I joined the staff of Gear Technology 30 years ago, as a lowly editorial assistant. I had just moved back to the Chicago area after a brief stint working for a family business in Louisiana. The nice people at Randall Publications offered me an opportunity to put to good use my journalism degree as well as my enthusiasm for math and science.

From the outside, Gallmar Industries, nestled into an Oshkosh, WI, neighborhood, looks like any unassuming, medium-sized gear shop. Then take a plant tour with Gallmar’s VP of Operations Kenan Zolota—and prepare to be amazed. The facility stretches on like the Army’s warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, with everything from gear cutting to heat treat, gear grinding to inspection, all under one roof. Gallmar’s breadth of product line is in evidence too: defense-related transmission gears, 60-in. diameter internal gears for mining equipment, axle components for fire/ rescue trucks five feet in length, right down to a bin of brass ammunition casings that Zolota says are a special order.

The arrival of Gleason’s Hard Finishing Cell (HFC) in 2018 represented a paradigm shift in the way automotive transmission gears and gears for e-drives, could be produced in high volumes. Now, for the first time, 100 percent inspection of every gear, and every gear tooth was possible in-process, without impacting the high speeds at which these gears need to be hard finished. Identifying, and correcting for, conditions that create unacceptable noise behavior in these gears, on the fly, was finally a reality too.

Gear Technology began with the May/June 1984 issue. Forty years later, we’re still going strong! Please join us in looking back at some of our milestones and celebrating what makes this publication truly unique in the marketplace.

An extremely wide selection of different plastic materials is currently available on the market. A major limitation, however, is a huge gap in gear-specific material data on these materials, which is a problem that has been persisting for decades now. Providing a step towards a solution is the German guideline VDI 2736, which proposes design rating methods (Ref. 2) along with testing procedures (Ref. 3) to be followed to generate reliable data required in the gear rating process. This paper delves into the current state of the art in plastic gear testing, providing a comprehensive overview of employed testing methods, supplemented with case studies.

For wind turbine main gearboxes (MGBs) with about 1 MW or higher power, gearbox designs with multiple power paths are used. They handle several mega-Newton-meter of torque economically. Earlier wind turbines with lower power ratings used parallel shaft gearboxes with only one power path but soon they were superseded by planetary gearboxes having typically three to five planets per stage. This paper describes experiences using planetary gears where “Flexpins” are used to improve the load sharing between the individual planets—representing the multitude of power paths—and along the planet’s face width.

A gear is nothing without its counterparts. Gears work in conjunction with other components within a gear system to achieve specific mechanical functions. These counterparts work together synergistically to form functional gear assemblies capable of transmitting motion and torque, converting speed and torque ratios, and performing a wide range of mechanical tasks in various applications across industries.

My family company, Cadillac Machinery, was a used machinery dealer specializing gear machinery, especially bevel gear equipment, so we knew first-hand how unique and sometimes insular the gear industry was. As a member of AGMA, I often attended AGMA events, including the Fall Technical Meeting, where tremendous knowledge was presented, year after year, about the latest research, technology and manufacturing approaches for gears.

The inaugural issue of Gear Technology marked a significant change in the industry. I was 13 years into my career, working at my third company and in my fifth year on AGMA’s Helical Gear Rating Committee. Back then, few engineers moved around; you started at a gear company, were indoctrinated in their way of doing things, and hoped to advance by making very incremental changes to the “old family recipe.”

Compact and lightweight–such is the most common requirement for the gearboxes of emission-free, electric drives. With seven basic gearboxes, the LPI series by Liebherr fulfils exactly this need for high power density. With their low weight, reduced installation space and torque ranges from 20,000 Nm to 350,000 Nm, they are ideally suited as drives for crawler and crawler undercarriages. Customized large gearboxes are even available up to the maximum torque of 2,300,000 Nm.

Horn is expanding its tool portfolio for gear cutting to include types for milling PTO shafts. Manufacturers are increasingly focusing on the complete machining of drive shafts. Horn has standardized its own tool range for this purpose, which demonstrates high milling performance. 

