Dwight Smith is vice president at Nidec Machine Tool America LLC. Formerly, he was the Sales Manager for Kapp Technologies, and product manager for the R&P Metrology line of large gear measuring equipment, which Kapp Technologies distributes in North America. He has over twenty-five years of experience in the gear industry and gear metrology. He has chaired an AGMA committee and is an instructor for the AGMA Basic Gear School.
Many years ago, when asked how the
five-meter gear was checked, the quality manager responded, “When they’re that big, they’re never bad!” That may have been the attitude and practice in the past, but it no longer serves the manufacturer nor the customer. Requirements have been evolving steadily, requiring gears to
perform better and last longer.