May 2010

Building on Your Foundation

When you graduated from school and made your way into the world, you probably thought you’d learned everything you needed to know to be successful. But those of us who’ve been out in the workforce for some time know that you never stop learning.

Herman Pfauter Responds

A Letter to the Editor in response to the March/April 2010 Addendum page.

AGMA--American Name, International Association

AGMA Voices is a new feature brought to you by Gear Technology in cooperation with the American Gear Manufacturers Association. AGMA Voices will give you opinions, insight and information presented by various AGMA staff members, board members, committee heads and volunteers. In this column, Gear Technology will bring you guest editorials from the gear industry’s leading association.

Future Demands Next Generation of Standards and Practices in Gear Industry

Gear manufacturers are moving into an era that will see changes in both engineering practices and industry standards as new end-products evolve. Within the traditional automotive industry, carbon emission reduction legislation will drive the need for higher levels of efficiency and growth in electric and hybrid vehicles. Meanwhile, the fast growing market of wind turbines is already opening up a whole new area of potential for gearbox manufacturers, but this industry is one that will demand reliability, high levels of engineering excellence and precision manufacturing.

Implementing ISO 18653-Gears: Evaluation of Instruments for Measurement of Individual Gears

A trial test of the calibration procedures outlined in ISO 18653—Gears: Evaluation of Instruments for the Measurement of Individual Gears, shows that the results are reasonable, but a minor change to the uncertainty formula is recommended. Gear measuring machine calibration methods are reviewed. The benefits of using workpiece-like artifacts are discussed, and a procedure for implementing the standard in the workplace is presented. Problems with applying the standard to large gear measuring machines are considered and some recommendations offered.

Software-Based Process Design in Gear Finish Hobbing

In this paper, the potential for geometrical cutting simulations - via penetration calculation to analyze and predict tool wear as well as to prolong tool life - is shown by means of gear finish hobbing. Typical profile angle deviations that occur with increasing tool wear are discussed. Finally, an approach is presented here to attain improved profile accuracy over the whole tool life of the finishing hob.

Allowable Contact Stresses in Jacking Gear Units Used in the Offshore Industry

An offshore jack-up drilling rig is a barge upon which a drilling platform is placed. The barge has legs that can be lowered to the sea floor to support the rig. Then the barge can be “jacked up” out of the water, providing a stable work platform from which to drill for oil and gas. Jack-up drilling rigs were first introduced in the late 1950s. Rack-and- pinion-type jack-up units were introduced soon after that and have dominated the industry ever since.

Your Tax Dollars at Work: U.S. Commerce Department, Your Boots on the Ground Overseas

Easily one of the central issues affecting U.S. manufacturing is what one might call the exports deficit—the inability of American companies to sell products to, for instance, Asian markets, developing countries and other ports of call—due to what they perceive to be unfair trade agreements and or policies.

The Counterfeit Culture: Fake Products and Parts Present Global Market Challenges

It’s happened to most manufacturers at one point or another. A defective product comes back from a customer in need of repair. Perhaps a bearing or a gear drive has failed, and the customer simply needs a replacement. Upon further examination, the company realizes it was never one of its products in the first place, but a fabricated copy that snuck into the market. The manufacturing community has been dealing with counterfeit products for decades, but used machinery dealers and Internet shoppers seem to continuously get hit by scam artists.

Sherlock Holmes and the Gear-Filled Weapons of Mass Destruction

What’s that sound? The churning of gear teeth meshing with the creak of film reels. A bit of “Holmesian deduction” leads us to the conclusion that it’s time for the next installment of the Addendum’s Gears in Film Series!

KISSsoft Update Integrates Parasolid CAD Core

The machine element package by KISSsoft for the design and optimization of components like gears, shafts, bearings and others is now available in the new version 04/2010.

Product News

The complete Product News section from the May 2010 issue of Gear Technology.

Industry News

The complete Industry News section from the May 2010 issue of Gear Technology.

Hybrid, Alternative Drivetrains Take Center Stage at CTI Symposium

As the automotive industry continues to reinvent itself, new transmission technologies are at the forefront of this effort, and there is a whirlwind of new developments being detailed at the German Car Training Institute’s Automotive Transmissions and Drive Trains Symposium North America.