Tooth cracks are often found to be a culprit when conducting a complete failure...

Cracks originating in the surface of the tooth flank are due to Hertzian stressing at a depth relative to the maximum Hertz shear stress....

When things go wrong, conducting a detailed failure analysis is the best way to...

A gear designer must consider the most economical solution that will avoid failure within the design life. The usual result will be a gear...

Shot peening offers benefits to gears, including added strength, reduced surface fatigue

In the 11th century, every combatant carried a sword. Swords were thick and heavy to prevent breakage, making them unwieldy in battle. Those who...

As progress in the design of globoidal worm drives continues, let’s check out history,...

ISO defines a globoidal worm drive as: “A gear whose flanks are capable of line contact with those of an enveloping worm, when meshed...

The five standardized worm gear tooth forms produced by milling or grinding operations

There is a wide choice in tooth forms, each form with its own share of merits and demerits depending on the application. Several forms...

The more you know about proper lubrication, the smoother your operation will run

It has been said by Ernest Rabinowicz, professor emeritus at M.I.T., that three things terminate the life of a machine: obsolescence, accidents, and surface...

When figuring gear capacities, the load capacity of the lubricant must be considered in...

We consider gear capacities from the effects of loads on strength and wear, but we should not neglect the “third” criteria; the load capacity...

Tooth Tips: John Amendola Sr.

The formulas to which each gear standard is based produce different results in rotor size and tooth geometry. Here are the important points to...

Tooth Tips: William Crosher

Over the past 100 years there has been a remarkable improvement in gear capacities. This increase in the density of a power transmission unit...

Tooth Tips: William Crosher

Bronze Bronze Forgings and Castings Gear bronzes are designated according to their major alloying element. Only the aluminum and beryllium copper bronzes can improve their...

Tooth Tips: William Crosher

Popular practice is to mill the worm, heat treat, finish grind and, for best results, polish. Material for the worm requires a hard, smooth...

Tooth Tips: William Crosher

The first scale for comparing the hardness of materials was devised by the German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs in 1820. The scale is based on...

Tooth Tips: William Crosher

Continuing our conversation from the May issue, “Sigma” is a statistical measure of standard deviation. It is accomplished by a manufacturer’s close coordination with...

Tooth Tips: William Crosher

The gear industry faces a constant challenge in keeping abreast of regulations, standards, and customer requirements. Governments around the globe impose regulations, and our...

Tooth Tips: William Crosher

In the present day a precision reducer's backlash is typically three to six arc minutes, and on an eight inch pitch diameter that is...

Tooth Tips: William Crosher

Among the many considerations when considering the gear mesh, backlash is high on the list of misunderstandings. Backlash has a cyclically fluctuating value between...

Tooth Tips: Nick Sudzum

After a replacement set of gears have been properly manufactured and thoroughly inspected in a tester to insure that the proper contact pattern has...

Tooth Tips: Nick Sudzum

My last column covered the basics of the reverse/inverse engineering process, which is only the tip of the iceberg. Let's assume that everything went...

Tooth Tips: Nick Sudzum

Regardless of type or style, when bevel gears need to be replaced and manufacturing drawings are no longer available, your gear can still be...

Tooth Tips: Nick Sudzum

Bevel gears are predominantly manufactured using low carbon alloy materials and then carburized and hardened, or case hardened, with an effective case depth of...