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?

Tremec and Klingelnberg have been working together with regard to tool and gear measuring machines since 1993.  They recently collaborated on transmission technology with Speed Viper machine tools. 

Production demands continue to rise with the burgeoning electrification movement. The desire for high-precision gears and low-cost manufacturing requires versatile and affordable high-efficiency processing to serve the needs of a variety of industries. Gathered here are a few recent hobbing solutions from Affolter Group, Helios Gear Products, and Nidec Machine Tool Corporation.

Virtual prototyping (VP) is an area where huge advances have been made. As gear and transmission systems, and the methods of their production, become more complex and more interdependent, finding ways to use VP across the entire development process—from the initial design, through analysis, right up to manufacturing—ultimately means gaining a better understanding of system performance and efficiency.

Applying their Materials by Design methodologies, QuesTek Innovations has expanded their ICME framework under US Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to adapt their high-performance Ferrium C64 gear steel to AM processes to demonstrate printability across multiple systems, achieve AMS minimum tensile properties, and observe a positive response to heat treatment.