With the 175GMS nano, Gleason brings submicron-level inspection capabilities to smaller gears, helping ensure minimal noise, greater precision, and longer life
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.
Thanks to advancements in material science and chemistry, particularly in nanoscience, a new solution has emerged: nanocomposite coatings, more broadly referred to as thin-film coatings. But how did we arrive at this point in coating development? As with many technologies, war highlighted the need for more advanced coating development eventually leading to nanocomposite coatings.
Gear Technology recently had the opportunity to sit down with Thomas White, Marketing Manager for Northern Technologies International Corporation, whose ZERUST line of corrosion prevention solutions includes specialized packaging, testing and comprehensive corrosion management services.
Gaging evolves for precision, productivity, ergonomics and more
June 12, 2024
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.
Gear Technology began with the May/June 1984 issue. Forty years later, we’re still going strong! Please join us in looking back at some of our milestones and celebrating what makes this publication truly unique in the marketplace.
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.
From the outside, Gallmar Industries, nestled into an Oshkosh, WI, neighborhood, looks like any unassuming, medium-sized gear shop. Then take a plant tour with Gallmar’s VP of Operations Kenan Zolota—and prepare to be amazed. The facility stretches on like the Army’s warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, with everything from gear cutting to heat treat, gear grinding to inspection, all under one roof. Gallmar’s breadth of product line is in evidence too: defense-related transmission gears, 60-in. diameter internal gears for mining equipment, axle components for fire/ rescue trucks five feet in length, right down to a bin of brass ammunition casings that Zolota says are a special order.
As a community, we gear engineers collaborate and share ideas to progress our collective capability. Technology progresses based on our efforts, and we have seen solid advances in the performance of our products as they become quieter, cheaper, more efficient, and more power dense. The pages of this magazine (past and present editions) are filled with examples where talented engineers have dug deeper into a subject using a more precise approach to a particular area concerning gear performance. The implied belief is always that greater precision (complexity) in the calculations brings greater accuracy (alignment with reality).
New training programs and digital training technologies are closing the gap between shortages in skilled workers and an increasingly complex manufacturing environment. People are your most valuable asset, and investments in training pay enormous dividends downstream.
Training has quickly evolved in recognition of the new realities of the factory floor. The training tool kit has never been more diverse or effective. Training regimens today, at the best companies, are analogous to those of the most successful professional sports or Olympic teams. Instead of weight room, nutrition, and practice, workers use digital webinars, simulations, and classrooms. If modern training tools and techniques result in faster, higher, and stronger on the athletic field, they also produce faster, smarter, and better for companies seeking a competitive edge in the marketplace.