The 7th International Conference on Gears 2017 will be held in Garching near Munich at the Gear Research Centre (FZG) of the Technical University of Munich from September 13 to 15, 2017. Supported by national and international associations, the conference brings together over 600 leading experts from the international gear and transmission industry. Participating in the conference gives you the opportunity to take part in this leading international forum and learn about the latest developments and research results in the powertrain industry and academia.

Following on from the success of the past conference, VDI expects that the International Conference on Gears 2017 will be a unique meeting point for equipment manufacturers, producers and researchers of gear and transmission systems to present their new solutions, latest research results and technical ideas. There is still room for improvement in the field of gears and transmissions, how gears can contribute to increasing energy efficiency, reducing resource consumption and how new technologies will be incorporated in the powertrain.

The Conference will present the following topics: design, analysis, geometry and simulation of gears and transmissions; industrial applications, such transmissions for energy systems or for mobility systems, etc.; manufacturing, such as productivity increases with new concepts for machine and manufacturing processes, machine running time or throughput time - balancing productivity and flexibility; NVH behavior and noise reduction; new materials, lubrication and coatings for higher durability; testing, for example, new test methods and/or procedures for service life, efficiency or predictive maintenance.

Specialist lectures will be put on by the following companies: ABB, AKGears, DriveConcepts, ESI ITI, Georgii Kobold, GKN Sinter Metals Engineering, Gleason Plastic Gears, Harmonic Drive Systems, Involute Simulation Softwares, imq Ingenieurbetrieb für Materialprüfung Qualitätssicherung und Schweißtechnik, JATCO, JR Dynamics, KISSsoft, Orbitless Drives, Ovako, Renk, Rolls-Royce Deutschland, Romax Technology, SEW-Eurodrive, Siemens, Sintex, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Stackpole International, SwePart Transmission AB, Toyota Central R&D Labs., VibraTec, Voith Turbo, Wittenstein, ZeMA - Zentrum für Mechatronik und Automatisierungstechnik, ZF Industrieantriebe Witten, ZG Hypoid and more.

The presidents of the International Conference on Gears 2017, Professor K. Stahl and Professor i.R. B.-R. Höhn, Gear Research Centre (FZG), Technische Universität München (TUM) and Dr. Bouché from Getriebeau Nord officially open the conference by welcoming all registered guests.

A subsequent panel discussion titled "Will Gears be a High-Tech Product in the Future?" will focus on the main question as to what will influence gear technology in the future. In an open dialog between different experts and stakeholder organizations the panel will discuss the current situation, future trends and solutions in the field of gear technology.

Topics will include the importance of plastic gears to a modern industry or how CNC machines offer flexibility and cost effectiveness in key areas of gear manufacturing and the impact on business. Questions such as "Why are conventional thinking and manufacturing paradigms preventing the widespread adoption of cost-effective powder-metal energy transfer solutions that minimize NVH and maximize efficiency and power density?" or "Tradition vs. progress - how can we reconcile the potential of material, lube oil, calculation and machining with increasing emphasis on reliability, efficiency, lightweighting and cost?" will be considered.

Panelists are: Andrew Dempsey, Vice President, Powder Metal Division, Stackpole International, Ancaster, Canada; George Diaz, General Manager, Gleason Plastic Gears, Rochester, New York, USA; Claude Gosselin, Ph.D., P.Eng., President, Involute Simulation Softwares Inc., Quebec, Canada; and Dr.-Ing. Burkhard Pinnekamp, Head of Central Technology, Renk AG, Augsburg, Germany.