| Gear Technology Magazine

Politics of Manufacturing

July 1, 1998

In the approximately 15 years that I have been writing editorials for Gear Technology, I've purposely avoided certain topics. Sex, religion and my own used gear machinery business are among the subjects that have always been off limits. But with this issue, I'm going to break one of my long-standing taboos by talking politics.

Product Liability for Engineers

July 1, 1998

This textbook, written for college level engineering students, gives a basic grounding in the complexities of product liability law. It also provides useful information to those of us involved in the manufacturing of gears and gear systems in that the fundamental concepts apply to all types of manufacturers.

Plastic: The Not-So-Alternative Technology

July 1, 1998

"We're taking over," says Art Milano. It's a bold statement from the engineering manager of Seitz Corporation, one of the largest manufacturers of injection molded plastic gears, but Milano has reason for his optimism. Plastic gears are big business-probably bigger than most gear industry "insiders" realize.

Alternative Gear Manufacturing

July 1, 1998

the gear industry is awash in manufacturing technologies that promise to eliminate waste by producing gears in near-net shape, cut production and labor costs and permit gear designers greater freedom in materials. These methods can be broken down into the following categories: alternative ways to cut, alternative ways to form and new, exotic alternatives. Some are new, some are old and some are simply amazing.

Exhibitors Prepare for the Biggest IMTS Ever

July 1, 1998

IMTS Show Coverage for 1998.

Introduction to ISO 6336 What Gear Manufacturers Need to Know

July 1, 1998

ISO 6336 Calculation of Load Capacity of Spur and Helical Gears was published in 1997 after 50 years of effort by an international committee of experts whose work spanned three generations of gear technology development. It was a difficult compromise between the existing national standards to get a single standard published which will be the basis for future work. Many of the compromises added complication to the 1987 edition of DIN 3990, which was the basic document.

Effects of Planetary Gear Ratio on Mean Service Life

July 1, 1998

Planetary gear transmissions are compact, high-power speed reducers that use parallel load paths. The range of possible reduction ratios is bounded from below and above by limits on the relative size of the planet gears. For a single-plane transmission, the planet gear has no size of the sun and ring. Which ratio is best for a planetary reduction can be resolved by studying a series of optimal designs. In this series, each design is obtained by maximizing the service life for a planetary transmission with a fixed size, gear ratio, input speed, power and materials. The planetary gear reduction service life is modeled as a function of the two-parameter Weibull distributed service lives of the bearings and gears in the reduction. Planet bearing life strongly influences the optimal reduction lives, which point to an optimal planetary reduction ratio in the neighborhood of four to five.

The Music of the Gears

July 1, 1998

It should be obvious by now that gears are more than just mechanical components. We have brought you movies with gears and Shakespeare with gears, jewelry made out of gears and so on. Now we, the humble staff at Addendum, are proud to present gears in the world of music.

Product News

July 1, 1998

Welcome to our Product News page. Here we feature new products of interest to the gear and gear products markets.

Technical Calendar

July 1, 1998

Complete Technical Calendar for July/August 1998.

Industry News

July 1, 1998

Industry News for July/August 1998.

What the Internet Means To Your Gear Business

July 1, 1998

Michael Goldstein

Let's face it. The Internet is still, to many of us, exciting, confusing, terrifying and frustrating by turns. The buzzwords change so fast that even the most high tech companies have a hard time keeping up. Cyberspace. Firewall, Java. E-commerce. The list goes on.