An update on the latest gear design software from several vendors, plus what gear design engineers can expect next.

Chairman Todd Praneis of Cotta Transmission describes the activities of AGMA's Enclosed Drives technical committee.

Tooth contact under load is an important verification of the real contact conditions of a gear pair and an important add-on to the strength calculation according to standards such as ISO, AGMA or DIN. The contact analysis simulates the meshing of the two flanks over the complete meshing cycle and is therefore able to consider individual modifications on the flank at each meshing position.

Profile corrections on gears are a commonly used method to reduce transmission error, contact shock, and scoring risk. There are different types of profile corrections. It is a known fact that the type of profile correction used will have a strong influence on the resulting transmission error. The degree of this influence may be determined by calculating tooth loading during mesh. The current method for this calculation is very complicated and time consuming; however, a new approach has been developed that could reduce the calculation time.

In this paper, the potential for geometrical cutting simulations - via penetration calculation to analyze and predict tool wear as well as to prolong tool life - is shown by means of gear finish hobbing. Typical profile angle deviations that occur with increasing tool wear are discussed. Finally, an approach is presented here to attain improved profile accuracy over the whole tool life of the finishing hob.

Easily one of the central issues affecting U.S. manufacturing is what one might call the exports deficit—the inability of American companies to sell products to, for instance, Asian markets, developing countries and other ports of call—due to what they perceive to be unfair trade agreements and or policies.

The machine element package by KISSsoft for the design and optimization of components like gears, shafts, bearings and others is now available in the new version 04/2010.

Gear manufacturers are moving into an era that will see changes in both engineering practices and industry standards as new end-products evolve. Within the traditional automotive industry, carbon emission reduction legislation will drive the need for higher levels of efficiency and growth in electric and hybrid vehicles. Meanwhile, the fast growing market of wind turbines is already opening up a whole new area of potential for gearbox manufacturers, but this industry is one that will demand reliability, high levels of engineering excellence and precision manufacturing.

Gear engineers have long recognized the importance of considering system factors when analyzing a single pair of gears in mesh. These factors include important considerations such as load sharing in multi-mesh geartrains and bearing clearances, in addition to the effects of flexible components such as housings, gear blanks, shafts and carriers for planetary geartrains. However, in recent years, transmission systems have become increasingly complex—with higher numbers of gears and components—while the quality requirements and expectations in terms of durability, gear whine, rattle and efficiency have increased accordingly.

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is adapted, validated and applied to spinning gear systems with emphasis on predicting windage losses. Several spur gears and a disc are studied. The CFD simulations return good agreement with measured windage power loss.