Archives

With over 80 years of combined experience in the gear-cutting industry, father and son Frank and Robert Carmona and the people at Carmona Gear are here to serve those in need of their gear knowhow and expertise.

There’s something to be said about a small company with big aspirations. It’s ambitious, hard working, and dedicated to catering to the needs of its customer base. Carmona Gear Cutting in Rockford, Illinois, is that small company, and it has been serving businesses in need of gear-cutting expertise since 1985. Founded by Frank Carmona nearly […]

Using a wire EDM injection mold cavity for a work wheel is an ideal option when designing plastic gears. This method will offer more versatility and ultimately reduce costs and time put toward the finished product.

Crossed-axis helical gears (non-enveloping) is a method of transferring motion when using non-parallel axis shafts. These shafts are typically at a 90-degree angle. This method uses a worm to drive a worm wheel. Figure 1 shows an example of an injection molded plastic worm wheel. Plastic injection molded gear cavities are typically produced using an […]

The developed method of cutting bevel gears on universal five-axis milling machines has replaced the conventional cutting process in many areas. By this method, it is possible incorporate a flank form of a bevel gear given by grid points.

Recently, the cutting of bevel gears on universal five-axis milling machines has been widely accepted as a promising solution to replace the conventional cutting process. The process is highly flexible and does not require special tools. Thus, it is particularly suitable for small batches, prototypes, and repairs in-use having unacceptably high lead times. In order […]

This is a description of a non-destructive, multi-frequency electromagnetic structure test method to verify properties of heat-treated gears.

Steel structures depend on alloy and heat treatment for durability and strength. Ferritic and martensitic structures behave ferromagnetically, and austenitic structures behave nonmagnetically. Therefore, steel alloys, at certain heat treatments, will have certain magnetic properties. The characterization of magnetic properties, including its reaction to magnetic fields, is made by its permeability. Behavior of ferromagnetic material […]

A global leader in presetting, tool management, and measurement, Zoller is committed to providing customers with comprehensive solutions to challenges.

In the wake of World War II, Alfred Zoller opened up a mechanical repair shop in Germany, performing repairs all different types of mechanical items. It wasn’t until more than two decades later that he developed an innovation that would send his company on a path of global expansion. In 1968, in a move that […]

Started in 2003, All American caters to the needs of its customers by creating custom quality gears and bringing an expansive knowledge of gears and gear manufacturing to the table.

The saying goes when one door closes, another door opens. It’s meant to motivate people to not give up even when it seems like they’re out of options. That could not be truer for Khawar Anwar, president of All American Mechanical Components and Gears, Inc. Anwar began his career as a gear engineer at a […]

Despite operating as a major manufacturer of engineered metal cutting solutions for powertrain components in North America, Colonial Tool Group, Inc. has upheld the charm and product quality associated with smaller companies.

Tucked away in Canada’s southernmost city of Windsor, Ontario, just south of the Detroit, Colonial Tool Group, Inc. has come a long way the past 85 years since its start as the Canadian arm of Michigan Tool in 1929. Throughout its lifespan, it has been bought, sold as a subsidiary of a number of companies, […]

Two-decade commitment to collaboration and quality solidified this company’s position in the oil and gas drivetrain component design, consultation, and manufacturing market

It’s often said that two heads are better than one. When each party plays to his strengths, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Twenty years ago last month, a pair of co-workers at a machine shop in British Columbia had a meeting of the minds and branched out on their own. […]

The reason for P/M’s success is its ability to offer the design engineer the required mechanical properties with reduced component cost

Powder Metallurgy is a proven technology to produce high strength gears for the automotive industry.  Advances in powder production, compaction, and sintering combined with double pressing have enabled overall part densities up to 7.5 g/cm³ in spur gears. However, helical gears are more difficult to produce to these same densities because the geometry does not […]

Investigating the tools, equipment, and technology surrounding the deburring of gears

In the gear deburring process, the operator must determine the method, or tool, that will  be used. Three tool options exist for performing this task — grinding wheels, brushes, and carbide tools. (Reference 1) Grinding wheel method If you’ve chosen to use a grinding wheel for deburring, the next step is to choose the proper […]

A week abroad gives new perspectives on the global market

Ordinarily, I would have hung up the phone immediately. In my life to that point, I had been able to successfully avoid bogus time-shares, Nigerian princesses, unclaimed lottery windfalls, and all the other various two-bit grifts, cons, and swindles. I had heard the urgent phone pitch promising free trips to varied spots around the globe […]

Over 114,000 on hand in Chicago as the manufacturing technology industry celebrates its 30th edition

The 30th edition of IMTS — The International Manufacturing Technology Show 2014 was the fourth largest IMTS in history and the largest six-day show ever with registration of 114,147 representing 112 countries. This was a 13.9 percent increase over IMTS 2012. IMTS covered more than 1.282 million net square feet of exhibit space and hosted […]

Robust Gear has been manufacturing high quality custom precision gears for over 25 years, and they aren’t slowing down anytime soon.

