Below are listed the Gear Technology advertisers exhibiting at Gear Expo 97.

"A Decade of Performance" is the theme of the American Gear Manufacturers Association Gear Expo 97, to be held October 19-22 at Detroit's Cobo Hall. Products and services related to every aspect of the gear manufacturing process, from turning and grinding the blanks to coating and inspection of the gears,will be represented at the show.

His resume reads like that of many gear engineers of his generation: the stint in the army during World War II; the break for college in the late 40s; deliberately vague descriptions of projects for the Air Force in the New Mexico desert in the early 50s; the corporate engineering jobs later on in the decade.

For many years, when gear engineers have been confronted with tough problems either in the field or on the drawing board, one of the inevitable suggestions has been, "Ask Darle Dudley," or "Check the Dudley book." That's not surprising. With more than fifty years' experience in gear design and credits for five books (with translations in French, German, Spanish and Italian), numerous papers, lectures, and patents, and a worldwide reputation as a gear expert, Darle Dudley's position as one of the men to ask when dealing with knotty gear problems is unassailable.

This book is written for those among us, with or without a technical background, who have an occasional need to use, purchase or specify gears. The author assumes an audience that is not made up of experienced gear designers, but of people who do need to have a basic understanding of the criteria used by the designer. The subjects covered include not only the gears themselves, but their manufacturing methods, the systems that contain them and the terms used to describe them.

Many potential problems are not apparent when using new induction heat treating systems. The operator has been trained properly, and setup parameters are already developed. Everything is fresh in one's mind. But as the equipment ages, personnel changes or new parts are required to be processed on the old equipment ages, personnel changes or new parts are required to b processed on the old equipment, important information can get lost in the shuffle.

Okay. You've been convinced. You've gritted your teeth and decided to spend the money to launch a company Web site. Everybody from your teenage propeller-head to the girl in the mail room and the salesman in the flashy suit who gave you "such a deal" on Web site services has promised that your site will be the best thing that's happened to your business since the advent of CNC machines.

Design Problem: Develop a gear drive for a pedal-powered water craft that will be easy to manufacture, use and maintain; that will be lightweight enough for the boat to be portable; and that will eliminate the environmental risk of lubricants leaking into the water.

Designing and manufacturing gears requires the skills of a mathematician, the knowledge of an engineer and the experience of a precision machinist. For good measure, you might even include the are of a magician, because the formulas and calculations involved in gear manufacturing are so obscure and the processes so little known that only members of an elite cadre of professionals can perform them.

Physical Vapor Deposited (PVD) coatings such as TiN (Titanium nitride) have been a boon for cutting tool manufacturers. They reduce wear and, therefore, extend tool life, which in turn reduces production costs. But PVD coatings are expensive, and when they fail, they cost both time and money, and they causes of the failure are not always readily apparent.