic machining is characterized by fast metal removal and the ability to focus on the edges or surfaces to be finished. Learn more about this fascinating process.

The application of electrolytic metal removal technology to medium through high volume production in automotive, aerospace, medical, computer, and other markets has continued to expand as advancements are made in the technology. The process is characterized by very fast metal removal rates and the ability to focus the process on only those edges or surfaces […]

Embracing technology, and engaging its employees, has led this company through hard times to remarkable success in recent years.

Back in the late sixties a successful power transmission supply salesman struck up a friendship with one of his customers. The owner of the company was a brilliant scientist, but not quite as adept as a businessman. The salesman began giving him marketing pointers, and one day the company’s owner turned to him and said […]

Kapp has a number of surprises in store for visitors to its IMTS booth in Chicago, including the KX300P Gear Center with ring loader automation.

Designing and manufacturing custom gearboxes for the automotive industry requires the careful combination of opposing criteria if the manufacturer is to increase torque while simultaneously reducing gear noise. An automobile gearbox requires final gears, and also final pinions. In the automobile industry noise characteristics are directly influenced by process technology, therefore transmission gears are ground […]

Modifications to KISSsoft’s gear design software has resulted in an incredibly versatile tool for eliminating the transmission errors responsible for unwanted vibration.

The variation of the tooth meshing stiffness is a primary source of noise. In production lines for gear manufacturing in large volumes, such as for the automobile industry, a gear is produced using many different tools with up to three pre-cutter processes and a finishing process (grinding, honing). Today calculation programs allow the entry of […]

Ecology Coatings has developed liquid nanotechnology utilizing UV-light curing, providing a glimpse into a greener and more efficient future for coatings application.

Imagine curing the coatings on your gears with the flip of a light switch, and being able to handle and examine the end results only a few moments later. Think of the time savings, and also the increased throughput you’d be able to achieve. Sound like the stuff of dreams? Well, thanks to the efforts […]

Interested in increasing its cutting tool life, the Getrag Axle Plant has utilized Conicity Technologies’ Engineered Micro-Geometry (EMG), resulting in major gains in productivity.

With a reputation for manufacturing some of the strongest and quietest automobile axle assemblies, production at the Getrag Axle Plant in Newton, North Carolina, has grown steadily over the years. Since 1999 production has increased from 68 axle assemblies to 1,800 per day, with the plant supplying high-end products for an expanding set of vehicles […]

From its earliest days this company has placed a premium on designing machines that are versatile, dependable, and backed by a commitment to service. The tradition continues.

There was a time in and around Warren, Ohio, when the most welcome sight a manufacturer experiencing difficulties with a machine could see was a truck rolling through the gates with a magnetic sign on the door reading “Drake Roving Retrofitters.” “Our motto was ‘You Crash, We Dash,’” says Jim Vosmik, president of Drake Manufacturing, […]

Forging is a diverse industry, and Seco has a number of different furnaces, atmosphere generating systems, and quenching systems to accommodate its many needs; not only in producing the forging product itself, but in the manufacture of dies to accomplish the forging process. Our operating philosophy is built on teamwork, and we are divided into […]

Take a moment in advance of this year’s show to look back over the history and evolution of this prestigious manufacturing showcase.

The first National Machine Tool Builders’ Exposition was held September 19-23, 1927, in the Cleveland Auditorium. The show occupied 63,000 square feet and attendance topped 12,000. Many of the machines shown were entirely new and many others embodied new features. The show required more power than any single industry exposition ever held anywhere before. A […]

Nachi Fujikoshi is developing new technologies, designing new machines, and opening new facilities—all directed toward helping you retain your competitive edge.

Its name has multiple meanings, having to do with such tenets as self sufficiency and entrepreneurial will. Founded by Kohki Imura in Toyama, Japan, the Nachi Fujikoshi Corporation has exemplified these traits for the past 78 years. With dozens of locations found literally around the globe, the company’s U.S. operations have undergone streamlining and expansion […]

To achieve a reduction of parasitic friction in automotive gearbox and drive-train components, consider the benefits of the Isotropic Superfinish process.