Robust Gear was incorporated in August 1985, by Tarsem (Sem) Tak in the town of Oakville, Ontario. Tarsem‘s dream was to create a niche in the custom gear market that would be fulfilled and serviced by his company. By the time of his death in December 2012, Tarsem had built up a solid reputation of […]

Tests to reduce risk are used to build confidence in the design and analysis techniques before the final product reaches an aircraft.

Weight reduction is of great importance in the design of gearing for aerospace applications. Natural resonance responses of the gear head and shaft change in frequency and amplitude as weight is reduced for aerospace gears. Care should be taken to understand the gear resonance modes and compare the modes with operating speeds. Modes should be […]

Transmitting 54 megawatts, or 72,000 horsepower, through one gear mesh at a pitch-line velocity of 29,000 feet per minute is not child’s play.

Another Day at the Gear Hospital Over the past 40 years, we have had many gearboxes come to our door that have had chronic, operational issues in need of remedial treatment. Sometimes, the fix is straightforward, and sometimes it’s pretty complex. Design Model This last year, The Gear Works became involved in a gearbox repair […]

The UNIMILL method produces bevel gear geometries identical to those produced by face milling cutters.

Manufacturing of spiral bevel and hypoid gears can be conducted in several ways. The following methods are commonly known: • Face hobbing with a circular face cutter, which rotates while the work rotates in the opposite direction (continuous indexing). • Face hobbing with tapered hob (peripheral cutter), which rotates while the work rotates as well […]

The R/C Rack System is the first major innovation in spline rack tooling since the inception of the process 60 years ago.

The spline rolling process was invented by the Michigan Tool Company in 1954. The tools used for the process, commonly referred to as spline racks, are solid pieces of toothed tool steel designed in such a manner as to cold form the appropriate number of external involute spline teeth on a work piece, typically a […]

Three things separate Motion Industries from the rest: people, products, and process.

According to Randy Breaux, senior VP of marketing for Birmingham, Ala.’s Motion Industries, there are three things that separate his company from the rest: people, products, and process. People  Breaux said, “We have a solid base of technically competent personnel in the field to make sure our customers are getting the right replacement parts for […]

Examples of gearing with non-parallel axes can be easily found in the industry.

This paper pertains to gearing with non-parallel axes of rotation of the driving and the driven members. Examples of the gearing can be easily found in the industry – all gearings with crossed axes of rotations (further, CA-gearing for simplicity), and all gearings with intersected axes of rotations (further  IA-gearing for simplicity) feature the axes […]

An investigation of the stresses and deflections of a floating ring gear with external splines working in a large planetary wheel motor of a mining truck.

The design of a planetary ring gear is always a challenge due to the contradictive requirements it must comply with. On one hand, the ring gear should be strong and stiff enough to successfully carry the applied load. On the other hand, it should have as small volume as possible to account for the radial […]

Several gear failure cases yielded important lessons for the development phase of aircraft high lift actuation systems.

The high lift system of an aircraft, including trailing and/or leading edge slats/flaps, increases lift for takeoff, controls flight during cruise, and reduces landing distance for touch-down.  This flight control system is usually composed of power drive units (PDUs), torque tubes, bevel gear boxes, offset gearboxes, leading edge (LE) geared rotary actuators (GRAs), trailing edge […]

A series of Fine-ground and Polish-ground gears are currently being tested by various gear manufacturing companies and transmission developers around the world.

As the original inventor of continuous generating gear grinding technology, Reishauer has been a leader in hard finishing of gears for decades, with a particular focus in the automotive industry in the past few years.  Among the best-known company’s developments, are: continuous-shift generating grinding, high-performance generating grinding, low-noise shifting and twist-control grinding. The newly developed […]

Two companies make the most of their swarf with RUF Briquetting.

Briquetting is a way to regain value from the materials you already have. Gear grinding operations are finding the value they thought was lost in the grinding sludge. The bonuses of increased operational efficiencies and safer working conditions are realized once companies start using a briquetting system. Corrugated Replacements, Inc., a developer of machine replacement […]

ECM USA Inc. is capable of evaluating your metallurgical, production, and budget needs to provide solutions for your manufacturing and corporate requirements.

