The complete Industry News section from the May 2014 issue of Gear Technology.

KPS Special Situations Funds announced their acquisition of Cloyes Gear and Products. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclo...

This article also appears as Chapter 1 in the Gleason Corporation publication "Advanced Bevel Gear Technology." Gearing Principles in Cylindrical and Straight Bevel Gears The purpose of gears is to transmit motion and torque from one shaft to another. That transmission normally has to occur with a constant ratio, the lowest possible disturbances and the highest possible efficiency. Tooth profile, length and shape are derived from those requirements.

Fig. 1 shows the effects of positive and negative rake on finished gear teeth. Incorrect positive rake (A) increase the depth and decreases the pressure angle on the hob tooth. The resulting gear tooth is thick at the top and thin at the bottom. Incorrect negative rake (B) decreases the depth and increases the pressure angle. This results in a cutting drag and makes the gear tooth thin at the top and thick at the bottom.

Now that the new tax bill has been passed, the time has come to begin evaluating how it will affect investment strategies in the machine tool business. Your first reaction may be to think that any motivation to invest in capital improvements in your company is gone, because both the investment tax credit and the accelerated depreciation on capital investment have been removed from the tax law. After all, if Uncle Sam is not going to help us out through some short term tax gains, why should we bother? Can we afford to bother?