Step right up! Get your U.S. government gravy here! We’re the U.S. Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, and we’re printing money like we’re—well—the U.S. reasury. If you’ve got trouble, then get your assets in line!
For years, politicians, educators and business leaders have generated various ideas to revitalize U.S. manufacturing and engineering. These include manufacturing initiatives, internal training programs and an emphasis on science, technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the classroom. The declining expertise in these fields, however, continues to
be a growing problem in every facet of manufacturing and engineering.
Big gears and wind turbines go together like bees and honey, peas and carrots, bread and butter and—well, you
get the idea. Wind isn’t just big right now, it’s huge. The wind industry means tremendous things for the energy dependent world we live in and especially big things for gear
manufacturers and other beleaguered American industries.
Natural resources—minerals, coal, oil, agricultural products, etc.—are the
blessings that Mother Earth confers upon the nations of the world. But it takes unnaturally large gears to extract them.
Non-uniform gear wear changes gear topology and affects the noise performance of a hypoid gear set. The
aggregate results under certain vehicle driving conditions could potentially result in unacceptable vehicle noise performance in a short period of time. This paper presents the effects of gear surface parameters on gear wear and the measurement/testing methods used to quantify the flank wear in laboratory tests.
This paper will present data from both laboratory and field testing demonstrating that superfinished components exhibit lower friction, operating temperature, wear and/
or higher horsepower, all of which translate directly into increased fuel economy.
When gears are case-hardened, it is known that some growth and redistribution of stresses that result in geometric distortion will occur. Aerospace gears require post case-hardening grinding of the gear teeth to achieve necessary accuracy. Tempering of the case-hardened surface, commonly known as grinding burn, occurs in the manufacturing
process when control of the heat generation at the surface is lost.
The complete product news section from the January/February 2009 issue of Gear Technology, featuring giant-sized David Brown girth gears, gear inspection up to 4.5 meters and the latest Gleason gear grinder.
It’s not too often a trade show so far
surpasses organizers’ expectations for
size that it must be relocated. This was just the dilemma the American Wind
Energy Association (AWEA) faced with the Windpower 2009 Conference and Exhibition, which was originally
scheduled to take place in Minneapolis,
but will now be held at McCormick
Place, Chicago.
Much has happened since we last reported on the malfunctioning solar array rotary joint (SARJ) attached to the International Space Station. Space shuttle Endeavour dropped in for a two-week visit in November during which repairs were made and invaluable data collected.