ECM was started in SEYSSINET-PARISET, a town attached to Grenoble, France. They’ve been a company since 1928 when they started using heat treat furnaces. Since the 1960’s, ECM personnel have been dedicated to understanding temperature control, high pressures, vacuums, and the behavior of materials. They evolved their company to expand outside the European market. They […]

Even a small focus on improving lubricant condition can have a dramatic impact on the life of gears.

No matter what industry you serve, there’s a good chance that gears and gearing are critical to your process. In fact, gears are so commonplace that we tend to take them for granted. But have you ever stopped to think what keeps gears running reliably? The answer is simple: lubrication. For any gear, whether we’re […]

Overview A leading, U.S.-based medical device manufacturer was experiencing significant product failure. The surgical device, which included a plastic gear, was melting during surgery requiring the surgeon to use two devices during each procedure. Not only was this diminishing the end users’ desire to use the product, it was increasing hospital costs. At $1,000 per […]

This unique modeling capability will allow selecting or developing the shaft seals that would meet and exceed modern gearbox demanding application.

Industrial gear units are widely used in power transmission systems. They are composed of shafts, gears, rolling elements bearings and dynamic lip seals. The seal’s performance is critical for a proper functioning of the system. Water or contamination ingress into a mechanical system may lead to a premature failure. Leakage of oil may have the […]

Hot forging simulation has gained special attention in finite element modelling of thermal processes due to its high importance among manufacturing processes.

During the last two decades, there has been very intense research activity in the field of finite element simulation in metal forming processes; among them, hot forming has gained special attention. This is mainly due to the high importance of the process on the one hand, and also to the rather challenging nature of this […]

TiN coating gears can provide subsurface protection and improve the contact fatigue life.

The developing trend of gears focusing on high-speed, heavy-duty, lightweight, and small sizes makes hardness promotion of gear face through traditional surface treatment and improvement of the bearing capacity of gears by enlarging module faces many limitations. Special work conditions require new types of surface strengthening methods as well as new gear materials with high […]

This Michigan company helps gear companies of all sizes navigate the industry, optimize their tool life, and improve production schedules.

 

Four years ago, everyone presently at Macomb, Mich.’s Involute Gear and Machine was working for Nachi Machining Technology—formerly National Broach and Machine—as either contractors or employees. Nachi had decided to close their Michigan headquarters and relocate to their Indiana office and manufacturing facilities. Several employees decided they didn’t want to relocate, and an opportunity to […]

Subcontractors of highly precise gears have to face the increasing demands of their customers every day. The design of gears gets more individual and the demand for high accuracy steadily increases. Therefore not only manufacturing needs to adapt to these changes, but quality assurance needs to be adaptable to new tasks.

The gear manufacturer Gibbs Gears, located in UK-based Stoke Mandeville, met the challenge and extended their machinery with a gear measuring machine from Wenzel. Gibbs Gears has an international clientele, which consists of branches like aerospace, motorsport, medicine, and other commercial industrial sectors. It is always the company’s highest priority to fulfill their costumers’ individual […]

The best PM manufacturing suppliers that specialize in making gears have a gear engineer on staff who works with the customer to make them successful.

In the early nineties, I was working at a transmission manufacturing facility in Indiana that made lawn and garden transmissions. Their products used large numbers of powder metal and cut gears. On a typical day, 15,000 PM gears would be assembled into product. This company made transmissions full of PM gears for 30 years or […]

This 10-step process for lubricant selection makes the process easier and more systematic, resulting in improved equipment reliability.

An assumption has been made that anyone reading this has a basic knowledge of most gear types and their geometric makeup. Gears are a unique application for lubrication in that they provide a different challenge than other lubricant applications. In non-gear applications, the moving surfaces are in sliding motion or rolling motion. Gear teeth, however, […]

Successful applications for the G90 in hobbing combined with the calculation of total lifetime costs of the hobs.

Companies in today’s competitive environment are always looking for opportunities to improve their manufacturing productivity. Turning, milling, and drilling operations utilizing throwaway insert solutions allow easy replacement with a more economical one. In the gear hobbing process, the majority of the tools are reconditioned to achieve the best utilization and cost-effectiveness of an expensive tool. […]

Richardson Manufacturing Company is committed to meeting customer requirements and increasing customer satisfaction through continuous improvement.

Richardson Manufacturing Company (RMC) is not a stagnant company. “We’re constantly testing new technology and tooling,” says company president Bill Richardson. “For nearly 70 years, RMC specialized in high-precision CNC horizontal bore milling and vertical turning operations for large components. We pride ourselves on our ingenuity in workholding, cutting tool applications, and process development. Our […]

New abrasive grains developed by 3M are redefining the process of gear grinding.

