aerospace | Gear Technology Magazine

Mission to Mars

Gears that go “above and beyond”

August 15, 2024

If all goes as planned, NASA will launch its Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL) Mars mission from Florida’s Space Coast in June 2028, the start of its latest, and greatest, mission to Mars. By sometime in the early 2030s, the SRL mission will have succeeded in traveling to Mars; gathering samples already collected by the Perseverance Rover; launching them into Mars orbit; and capturing and returning them safely to Earth. For NASA’s scientists, the SRL mission is the culmination of a decades-long series of Mars explorations designed to find evidence of life outside of Earth or, at the very least, provide important insights into the origin of life here on Earth.

Siemens Digital and Sierra Space Collaborate on Digital Engineering Program

April 7, 2022

Seco/Warwick Offers Vector Vacuum Furnace for Aeronautics

March 17, 2022

A Chinese company has ordered a horizontal vacuum furnace from Seco/Warwick. The furnace will help in producing highly specialized cast parts used in the aerospace industry.

Velo3D Adds Pawlikowski to Board of Directors

March 3, 2022

Documentation: A Challenge in Making Aerospace Gears

March 1, 2020

For years, Reliance Gear Corp. has manufactured gears for the aerospace industry. Located in Elmhurst, IL, Reliance has served as a Tier 2 or Tier 3 supplier. (Tier 1 suppliers work directly with the aerospace primes, the Boeings and Embraers of the world.) Like many gear shops, Reliance is certified under quality management standard ISO 9001. And its aerospace customers were satisfied with that certification. Until two years ago.

Oil-Off Characterization Method Using In-Situ Friction Measurement for Gears Operating Under Loss-of-Lubrication Conditions

June 1, 2019

The oil-off (also known as loss-of-lubrication or oil-out) performance evaluation of gears is of significant interest to the Department of Defense and various rotorcraft manufacturers, so that the aircraft can safely land in an accidental loss-of-lubricant situation. However, unlike typical gear failure modes such as pitting or bending fatigue where early detection is possible, gear failure in an oil-off situation is very rapid and likely catastrophic. Failures rapidly result in the loss of torque transmission and the inability to control the aircraft.

Oil-Out Endurance Under the Lens

January 1, 2017

Oil-out conditions, or conditions in which an aircraft is operating without any oil in its gearbox or transmission, are devastating for an aircraft's hardware. Even the sturdiest gears usually can't last 30 minutes under such conditions before they catastrophically fail, and the whole system usually follows shortly after. That doesn't leave pilots with a whole lot of time to find a suitable location to land in the case of an oil-out emergency.

Gearbox Speed Reducer Helps Fan Technology for "Greener" Jet Fuel Efficiency

August 1, 2008

Jack McGuinn

Today’s ever-evolving global economic engine is, in many ways, a wonderful phenomenon; you know—a rising-tide-lifting-all-boats, trickle-down-theory-of-economics dynamic at work.

Blue Skies for Aerospace Parts Manufacturing

March 1, 2006

Aerospace manufacturing has seen quite a turnaround in the past few years. The world's manufacturers of airplanes, helicopters, missiles, space vehicles and satellites are all extremely busy right now--and that's keeping quite a few gear manufacturers busy as well.

Hobbing Precise, Uniform End Chamfers

March 1, 2004

The seemingly simple process of placing a uniform chamfer on the face ends of spur and helical gears, at least for the aerospace industry, has never been a satisfactory or cost effective process.