On the surface, it may not seem like the gear inspection industry has changed much over the last few years. Shops still primarily use either machines that are dedicated solely to measuring gears, or multiuse Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMMs). And regardless of which machine they use, software serves as the backbone that supports their many diverse sensors.
In 2022, machine manufacturer Klingelnberg again honored its employees with longstanding service to the company. This year’s honorees included 16 colleagues celebrating 40 years of service and 14 employees looking back on 25 years with the company. Two employees are even marking a full 50 years of service.
Nondestructive examination (NDE) of ferrous and nonferrous materials has long proved an effective maintenance and anomaly characterization tool for many industries. Recent research has expanded its applicability to include the inspection of large, open gear drives. Difficulties inherent in other NDE methods make them time-consuming and labor-intensive. They also present the user with the environmental problem of the disposal of used oil. The eddy current method addresses these problems.
There are problems in dimensional measurement that should be simple to solve with standard measuring procedures, but aren't. In such cases, using accepted practices may result in errors of hundreds of microns without any warning that something is wrong.