To date, grinding, according to the German DIN Standard 8580, is “machining with geometrically undefined cutting edges” while other machining processes such as turning and milling are classified as processes with “geometrically defined cutting edges.” New abrasive grains, developed by 3M and called Precision-Shaped Grain, stands this definition on its head. For the first time, […]

As gear grinding on modern CNC machines evolve, Kapp has introduced a modern method for the similar application on gear tools that could be used on internal teeth as well.

The word “topological” is often an over-used and misapplied adjective for design philosophies and manufacturing methods of gears. In the late 1970s, Maag used “Topological Modifications” with their SD series of zero degree dry grinding machines. The Maag zero degree method used single-point contact between the wheel and gear flanks during grinding and was capable […]

Premature failure of forging dies costs the forging industry millions of dollars each year. Michigan Technical University and Walker Forge conducted research to reduce this problem.

Forging is defined as the process of working hot metal into a desired shape by impact or pressure1. The hot metal is formed into shape using dies that have the desired geometry machined onto their surfaces. Introduction Forging is defined as the process of working hot metal into a desired shape by impact or pressure1. […]

An analysis of the two types of early bearing damage observed with wind-turbine gearbox failures: micropitting and axial cracking.

Introduction As the growth of wind energy continues, the average size and capacity of wind turbine generators is also increasing. This size increase pushes designs and materials to new limits, potentially increasing the cost of operation; in particular the cost of repairs, downtime and unscheduled maintenance. Wind turbine gearboxes are typically designed and certified by […]

With their competitive pricing and shorter delivery times, Griffin Gear has definitely staked its claim in the larger gear sector.

“We’ve made gears from the beginning,” said Randy Stewart, president of Griffin Gear Inc. “Joe Griffin, Sr., who started the business in 1967, was originally involved with a family foundry business. We started out as a company that did a little of everything, but then began our focus on gearing.” Located in Roebuck, SC in […]

A discussion of detailed destructive metallurgical evaluations of a specific lubrication erosion failure, which the authors have conducted in order to analyze and characterize the failures.

As a result of our evaluation of the pit type defects observed on all of the Cameron Pinion Shaft teeth, DST offers the following proposed mechanism of failure. Failure Mechanism a. The semi-circular rough, somewhat shiny surface pit type defect present on each Pinion tooth was the result of cavitation erosion. Cavitation is defined as […]

Seeing gear production as a total component solution is a more flexible, integrated approach.

From traditional hobbing machines to modern indexable carbide inserts, much has changed in gear technology over the years. As innovative solutions to previous options emerge on the gear-milling scene, shops now have unique opportunities to achieve major productivity gains. Every gear manufacturer has the same goal in mind; to produce superior gear components in the […]

Greater accuracies, faster cycle times, and better surface finishes are all byproducts of choosing the right workholding solution for gear production.

As I sit down to write this article, I realize that in one week I will have spent 35 years of my life manufacturing and designing chucks. I began working here at Speedgrip Chuck, Inc. in March 1979, shortly after leaving the military. My first position here was as a machinist, working nights while attending […]

Proudly Australian with an international reputation for quality, Ronson Gears has become a market leader by thinking globally.

Gordon New likes to reminisce occasionally. “History can get forgotten if you’re not careful,” he said. “I remember my brother, Terry, and I going up to the factory when I was five and he was 10. We have fond memories of that time.” That was 60 years ago. Today, Melbourne, Australia’s Ronson Gears is making […]

Company: Ingersoll Cutting Tools
Customer: Allied Specialty Precision

Allied Specialty Precision Gains Competitive Edge by Looking Past the Obvious Look beyond the obvious, and you may well find a better way to machine a part and serve your customer better. That’s the lesson illustrated in a gear machining application at Allied Specialty Precision Inc. (ASPI), Mishawaka, IN. Long story short: the company dramatically […]

A “one-size-fits-all” approach is seldom the optimal solution. The belief “helical is better” is not sustainable.

This paper explains the differences and the effects of zero-helix-angle and non-zero-helix-angle gears in planetary gear systems. As a conclusion, it points out that the belief “helical is better” is not sustainable. For lower noise and quieter run, helical gears have the advantage. If it comes to loadability, smaller size, and higher torque density, as […]

A discussion of detailed destructive metallurgical evaluations of a specific lubrication erosion failure, which the authors have conducted in order to analyze and characterize the failures.

