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First Gear Engineering & Technology continues its growth in gear manufacturing to many markets, including aerospace, medical, food, industrial fields, and contract gear inspection.

Whenever customers visit First Gear Engineering & Technology’s shop floor, they rave about how clean it is, according to company President Greg Leffler. That outward representation of a clean and orderly business helps to demonstrate the extra effort First Gear puts in to ensure that its customers are its highest priority. “We’ve always tried to […]

This paper provides an overview of the testing procedure for plastic gears according to the VDI 2736-4.

The number of plastic gears used in different applications is increasing every year, mostly due to their cost effectiveness for large series production and lubrication-free running. With a rapid development of plastic materials in terms of strength and allowable temperature range, plastic gears are finding their way also into more demanding applications, where high transmittable […]

Companies interested in increasing capacity and agility to their precision gearing operations will be interested in the new Gleason bevel gear cutting, lapping, and testing machines. Here’s one company’s experience.
From Gear Solutions staff reports

Well over 100 bevel gear cutting machines crowded this Chicago factory floor just a few years ago, all busy producing spiral bevel gear sets by the thousands. Now those machines are gone. If you guessed that this is yet another example of a rust belt manufacturer losing its competitive edge, or shipping jobs offshore, you’d […]

In this exercise, a numerical thermal 3D model is used to predict the surface and body temperature of spur and helical plastic gears.

This paper will primarily focus on the prediction of gear temperature of plastic gears using a numerical heat transfer model based on 3D Finite Difference (FDE) method. It is quite common that in most of the applications, the plastic gears are self-lubricated. Tooth surface wear is an important failure mode in plastic gears, and this […]

Worldwide, Reishauer gear grinding machines play a major role in the manufacturing process of grinding gears used in automobiles, aircraft, and construction/agricultural machinery.

For more than two centuries, Reishauer has been shaping industrial history. Since its founding in 1788, the Swiss company has moved from manufacturing precision thread cutting tools to being a market leader in precision gear grinding machines. “Automobiles, aircraft, and construction/agricultural machinery all require high-accuracy gears for their transmissions,” said Walter Graf, marketing manager with […]

Third Wave Systems is dedicated to providing validated, physics-based software solutions to help the machining industry achieve product and process improvements.

Third Wave Systems began as a discussion over a beer between brothers Kerry and Troy Marusich in 1993 and has since grown into a leading-edge company that has been creating problem-solving software for more than two decades. Third Wave Systems produces manufacturing software that improves the machining process through physics-based modeling and had been adopted […]

With a full-service gear machining facility and a variety of in-house capabilities, American Gear & Engineering strives to make sure customer satisfaction is its No.1 priority.

Dedication to both its customers and its employees is the formula that helps set American Gear & Engineering apart. Taking care of the customer is the crux of American Gear’s philosophy, according to the president and owner, Jeff Emerson. “We will do whatever it takes to take care of the customer and always find a […]

Hainbuch America has met the challenges faced in gear production with innovative designs and products that have kept it on the cutting edge of the industry.

Workholding can often offer some interesting challenges for gear production, and Hainbuch has been more than up to that challenge for more than 60 years. Hainbuch GMBH was founded by Frida and Wilhelm Hainbuch in 1951, and Hainbuch America opened its doors in 1997 when its parent company began its first sales office in Milwaukee. […]

The following technical paper makes an experimental and analytical comparison of the noise generated by gears of austempered ductile iron and steel materials.

Over the years, there have been many claims made concerning the relative noise performance of austempered ductile iron (ADI) versus steel as a gearing material. This paper presents results from a systematic experimental study to ascertain these differences. A back-to-back test rig was used to run speed sweeps at multiple loads of profile-modified spur gears. […]

Customer demand drives Gleason’s development of breakthrough multi-sensor gear inspection technologies.

In the world of gear inspection, there are many factors to consider in understanding the needs of designers, manufacturers, and quality professionals. These include a basic understanding of the customer’s part prints, analysis requirements, and the manufacturing processes used to produce the gears being inspected. That’s why Gleason has developed a strategy known as “Voice […]

Klingelnberg has combined typical measurement tasks for axially symmetrical components on a single measuring machine for use in a measuring chamber as well as the shop floor.

Quality assurance on the shop floor is an integral part of the production chain today. It involves comparing production results against the target results at various stations in the process chain. A final quality document is frequently also provided to the end customer; here, the quality of all features relevant for the component’s function is […]

With a history of engineering ingenuity and manufacturing innovation, Felsomat has become a world leader in automated gear manufacturing.

