The latest machines, tooling and technology for gear grinding were featured at IMTS 2012.

The objective, according to Dr.- Ing. Hansjörg Geiser, head of development and design for gear machines at Liebherr, was to develop and design a combined turning and hobbing machine in which turning, drilling and hobbing work could be carried out in the same clamping arrangement as the hobbing of the gearings and the subsequent chamfering and deburring processes.

Q&A with Liebherr's Dr. Alois Mundt.

Machine tool companies are expanding capabilities to better accommodate the changing face of manufacturing. Customers want smaller-sized equipment to take up less valuable floor space, multifunctional machines that can handle a variety of operations and easy set-up changes that offer simplified operation and maintenance.

In the past, the coffee breaks and dinner events at Sigma Pool’s gear seminars have often triggered future process development and product improvements. This was still the case during the 2009 installment where customers and suppliers talked shop inside and outside the banquet hall on the new market and technology challenges currently facing the gear industry.

Peter Kozma, executive vice president of Liebherr-America, Inc., talks with us about Liebherr and its partners in the Sigma Pool.