With the recent software release Zeiss Industrial Quality Solutions (Zeiss IQS) enhances its extensive software portfolio, introducing cutting-edge innovations in multiple software products to optimize inspection processes and streamline data handling capabilities.

Zahnradfertigung OTT GmbH & Co. KG was the first company to install the new fully automatic CNC-controlled P 152 precision measuring center from Klingelnberg in its ultra-modern machine park.

Mahr MWF GmbH has developed and built a measuring machine for double-flank gear roll testing to meet the individual requirements of a customer. This machine tests the form feature concentricity deviation Fr on the internal toothing of gears. The noise development of the subsequent gearbox can then be predicted based on the measurement results. This is an important aspect, particularly in electromobility.

Zeiss and CleanControlling, a leading test laboratory for technical cleanliness, signed a cooperation agreement in April. The goal of the cooperation is to optimize products and industrial analysis techniques, and to set new market standards.

At the Control trade fair for quality assurance, Jenoptik offered a variety of automated measuring and inspection stations as well as new sensors and functions of the proven measurement technology for the target groups of automotive manufacturers and suppliers. Here are some highlights:

Complete inspection of gear surface finishes at the submicron level became a reality with the introduction of Gleason’s 300GMS nano, in 2022. The new system ushered in an exciting new era in gear inspection. For the first time, producers of EV transmission gears, and gears for other applications requiring very tight tolerances and low noise requirements, could quickly inspect surface finishes and perform extremely reliable noise analysis at submicron levels—benefits that were almost impossible to achieve just a few years ago.

When electric drives are used in vehicles, the masking effect of an internal combustion engine disappears, allowing the noise behavior of the transmission to take center stage. At the same time, peak power and torque increase, engine speeds increase, and power must be transferred optimally in both directions due to the regenerative braking system. Conventional design parameters remain important, however: The build space is limited, durability must not be compromised, and the product must still be cost-efficient. Optical metrology as part of a hybrid measurement concept helps to overcome all these challenges.

For precision measuring, skilled machinists, toolmakers, and inspectors must have accurate tools and gages, produced from quality materials, carefully manufactured, and rigidly inspected, to ensure lasting dependability. Gages have evolved throughout the years beginning with mechanical, then electronic models, and now convenient wireless electronic versions have come on the scene. Each type has an important place in today’s quality control and inspection processes.

The arrival of Gleason’s Hard Finishing Cell (HFC) in 2018 represented a paradigm shift in the way automotive transmission gears and gears for e-drives, could be produced in high volumes. Now, for the first time, 100 percent inspection of every gear, and every gear tooth was possible in-process, without impacting the high speeds at which these gears need to be hard finished. Identifying, and correcting for, conditions that create unacceptable noise behavior in these gears, on the fly, was finally a reality too.

Alongside the annual service anniversary celebration, the reunion of retired employees is another traditional event at Klingelnberg. Every three years, the Klingelnberg works council and Management Board invite all retired colleagues back for a reunion celebration. On 18 April 2024, Group Executive Board Members Christoph Küster (CFO), Philipp Kannengießer (COO), and Prasad Kizhakel (CSO) joined deputy chairman of the works council Ibrahim Er and Head of Human Resources Michael Schwarzer in welcoming the retired employees to this year’s get-together at the Hückeswagen, Gemany plant.