Felsomat’s mission statement, “Better products with intelligent solutions,” has guided the company to being a world leader in the automated manufacturing of transmission gears. Beginning in 1981 with engineered pick-and-place type automation, Felsomat has evolved to providing a modular, turnkey automated system for the manufacture of helical bevel gears. “From its inception, management has always […]

Finite element gear cutting simulation helps identify process solutions more quickly than conventional trial-and-error testing.

The custom nature of gears and the high cost of cutting tools have continued to put pressure on manufacturers to reduce the cost of gear machining quickly and with minimal disruption on the production floor. To make timely improvements without costly capital expense, more and more companies are looking to squeeze additional productivity out of […]

Graphical support for process optimization in bevel gear cutting leads to increased machine performance and longer cutting tool life.

Optimal interplay between innovative gear cutting tools and powerful bevel gear cutting machines results in highly productive cutting processes with extremely high, reproducible gear quality. According to Klingelnberg, the gear cutting process itself can be seen as the link between the two elements. Increased competition and the pressure that goes along with it — particularly […]

An examination of how standards for bevel and hypoid gearing benefit from the latest achievements in gearing theory.

This paper deals with gearings that operate (a) on intersected shafts and (b) on crossed shafts. The gearings that operate on intersected shafts are referred to as “intersected-axes gearings,” or just “​​I​a​​−​gearings” for simplicity. Similarly, the gearings that operate on crossed shafts are referred to as “crossed-axes gearings,” also referred to as “​​C​a​​−​gearings1.” Hypoid, spiroid, […]

With a recent collaboration with a maker of cross wedge rolling machines, Heiko Machine Tools LLC is poised to offer its customers high-end equipment for the metal-forming industry.

Although Heiko Machine Tools LLC has only been around for three years in name, the experience behind that name speaks volumes to the customers it serves in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. And one of the ways the company serves its customers so well boils down to communication, according to Heiko President Joseph Kemple. “You’ve […]

Join us at Gear Expo 2017, THE Drive Technology Show, where you’ll be introduced to exciting new products, technology and services tailored to the drive technology and power transmission industry. The show happens only once every two years, so don’t miss it!

Why attend? Explore new technologies from more than 200 exhibitors driving the market. Interact with leading suppliers of gears and gear systems. Take advantage of the entire industry under one roof, with 60,000 sq. ft. of exhibits. Find solutions to your toughest engineering problems. Join more than 4,000 power transmission professionals on the show floor […]

Price and the ability to offer a much larger design window are making manufacturers look to powder metal gears as a solution for high-performance gears.

Powder metal (PM) alloys are becoming more of a solution for high-performance gears, not only because of part price but also because the technology offers a wider design window. Since powder metal alloys have a lower modulus of elasticity and Poisson ratio — the factors that amplify gear-tooth deflections — the design window opens up […]

Chamfering and deburring are finally getting the respect they deserve, as manufacturers devise ingenious new ways to take the pain out of applying these important auxiliary processes.

If there’s a “red-headed step child” among the cylindrical gear manufacturing processes today, it’s chamfering and deburring. Since these operations historically add cost and time to the production process, but practically no value, they generally go unloved, underappreciated, and even ignored. But manufacturers that underestimate their importance do so at their own risk, particularly in […]

ASI continues to expand its testing, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities through cost-effective design and manufacturing of increasingly sophisticated electromechanical systems for its expanding customer base in the medical mobility, material handling, and floor-care markets.

ASI Drives is a manufacturer of complete custom-engineered gear drives, including gears, motors, and castings designed primarily for battery-powered machines that weigh less than 1 ton. ASI has steadily grown since its founding in 1985 by CEO Barney Berlinger as a spinoff from Quaker City Gear, which was founded by Berlinger’s grandfather. “Quaker City Gear […]

Pre-nitriding is a technology that addresses grain growth and creates a finer grain structure in the carburized case at higher temperatures. Case studies show how carburizing productivity has doubled, and sometimes tripled, using pre-nitriding.

Carburizing is a surface-hardening method that uses heated metal in a carbon-rich environment to increase carbon levels on the metal, via diffusion, for added hardness. Power transmission parts (gear boxes, gears, shafts, etc.) are a good example of components that benefit from carburizing. Traditional/endothermic (“endo”) atmosphere carburizing, which takes place in a controlled atmosphere, has […]

A comparison of tooth interior fatigue fracture load capacity with the predicted bending and pitting fatigue capacities, as calculated according to standards. Effects of several methods that can be used to mitigate TIFF risk are evaluated based on their performance, with respect to the other failure modes.

