The following study presents an experimental methodology, employed to characterize the NVH behavior of plastic gears NVH in application-like operating conditions, presenting guidelines for material selection in terms of optimal gear NVH. 

An extremely wide selection of different plastic materials is currently available on the market. A major limitation, however, is a huge gap in gear-specific material data on these materials, which is a problem that has been persisting for decades now. Providing a step towards a solution is the German guideline VDI 2736, which proposes design rating methods (Ref. 2) along with testing procedures (Ref. 3) to be followed to generate reliable data required in the gear rating process. This paper delves into the current state of the art in plastic gear testing, providing a comprehensive overview of employed testing methods, supplemented with case studies.

TJC L.P. (“TJC”) announced the successful close of the acquisition of Delrin, a highly differentiated, global homopolymer business. Today marks the launch of Delrin as an independent company, building on a 60+ year legacy of partnering with customers to help solve their toughest technical challenges. Under TJC’s ownership, Delrin is well positioned for growth by continuing to innovate in partnership with our customers across mobility, healthcare, material handling, industrial automation, and consumer end markets, and invest in our technology and capabilities.

While I was attending the 10th International VDI Conference on Gears 2023—held in Garching, Munich at the Gear Research Center (FZG) of the Technical University of Munich from September 13th to 15th, 2023—Delrin, a product family of DuPont, introduced a new high molecular weight nucleated resin specially formulated for use in applications requiring high creep resistance and fatigue durability. I had the good fortune to sit down and speak with Guillaume Doy, Global Marketing Leader from Delrin, to hear more about their acetal homopolymer for high-load mechanical applications.

In this interview, we learn about Gleason Plastic Gears (GPG), a division of Gleason Corporation that specializes in designing and manufacturing plastic gears using their proprietary no-weldline technology. GPG has diversified its customer base and serves various industries such as automotive, medical, electronics, home and leisure, marine, education, and hobby. The interview covers topics such as the advantages of the no-weldline technology, surprising applications where plastic gears are replacing metal gears, promising materials and methods for the future of plastic gears, challenges faced by plastic gear designers, and recent developments in services, software, and manufacturing technology. 

Solvay, observing key trends and factors affecting the transportation sector, has developed, tested, and applied materials for a wide variety of automotive uses. Central to those objectives are efficiency and regulatory targets, engine size reduction, increased electrification of the powertrain, low NVH, and higher efficiency through lightweighting. It’s no longer a question of whether high-performance plastics are meeting NVH and other challenges in e-mobility environments, but which polymers are good for high-performance gears?