Microscopic examination of the traditionally ground tooth surfaces of automotive transmission gears reveals a micro-roughness and unidirectional pattern corresponding to the direction of the gear tooth grinding operation. This unidirectional grind pattern degrades the performance of the gear by acting as a parasitic, friction-inducing surface. Engine horsepower is lost in the inefficient transfer of power […]

Already known for its creativity and ability to overcome challenges, this company is quickly building a global reputation for its heat-transfer technologies.

As president and founder of Pyromaitre, Mario Grenier has established a reputation for his creativity and problem-solving skills. Perhaps those seeds were sewn during his university studies, when he received degrees in both psychology and audiology. “I was interested in the research side of things,” he says, “delving into matters having to do with sensory […]

An ongoing project sponsored by the U.S. Army and headed by Deformation Control Technology, Inc., is providing important insights into an innovative quenching process.

It is well established that carburization of low alloy steels promotes compressive residual surface stress upon quenching, and that compressive surface stresses enhance fatigue life. Building upon these principles, a U.S. Army sponsored project is in progress to improve helicopter gear fatigue life through innovative quenching and the achievement of deeper compressive surface stress. The […]

Knowledge of the proper production processes for your operation can lead to major per-piece cost savings, making you more competitive when quoting new projects.

The single-pass bore finishing process was originally developed to improve the bore quality of cast iron components, such as hydraulic valve bodies. For many years it was thought that while ideally suited for similar through-bore applications, its use would be limited. This initial belief has proven to be unfounded, as the single-pass process now has […]

Surface densification and warm compaction lead to greater density in PM gears, resulting in higher strength and improved fatigue properties.

Planetary gears in heavy truck gearboxes are normally manufactured by forging a blank, turning, hobbing, shaving, and heat-treatment followed by grinding. Due to the size of the gear the net shape capability of powder metallurgy (PM) methods can be a cost effective alternative to conventional manufacturing. Warm compaction and surface densification are two PM methods […]

With an outstanding team of technicians, and a singular software design system, this company is poised to penetrate the global market.

Every young company has its own set of challenges, usually involving such things as available capital, market awareness, employee recruitment, and product development. Farm animals wreaking havoc on the home office isn’t often found on that list. But KISSsoff — which is located just outside of Zurich, Switzerland — isn’t your average company. “We’ve been […]

Cr-Mo powder-metal steels can be a cost-effective replacement for traditional Ni-Mo P/M steels. Here’s the lowdown on the strengths of this impressive material.

Recent advances in powder manufacturing and processing have made chromium an attractive element in P/M manufacturing. In addition to chromiumís positive affects on strength and hardenability, it is also a cost effective alternative to traditional alloying elements, such as nickel and molybdenum. The purpose of this paper will be to demonstrate how a Cr-Mo alloy, […]

The Iosso-FE and ZN coating processes lend themselves to a wide variety of parts, with gears being chief among them, leading to long life and economic benefits.

It’s rare to come across a manufacturing process or method that first promises multiple increases in productivity, and then delivers even more. One such method is known collectively as the Iosso metal processes, the first of which was developed and patented more than 30 years ago. As can be expected, quite a few refinements and […]

In this feature the subject is defined, corrected, and analyzed for stresses and noise by the widely acknowledged experts at The Ohio State University.

Gear mesh misalignment may result in shifts in the load distribution of a gear pair that results in increasing contact and bending stresses, moving the peak bending stresses to the edge of the face width, and might also increase gear noise. This paper will discuss the sources of misalignment and show some examples of how […]

Torque can take the shine off of your careful design, resulting in unwanted distortion. Certain modifications can be made to avoid such an outcome.

Every gear is subject to torque, resulting in elastic deformation of the toothed parts as well as the entire rotor body. Individual teeth bend, the pinion and wheel bodies twist, bend, and expand under the effect of the torque, load, and centrifugal forces. Special consideration must be taken to compensate for the forces on gear […]

This company is a unique combination of old and new, proud of its long history while constantly updating its equipment in order to embrace evolving technologies.

Moore Gear is definitely a family operation, despite the fact that there hasn’t been anyone by that name on the premises for nearly half a century. “My father bought the company from Mr. Moore’s widow in the late fifties, and since it had been around for decades by then, he decided to keep the name,” […]

As provided by a metallurgical consultant, an understanding of the makeup and characteristics of the materials you work with can improve your bottom line.