Introduction Gears are case hardened to produce residual stresses at the surface — improving wear resistance, bending fatigue, and contact fatigue strength. These beneficial compressive stresses are balanced by tensile stresses within the core. This poses an increased risk of fatigue crack growth below the surface. Both tooth interior fatigue fracture (TIFF) and tooth flank […]

Understanding the pros and cons of bearing types for industrial gearboxes and monitoring bearings once in service can help contribute to successful application outcomes.

  Rolling bearings play vital roles in supporting the shafts and gear wheels of industrial gearboxes and, often, several different bearing types will function in one gearbox. Even when these precision components are properly designed, manufactured, and specified, however, effectiveness and service life can be threatened at every turn. Over time, the performance of a […]

Self-improvement and further education are necessary tools when it comes to succeeding in the gear industry.

Everyone should make an effort to improve themselves. One of the best ways this can be done is through education. This allows growth, which makes education a personal investment. After all, knowledge is one thing no one can take away. It is a self-promotion, and it benefits us all. Learning is also invaluable since it […]

A quality-control plan for parallel-axis gear manufacturing requires significant investment in analytical and functional inspection equipment, labor, and production cost. Minimizing these costs requires a good plan. Moving the analytical inspection equipment closer to the manufacturing location has consequences that can increase costs. One of the common mistakes in an attempt to avoid extra costs […]

Great Lakes regional sales manager for Hainbuch America Workholding Technology

  How did Hainbuch get started? It’s a very innovative company that’s been in business since 1951. It started out making replacement collets. And that kind of grew and grew. Mr. Gerhart Rall, Mr. Hainbuch’s son-in-law, came on board to help Mr. Hainbuch run the company. And he was active in the first development of […]

Modern thinking has shown that machine tools and tooling can’t be seen as separate entities.

The Swiss company, Reishauer, has shaped industrial history since its foundation in 1788. Originally, the company was set up as a smithy to make hand tools. In 1863, a “taps-lathe” was built to make the first threading taps with a radial relieving unit. With the growth of the tap market share, the company was well […]

Wenzel America is an innovative provider of customized metrology and styling solutions, built on a solid foundation of German precision engineering and strong partnerships as a family-owned company.

With thousands of customers around the world using Wenzel machines, the company is considered a leader in the metrology industry. Its focus is on solving the toughest measuring requirements for its customers, wielding its longtime expertise in German engineering, which dates back to 1968. Parent company Wenzel Präzision GmbH was founded by Werner Wenzel in […]

A comparison of standard worm hobbing to the worm screw power skiving (WSPS) process is discussed, including cutting speeds, axis rotational speeds, machine kinematics, and machine configuration. A calculation example for small-pitch worm screws shows that a manufacturing cycle time can be reduced with the WSPS process.

This paper shows how to produce worm screws when your actual gear hobbing machine configuration has the hob axis perpendicular to the workpiece axis with a swiveling of ±30 degrees for the hob head to produce helical gears. As known, from the perpendicular axis of the workpiece, the helix angle of a worm screw is […]

An experimental study, with variables including superfinishing, coated gear teeth, and two different lubricants, evaluates the effective coefficient of friction in a gear mesh, resulting in a parameter that could be utilized in estimating frictional losses in a gearbox.

The impact of gear tooth surface roughness and advanced coatings on frictional losses in a gear mesh is of significant interest to the transmission community, as these losses reduce the efficiency of the drive system. Maximizing efficiency to save fuel has long been an objective in vehicle industries. In recent years, the power generation sector […]

This approach from Renk AG allows manufacturers to form a network with their products, allowing operators and gear designers an accessible set of data and providing advantages to not only the end user but also to all involved in the purchase, design, commissioning, application, and maintenance.

During the past decades, the capacity of production machinery increased continuously in nearly all industries. A doubling of the capacity in a time span of 20 years is a coarse but helpful point to fathom. With machinery becoming more powerful, investments per unit increased significantly. Thus, in order to expedite the return on investment, machinery […]

With a motto of “If you’re not looking ahead, you’re already behind” and a focus on customer satisfaction, quality, and innovation, Advanced Jiffy Machine Products is a custom gear manufacturer that’s continuously increasing its capacity and efficiency.

At the recent AGMA Annual Meeting, Mark Jackson, process engineer at Advanced Jiffy Machine Products, heard much discussion about the Internet of Things (IoT). And while it may seem overwhelming for any business to keep up, he feels confident that, for a small gear manufacturing company in Monett, Missouri, they are steadily staying on the […]

A breakthrough design has been developed to optimize stiffness, stability, and speed of the gear generating grinding machine, reducing non-productive time in the process.