Material science is the oldest of all science and engineering disciplines. It is not an overstatement to say that materials science has transformed human history. The Bronze Age and the Iron Age defined the rise and fall of complete civilizations. The economic might of the industrial revolution was built on the Age of Steel. During […]

Research and development of asymmetric tooth spur gears for modernization of the light multipurpose helicopter gearbox has amplified its load capacity to utilize more powerful turboshaft engines.

Application of asymmetric tooth gears for aerospace propulsion drives allows for considerably increased power transmission density, potentially increasing their load capacity and reducing size and weight. However, there are not many practical implementations of such gears. One such application of asymmetric gears in the turboprop engine gearbox is described in “Application of Gears with Asymmetric […]

For this year’s broaching issue, Gear Solutions has enlisted two companies — Broaching Machine Specialties and Slater Tools — to offer insight into two very different types of broaching: conventional and rotary.

 

 

Conventional Broaching: Be a Broaching “1%-Er” By Matt Egrin, President of Broaching Machine Specialties After giving a 15-minute plant tour of BMS to lay people, I often tell them at the end of the tour that they now know more about broaching than 99% of people in the world. I believe I can say that with […]

Winzeler Gear is like no other precision plastic gear facility. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind, creative gear company that makes you think differently about gear design and manufacturing.

“Artistic freedom” isn’t usually a term thrown around in conversations about the gear industry. But like in any industry, every gear company is unique, and John Winzeler, president of Chicago’s Winzeler Gear, has put his perspective to good use in his gear factory. Winzeler has worked with photographer Erich Schrempp and his team for 15 […]

Even with all the ground plastic gears gained, their evolution is far from over as new and more demanding gear applications continue to emerge.

Plastic gears are growing larger, more precise, more complex in geometry and more powerful. High performance resins and long-fiber compounds are aiding this evolution. Higher-end materials such as acetal copolymers (POM) and long fiber reinforced thermoplastics (LFRT) are finding broader use in gear applications, including innovative transmissions driven by high-precision plastic shafts and gears. Plastic […]

Inclusion of computational materials engineering into currently established integrated product development processes increase the competitiveness of any manufacturer that chooses to implement it.

Material science is the oldest of all science and engineering disciplines. It is not an overstatement to say that materials science has transformed human history. The Bronze Age and the Iron Age defined the rise and fall of complete civilizations. The economic might of the industrial revolution was built on the Age of Steel. Our […]

CNC gear metrology machines provide a stable, robust platform, able to position and control movement in both linear and rotational axes.

In today’s competitive manufacturing environment, especially for products as specialized as gears, many of the world’s leading gear OEM’s and their top suppliers are demanding greater system capability and utilization from their investments in quality control. Just measuring gear geometry is no longer sufficient. For gear metrology, where the demand for accuracy is at sub-micron […]

New manufacturing methods enable the designer of gears greater latitude in the design of strong alternative root forms.

Gear root form is an important but often neglected element of the gear. The stress concentration point typically lies in the tooth-to-root transition area, and it is this point that determines the life or the fatigue life of a gear in many applications. Specific standards are in place on design of the involute part of […]

Aside from his role at Great Lakes Gear Technologies, Ray Mackowsky’s years witnessing CNC development in gear production have given him a unique view of what’s to come.

Ray Mackowsky’s company, Great Lakes Gear Technologies,serves as gear industry consultants and sales representatives for a number of the world’s premiere gear equipment companies. Mackowsky knows the industry thoroughly and from multiple perspectives, and says his 35 years in the gear industry “have been amazing” for what we have seen in the changing technologies for […]

The conflict between flank modifications, with a focus on load capacity, is documented.

Many dimensions of the gears and the toothing are determined that have significant influence on load capacity and noise excitation. Though a detailed analysis is not in focus yet, the final goal of optimization has to be kept in mind. The last step of optimization usually is an adequate design of flank modifications. The possibility […]

While steel is well known as a gearing material, for both its strengths and its weaknesses, ductile iron remains a lesser-known commodity even after several decades of use.

Gears made for applications in the mining and cement industries cover a wide range in terms of size and transmitted power: from Ø1 m to Ø14m, from 500 kW to 17 000 kW (dual pinion drive). To select a material to suit all these different applications is somewhat more complicated today than perhaps 50 years […]

A precise analysis of the contact ratios in the meshing of gears is essential, whether you are designing new gears or assessing existing gear units.

KISSsoft’s contact analysis software is widely used because it calculates a wide variety of characteristics of interest for gears that are under load. These include: • The normal force that occurs during meshing; • The actual path of contact under load; • The transmission error, stress curves, flash temperature, specific sliding, power loss, heat generation, […]