The study of metals (metallurgy) address material selection, failure analysis, heat treating, mechanical testing, non-destructive testing, metallography, and material characterization. Small and large manufacturing companies can design and build better products by understanding and implementing these processes. This paper will discuss manufacturing specifications, machining techniques, welding techniques, verifying product integrity, measuring performance, and determining end-of-life […]

The goal is to do it well, and do it once, so it’s both disheartening and expensive to discover a flawed product. That’s why you should know about the benefits of LPC.

Many manufacturers [1] have reported that low pressure vacuum carburizing (LPC) has resulted in less distortion on gears than atmosphere carburized gears when accurate comparison tests were done. The LPC process has been applied to gears, cams, and other components for reduction in machining time (reduced stock allowance) and reduced heat treat distortion (scrap or […]

Shorter lead times, and savings of 50 to 60 percent, make purchasing reconditioned and remanufactured equipment an attractive alternative to buying new.

A company was bidding on a project and soon realized it couldn’t win if it had to buy new equipment due to the expense, so it took an in-depth look at rebuilt machines — what they would cost, whether they were dependable, what the lead times were — and decided to incorporate those figures into […]

The more you know about processes related to gear manufacturing, the more sound your decisions will be. The following is presented thanks to the Forging Industry Association.

In past issues we’ve featured forging companies serving the gear-manufacturing industry in our profile and Q&A sections, and talking with them piqued our curiosity. We wanted to learn more, so we went straight to the source and contacted the Forging Industry Association, which agreed to allow us to publish a bit of the information they’ve […]

Bolstered by capital investments and its entry into the production of large-diameter, high-precision bevel gearing, this company has enjoyed explosive growth in recent years.

It’s an interesting proposition to consider: one company purchases another, thereby increasing its capabilities and product offerings in one fell swoop. The challenge, however, involves incorporating the purchased company’s capital assets into the existing structure — as Overton Gear found when it acquired Illinois Gear in May of 2005. “In addition to moving in the […]

Known for its commitment to innovative technologies, LMT-Fette, Inc., announces enhancements to its products, services, and physical footprint in the United States.

In a market that has not seen any truly revolutionary changes in decades, LMT-Fette is pushing the long overdue evolution of hobbing. LMT demonstrates their North American commitments with facility improvements, including the new LMT Detroit Automotive Technical Center and the start up of U.S. hob production. These commitments allow LMT to provide their automotive […]

In many variations on a central theme, the involute tooth form is used in a vast array of product designs. Read on for a discussion of two useful functions.

The involute tooth form is the only tooth form that provides true conjugate action normal to the tangency of the tooth curves passing through the pitch point. The ramifications of this property give the involute gear family the ability to transmit constant angular acceleration without slippage. In a special case of the straight sided rack: […]

Whatever your product line, there is a work holding device to fit your particular application. Here’s a guided tour by a recognized authority.

As chief designer for Speedgrip Chuck, Inc., I have a fascinating job. I’ve been involved in the design and building of work holding devices for more than 25 years. There have been lots of changes during that time, and ever-increasing requirements: parts that used to be ground are now turned, formerly turned and machined parts […]

As both an OEM and a remanufacturer, BMS has acquired a vast knowledge of broaching machines and tooling over the past 60 years.

On his desk Matt Egrin keeps a weathered old entry book. It’s an accounting journal used by his grandfather, Al, a first-generation immigrant who founded the family company as Machinery and Equipment Exchange just outside of Detroit in 1946. “One of the entries is for an anvil, which he bought for a dime and sold […]

Water is everywhere in the manufacturing–and operating–environment, and minuscule amounts can foul gearbox action. Choosing the right lubricant can minimize downtime.

In a recent survey conducted by Shell of U.S. industrial companies, 50 percent of respondents said that industrial gearboxes were one of their most critical components, while 30 percent said that they had experienced a lubricant-related gearbox failure within the last 12 months. The following is a discussion of the main causes of gearbox failure […]

An increase from around 2,500 to 7,500 parts between tool sharpenings is just one of the improvements provided by an innovative new design for broaching machines.

With regards to broaching, is making new technology investments profitable? We see customers making choices based on capital investment costs verses long-term cost per part and quality capabilities every day. As we all consider program capital constraints and build return on investment models, there are necessary choices to be made. In broaching, one company is […]

This series is Intended to provide design engineers working on right angle geared applications with the knowledge necessary to further their work in-house with minimal input from inside or outside gear specialists.