The increasing demand for efficiency and noise emission of gears pushes the grinding process to its limits. With the widening range of applications for automatic planetary transmissions and increased number of speeds (currently up to 10), gears on average are smaller and smaller, while production volumes are increasing. The same applies to industrial applications, for […]

A review of the microstructure and properties of tin bronze, manganese bronze, and aluminum bronze material that make them suitable for specific worm gear applications is presented, as well as results from mechanical tests and microstructural studies comparing the centrifugally cast and static-cast gear bronze (tin bronze) alloy.

Worm gears are used for large gear reductions. Gear ratio ranges of 5:1 to 300:1 are typical. Generally, worm gear setup is designed so that the worm can turn the gear, but the gear cannot turn the worm. The angle of the worm is shallow, and as a result, the gear is held in place […]

Demands for higher loads, complex geometries, flexibility for change, and predictable materials are moving the transmission test stand industry away from fabrications to lost foam casting.

For decades, powertrain test systems incorporated custom test stand gearboxes constructed with fabricated gearbox housings. In some cases, fabricated housings are still a viable option. But for more complex, dynamic component testing — especially with critical performance requirements, heavy loads, complex geometries, and machine integration constraints — cast gearbox housings are chosen. RedViking has built […]

With new owners taking over the business in 2007 and implementing strategic changes such as new equipment investments and achieving ISO accreditation, Rochester Gear has the ability to meet customer needs for small- to medium-sized precision gears with shorter lead times while maintaining high quality standards.

When a fortuitous opportunity falls into your lap, you don’t want to let it slip by, especially when it means becoming the owner of a highly experienced, well-tuned gear job shop in Rochester, New York. That’s what happened to Rochester Gear’s president, Tony Fedor, who recalls a successful turn of events for a once-static gear […]

Whirling is a fast method of producing worms: a toolholder ring, carrying a series of profiled carbide cutters, is set eccentric to the workpiece axis and rotates at a high speed. This paper describes the machining process and presents a case history with a comprehensive view of the time and cost benefits compared to a previous situation with standard machine tools. Geometric constraints in the worm shaft design due to the whirling process are also discussed.

The worm geometry of worm gearboxes, especially the thread profile and the shape of the thread flanks, depends on the machining method. The machined profiles are universally defined by the same criteria in several standards: ISO/TR 10828 [1], AGMA 6022-C93 [2], and DIN 3975 [3]. The most commonly used are: Straight-sided axial profile, usually produced […]

Expanding mandrels that hold gears between centers are used in the gear manufacturing process, most commonly in gear inspection, where high precision and range of expansion are key benefits.

In the gear manufacturing industry, the final inspection process is the last step before the gear is shipped to the end user. In order to achieve reliable inspection data, a highly accurate device is needed for holding the pinion or gear. For the process of inspecting pinion teeth, the pinion is typically mounted between centers […]

General guidelines and simple mathematics, including ways to calculate spindle speeds, are presented to assist manufacturing engineers and decision-makers in determining if power skiving is a viable solution to manufacture a part.

The interest and successful application in power skiving is increasing within the gear manufacturing community as well as within companies that have access to modern five-axis machines but, thus far, have outsourced their gear manufacturing. The initial solution was developed and patented in 1910 in Germany [1]. Following a somewhat dormant period, a U.S. patent […]

Specializing in gears and gearbox assemblies for the aerospace and defense industries, Southern Gear is celebrating 60 years of success attributed to customer and employee retention, as well as having the latest equipment, processes, and training for improved efficiency.

Keys to success may vary for each gear manufacturing business, but Southern Gear & Machine has found the right formula that works for them. It’s how they’ve become an experienced, well-trained, financially strong, and cutting-edge gear manufacturer meeting the demands of well-known aircraft and military customers. It’s a formula for success that started 60 years […]

Understanding the factors in the broach tool manufacturing process that affect performance can save time and money.

Broach tools may look alike at first glance, but they don’t always perform the same. Some work the first run but don’t perform well after sharpening. Measuring performance over time is the proof in the pudding. Start by looking closely at your broaching tools, who made them, and how. This article by the “Broachman” will […]

MHI’s Machine Tool division has a long history of innovation due to the expertise and dedication of its cutting tool engineering department.

The gear skiving process was first introduced over 100 years ago. The machines and tools of the time were not up to the task, so the process never gained widespread acceptance or usage. Skiving has reemerged periodically and is enjoying a current resurgence. Now, as when originally introduced, there is a need to improve tool […]

Fluid evaluations were conducted using an efficiency rig instrumented with a production-scale worm gearbox. Testing was conducted under a wide range of speeds and loading, and pronounced differentiation among fluids was observed for their impact on power loss and operating temperature.

