Metal alternatives — ceramics and ceramic composites — are achieving real-world applications
Ever since iron-bearing meteorites were discovered on earth, metal has been the material of choice for making almost anything requiring greater strength than wood....
Trend Talks: Anna Claire Howard
In an industry as competitive and quality-oriented as gear manufacturing, meeting the latest and greatest industry standard and sporting a seal of certification on...
Q&A with Peter Riehle
Wittenstein was awarded the 2015 Hermes Award at the Hanover Fair in Germany for its new Galaxie Drive System. What does it mean to...
History of Bending Fatigue, Part III
In rotating machinery, bending and contact fatigue life is a principle concern in design life. In all wrought and powder metal gearing and mechanical...
Buying Used Equipment: Do’s and Don’ts
For those of you who didn’t attend the recent American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA) annual meeting, you missed a great opportunity to network and...
Critical and non-critical aspects of achieving expected results in heat treating processes
There have been thousands of scholarly articles and how-to books written about heat treating and its related metallurgy. In past columns, I’ve opined that...
Trend Talks: Anna Claire Howard
Here in the United States, the word “apprenticeship” isn’t in the vernacular. Students often feel pressured to attend a four-year university straight out of...
Q&A with David Adams
Calico Coatings was founded by Tracy Trotter, owner and former racer, so it makes sense that the company got its start in the motorsport...
Protecting Critical Infrastructure
Information is the most valuable commodity any company has. Whether it is held in a persons mind, a cabinet, or a computer, the information...
Heat treating in the United States – where have we been and where we...
I can remember way back in the mid-seventies when the programmable logic controller (PLC) was just starting to make its way into heat treating...
Trend Talks: Anna Claire Howard
It happened.
You did everything you could to prevent this sort of disaster, but it still happened.
You’re on track for production and everything seems to...
Q&A with Jerry Hendrickson
Could you tell our readers about the genesis and history of Willman Industries?
The company has been around since roughly the late 1800s. It was...
History of Bending Fatigue, Part II
Safety factors cannot replace appropriate evaluation of impending dynamics in fatigue design. Determining the design life model is where the process must begin. Using...
History of Bending Fatigue, Part I
Bending fatigue life is a principle concern in all wrought and powder metal gearing and all mechanical power transmission components. It is also a...
Looking at a Print
Gears are hard to make. They come in all shapes and sizes and are made out of a variety of materials. Our customers dream...
Heat treating is an energy hog where three energy sources find application: natural gas,...
A conundrum exists in that natural gas, coal, and fissionable metals are used to make electricity and, in some shape or form, electricity is...
Trend Talks: Anna Claire Conrad
Ahead of the recession, Smiths Machine did what many machine shops were doing at the time. They were riding the wave of automotive parts...
Q&A with Dan Agius
Tell us about how Nordex got to where it is today and the role it plays in this industry.
Nordex was incorporated in Connecticut in...
The Factor of Safety as a Statistical Design Variable
Classic Factors of safety – sometimes called service factors
According to NEMA, a Motor Service Factor (SF) is the percentage of overload the motor can...
Dealing with Parts Rejection
You got the call or the email, or maybe the box just showed up. One of your customers rejected some parts. The box winds...