Siemens Digital Industries Software announced it is adding accelerated pre-silicon development in the cloud to its hardware assisted verification product offering with PAVE360 software for Software Defined Vehicles (SDV). The solution is the first accelerated simulation environment to support the new Arm Cortex-A720AE CPU semiconductor IP, launched in March 2024.

Seco Nanojet Solid Carbide Reamers enhance chip control with an innovative through-coolant outlet for optimal chip evacuation. This design eliminates costly scrapped parts, jamming and edge damage to increase safety, part quality and tool life.

In many areas of application, it is uneconomical to use oversized universal cylindrical grinding machines for the external machining of smaller components - a lot of floor space is lost and the functionality is not fully utilized. With the new WPG 7 CNC external grinding machine, EMAG Weiss demonstrates another way of grinding workpieces with a maximum length of 250 millimeters. The very small machine requires only a minimal footprint, but at the same time features a whole range of high-tech components for flexibility and productivity. What is important in detail? 

Rego-Fix USA will spotlight two new tool clamping/unclamping units for the company’s powRgrip toolholding system and a new spindle drawbar force testing tool at IMTS 2024 in Booth 431822. The new units are the PGA (automatic) 9500 and the powRgrip Single, while the ForceMaster tool is the latest addition to the company’s family of metrology products.

Nidec Machine Tool America, a leading provider of advanced manufacturing technologies and solutions, today announced the appointment of Tobias Dornai as Additive Manufacturing Application Engineer. In this role, Mr. Dornai will play a key role in supporting Nidec Machine Tool America’s growing additive manufacturing business and customer base.

Solar Atmospheres of Western PA recently commissioned their third car bottom air furnace manufactured by Heat Treat Equipment Inc. This large Class 2 air furnace with a maximum operating temperature of 1350°F measures 60-in. wide x 38-in. high x 168-in. deep. The newly installed equipment joins two other HTE car bottom furnaces that are 14-ft. long and 20-ft. long respectively.

Intelligent power management company Eaton today announced that Ben Sheen, chief engineer, of Eaton’s Mobility Group, was recently elected to the Board of Trustees for the Gear Research Institute (GRI) at Penn State University. The GRI is affiliated with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA) to conduct research and development, consulting, and analysis for gear-related needs.  

The American branch of Seco/Warwick has decided to expand its presence on the continent. Mexico is an important market for Seco/Warwick USA; hence, the decision was made to open a sales and service office in Monterrey. The new Seco/Warwic, Mexico division will occupy about 2,000 square feet of office space in a high-rise business park, including garage parking and controlled-access reception.

Nitrex welcomes the newest member of the Nitrex Turnkey Systems Team: Marcin Krajdocha. Marcin steps into the new role of Technical Sales Manager responsible for Nitriding Systems in the DACH region and the Vacuum furnace product line in Europe.

International manufacturer Horsburgh & Scott Company announced that it has established a 32,000-square-foot facility in Slidell, LA, for the repair, service and assembly of industrial gears and gearboxes destined for the defense industry. 

Star Cutter Company has appointed Andrew Epstein as Vice President of Human Resources (HR). Epstein oversees all HR functions for the Star Cutter family of companies, guiding HR resources across global locations and analyzing HR strategies. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, he reports to the Chief Financial Officer, Becky Grech.

AGMA is pleased to announce the publication of two new revisions: ANSI/AGMA 2116-B24, Evaluation of Double Flank Testers for Radial Composite Measurement of Gears, written by the AGMA Gear Accuracy Committee, and ANSI/AGMA 6008-B24, Specifications for Powder Metallurgy Gears written by the AGMA Powder Metallurgy Committee.

Congratulations Gear Technology on your 40th Anniversary! This magazine has been publishing emerging technology in gearing before we used the term, “emerging.” I constantly search past issues to get information on topics we are discussing in committees. From skiving to electric drive development, and lubrication to the beginnings of strain wave gear technology, I have found great information for the work that we are doing today. Thank you!