Gearboxes found in mining and manufacturing sectors encounter a variety of harsh conditions. Heavy loading, longer duty cycles, and high operating temperatures constitute a typical operating environment; ingress of contaminants such as particulates and water may add to the problem. Contributing to further duress, gearbox size reductions have also led to elevated operating temperatures. The […]

Building upon its almost 100-year history of making small gears and pinions for Swiss watchmakers, today the company is manufacturing technologically advanced high-precision gear hobbing machines for micro-gear customers in a range of industries.

Affolter was founded in 1919 by Louis Affolter, making pinions and gear assemblies for local Swiss watch customers. In 1926, Louis expanded its capabilities and set up a workshop in a family apartment, sparking an almost 100-year tradition of keeping the company in the family. In 1946, Louis’ sons Andre, Rene, and Marc took over […]

Experimental results, obtained on a triple-disc micropitting rig under conditions designed to isolate the effects of the slide-roll ratio and specific film thickness, show that increasing the slide-roll ratio increases the extent of micropitting; however, the mechanisms responsible for this are not related to any potential effects of the slide-roll ratio on the prevalent film thickness, but rather to the increased number of asperity stress cycles at higher slide-roll ratios.

Micropitting is a type of surface damage that occurs in concentrated, rolling-sliding contacts, such as those between gear teeth, through rolling contact fatigue mechanisms. It differs from macropitting in that the damage initiates on the surface asperity level rather than the macro contact level. As such, micropitting is prevalent in contacts operating under low specific […]

This study shows how the global equations tool and general calculation formulas in the SolidWorks application can be used to update a model just by modifying the spur gear number of teeth to reproduce a new gear with equivalent mechanical characteristics in simulation.

For a spur gear as a mechanical element, the design and sketching of the involute guarantees optimum functionality. This paper shows the parametric design of the generation of the involute tooth flanks with driven curves for a spur gear using SolidWorks. The full parametric design of the gear using the SolidWorks global equations tool and […]

A real-time tool monitoring system for gear hobbing machines has been developed and implemented in manufacturing plants to accurately detect and track tool wear through data collection and without changing process parameters.

Gear-making technology has been advancing at an extremely rapid pace. By many accounts, developments in tooling and machine technology have quadrupled productivity in the last 10 years. But that performance comes at a price, and the sophisticated tools and machines that make it possible are significantly more expensive than those used a decade ago. That […]

For over 40 years, B&R Machine and Gear Corporation has been providing small-batch, high-precision gearing. It prides itself on offering personal customer service while leading the industry as a full-service gear manufacturing facility.

B&R Machine and Gear Corporation specializes in manufacturing direct replacement gearing for a wide range of industrial markets. With the capacity to produce right-angle gears up to 80″ in diameter, B&R considers themselves part of an elite group who is able to offer such sizable bevel gearing. “While we have historically focused our efforts and […]

A system approach is used to optimize the macro and micro design to minimize the transmission error while ensuring that robustness (bending, contact, scuffing, and micropitting) safety factors are not compromised.

The desire for engines that provide more torque and power is driving higher loads into the gear train. At the same time, expectations for noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) require systems that are even more refined. The gear train design engineer has several factors available to consider; some are controllable, and others are not. Given: […]

A method is presented to characterize premium quality clean steels using statistics of extreme values (SEV) and quantitative stereology. The data can be used to perform gear design relevant engineering analysis of the potential for a gear failure due to bending fatigue in the root or flank or rolling/sliding contact fatigue of the gear tooth face.

The “Metallurgical Specifications for Steel Gearing” information sheet (AGMA 923-B05) [1] details non-metallic inclusion limits to meet AGMA grade expectations for a range of gear metallurgical processing methods (case carburized, through hardened, etc.). These limits allow gear designers and producers to select material suppliers that will meet the minimum expectations for material fatigue performance, but […]

This paper suggests two ways to calculate a load reversal factor that would be material-specific, based either on Modified Goodman or Gerber failure theories, and further provides a method of calculating the reliability factors that closely match the AGMA tables found in ANSI/AGMA 2101-D04.

The American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA) rating standard, ANSI/AGMA 2101-D04, “Fundamental Rating Factors and Calculation Methods for Involute Spur and Helical Gear Teeth” [1], uses load reversal and reliability factors in the calculation of the rated load capacity for gear teeth. This paper proposes a useful method to calculate the reliability factor instead of using […]