This is the third of a three-part series of instructions to assist engineering designers and detailers with the process of correctly laying out bevel and hypoid gear teeth. Each guide assumes that the basic gear tooth design information is already at hand (for hypoids these items would be the shaft angle, offset, hand of spiral, […]

The following is an in-depth examination of the conversion of cylindrical gears in the AGMA system to ISO standards with the addendum modification coefficient.

The rational use of the addendum modification coefficient is one of the topics better known by specialists of gears working in the metric system (ISO). This non-dimensional parameter, also well-known as rack shift coefficient x, allows gear designs with very good adaptability of the teeth profile in practical applications. Unfortunately, the gear specialists with designs […]

Just past the turn of the last century two men combined their intellectual and financial assets to form a company, and 87 years later the results are readily apparent.

It was the beginning of the Great Depression, and the American economy had sunk to an abysmal depth. Desperate for business, David Jacobs called all of his contacts and managed to get an order from Chevrolet. Time was of the essence, so he called in one of his employees and together they fired up the […]

A careful examination of the inherent properties of diamond and CBN will allow you to choose the best superabrasive for your particular grinding application.

A careful comparison between diamond and cubic boron nitride (CBN) will eventually result in a clear decision when it comes to choosing an appropriate abrasive for grinding. This determination, though, can be made only after weighing many aspects of each grinding application. First of all, let’s look at the mechanical action of grinding with superabrasive […]

Learn about the new AGMA Gear Inspection Standard 2015-1-A01, with additions addressing profile and lead inspections including total, form, and slope deviations.

In the June 2005 issue of Gear Solutions magazine we presented an article entitled “An Elementary Guide to Gear Inspection,” which was followed by “A New Standard in Gear Inspection” in October. In this article we will focus on additions to the new AGMA Gear Inspection Standard, 2015-1-A01. These additions in this current standard for […]

This series is intended to provide design engineers working on right angle geared applications with the knowledge necessary to further their work in-house with minimal input from inside or outside gear specialists.

This is the second of a three-part series of instructions to assist engineering designers and detailers with the process of correctly laying out bevel and hypoid gear teeth. Each guide assumes that the basic gear tooth design information is already at hand (shaft angle, pinion and gear pitch diameters, outer cone distance, face width, pinion […]

Every company creates its own environment, but when that hinders productivity, everybody loses. Read on for a convincing argument on embracing a common standard.

This article is an open invitation to all gear designers and others who specify gear manufacturing tolerances, and those who put nomenclature on drawings to work toward the use of a common standard for gear geometry tolerances and nomenclature. To ask for a “common standard” sounds redundant. After all, a standard by definition is common. […]

As an established expert in miniature powder-metal gears, this company has spent 46 years focusing on the prospect of “infinite smallness.”

Allied Sinterings is a company with an appetite for success, which is perfectly in line with its physical origins. “We started out in a converted diner out on Route 7,” Mark Foster, who is the company’s president, says with a laugh. “My father, Gifford Foster, and his partner, Axel Madsen, wanted to start a company […]

ASP steels–now produced by the newly developed DVALIN process–from Erasteel help users manufacture efficient, long-lasting, precision machine tools.

In many of today’s applications for powder metallurgical steels, the requirements on the material increase consistently. Tool users are seeking improvements to achieve increased cutting speeds and feed rates, greater reliability, longer life, better tolerances, and finer surface finish. These in turn call for better substrate materials to be able to optimize parameters and enhance […]

This series is intended to provide design engineers working on right angle geared applications with the knowledge necessary to further their work in-house with minimal input from inside or outside gear specialists.

This series is intended to provide design engineers working on right angle geared applications with the knowledge necessary to further their work in-house with minimal input from inside or outside gear specialists. This is the first of a three-part series of instructions to assist engineering designers and detailers with the process of correctly laying out […]

Well-known for its hard finishing capabilities, Nixon Gear – a member company of Gear Motions – outlines its evolution toward earning a reputation for excellence.

How does a small private job shop work its way into a premier hard finishing shop? As Nixon Gear approaches its 90th birthday — with 36 of those years focused on gear grinding — it just may have become one. The following is the history of gear grinding at Nixon Gear and some of what […]