January/February 2018

We'd Grow Faster If We Could

It's probably no surprise to anyone that the majority of the gear industry had a pretty good year in 2017, and that most gear manufacturers are expecting a pretty good 2018 as well. After all, most major economic indicators - including the ones that focus on the manufacturing sector - have been positive for some time.

There's a Story Here

As the founder, president and co-host of Manufacturing Talk Radio, as well as publisher of Metals & Manufacturing Outlook eZine, I am excited to report that the economic outlook for 2018 is just too good not to tout. Whatever "final GDP number" the government divines for 2017, the year will finish above 3% for the first time in a decade.

Cyber Physical Gear Production System: A Vision of Industry 4.0 Gear Production

This report describes Klingelnberg's vision of Industry 4.0 gear production.

Analysis of the Influence of the Working Angles on the Tool Wear in Gear Hobbing

A calculation method is developed to estimate tool wear on hobs.

Globalization's Effect Upon Gear Steel Quality

Background on the development of a high-speed, automatic hardness tester for gear steels.

Holding Fast, Bouncing Back

Business is finally starting to get back to usual in the big gear world, which offers us a chance to look back at the greatest lesson on how to survive an economic downturn. Includes the sidebar: "Brass Tacks with Klingelnberg."

Pardon the Disruption

Emerging technologies such as robotics/automation, new materials, additive manufacturing and IIoT can and will change the course of gear manufacturing for the foreseeable future.

Grinding It Out

C & B Machinery Meets Rigorous Demands with Installation of Manufacturing Cell.

2018 State of the Gear Industry

Results from our annual survey of gear manufacturers reveal that business is good, but the skilled labor situation is not.

Skiving is Thriving on a Global Scale

Call it new wine in old bottles, or old wine in new bottles, but gear skiving has certainly aged well over time. Gear skiving's evolution, perhaps gaining momentum most dramatically since around 2004, has ultimately led to rather dramatic technological advancement and cost saving in the manufacture of certain gears.

Solutions for Your Process Engineer Shortage

As you might imagine, I talk to many gear industry people through the course of my day-to-day activities. And there is one question that I hear over and over again. "Joe, we need an experienced gear process engineer. Do you know anyone who's available?"

Teaching Technicalities

Lego Technics actually just turned 40 last year. Technic kits have always differentiated themselves from their blocky contemporaries with a focus on additional parts such as gears, motors and axles to facilitate motion, and while the window dressing has changed over the years from the bulldozers and helicopters of yesteryear to the newest, coolest sports cars today, that core premise hasn't.

Praewema Antriebstechnik Develops Precise Machining Solutions for Planetary Gearing

The DVS gearing specialist Praewema Antriebstechnik continues to expand its technological expertise in order to keep pace with the growing significance of planetary geartrains for automatic and particularly electric vehicles, with the associated need for even higher-precision production of toothed gear components.

Product News

The complete Product News section from the January/February issue of Gear Technology.

Industry News

Fraunhofer CMI focuses on new U.S. gear and transmission technologies group, plus other news from around the industry.

Calendar

The complete technical calendar from the January/February 2018 issue of Gear Technology.