History

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2020-02-13

Moving Targets

Before we move on from the topic of role model/mentors and their students, I think it is important to note just how fast our industry is changing. ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2020-01-29

Following in a Giant's Footsteps

There are no self-made men or women in the gear trade. I frequently told my children that “all generalizations are wrong” yet I will stand by that ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-11-19

Content Request

Have you seen our “help wanted” ad? Gear Technology is look...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-09-19

Group A or Group B?

An Internet meme that is making the rounds concerns a college pottery class. On the first day of the semester, the instructor divides the group int...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-08-27

Honoring Anachronisms

Who hasn’t imagined themselves on the deck of a magnificent sailing ship? (On the deck; only crazy people dream of risking life or limb up in the r...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-08-15

A Global Gear Community

Roman Cisek’s journey from Poland to the United States is an example of how the gear trade has become one big international community. A few weeks ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-06-13

Rockford: Should it be Renamed Gear City USA?

Rob Swiss’ origin story reached me the very same day his new hometown, Rockford, Illinois, ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-06-06

History for a Worldwide Audience

Baby Boomers (as American kids born between 1946 and 1964 are called) learned a lot about World War II. From Pearl Harbor thru the atomic bomb drop...

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2019-06-01

Gerolamo Cardano - A Genius Born to Be Bad

He was an Italian polymath of mystery, mischief and mayhem who also managed to make significant contributions to gear technology and games of chance along the way.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-02-26

Old Soldiers

Almost every week, it seems, we read of the passing of ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-01-24

Old Methods to Teach New Technology

For most of human history, skills were passed from one generation to the next by some form of apprenticeship. Only in the last couple of centuries ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2018-12-27

Another Year in Gears

We hope you enjoyed the many posts to fundamental topics during 2018. Our magazine has long been the “newspaper of record” for the gear industry an...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2018-09-25

Reworking Questions

The most important consideration in deciding whether to rework or scrap and re-make a nonconforming part is functionality. Can the part be made to ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2018-07-11

Maximum Power Density

For some applications, maximum power density is worth the cost and difficulty of a complex epicyclic or “planetary” design. If, like me, you prefer...

ADDENDUM | 2018-07-01

A recent visit to the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, located in Dearborn, Michigan, helped remind this editor how different the manufacturing floor looked when the Ford Model-T was first being produced in the early 1900s.

ADDENDUM | 2018-06-01

Setting a Hundred-Year Standard

Remembering Panhard and Levassor, the company that invented the first manual transmission.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2018-03-15

What About Worms?

It is difficult to know where to start when writing about worm gears, because this market segment has defied “standardization” within the United St...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2018-01-09

How to Begin?

So, you want to teach people about gears. It is a huge topic with many interesting and complicated facets to it. A person could spend their entire ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-12-06

The Future of Books

Moving required getting rid of lots of books. My much better half is also a reader and we made about a dozen trips to the resale shop to put our su...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-11-22

What Are You Thankful For?

We have many international readers here at Gear Technology who may wonder about this most American of holidays — Thanksgi...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-11-21

Where Have All the Pumpjacks Gone?

The last stronghold for herringbones was — and remains — the venerable oil field pumpjack gearbox. Although known by a variety of other names, noth...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-10-05

How Much Education is Enough?

My last posting may have left you thinking I was anti-intellectual. Far from it; my point is that education is fundamentally different than trainin...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-09-05

Planning for Disaster

The massive flood damage in Houston will take years and billions of dollars to repair. Even with plenty of warning, there was no way to evacuate mi...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-08-29

Fact Checking Legends

The much better half returned from her first beauty shop appointment in Oil City, shaking her newly coiffed head. Her stylist was an Oil Country li...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-08-08

Taking on the Impossible

Those multi-trillion-dollar figures thrown around for infrastructure repair make progress seem impossible without huge tax increases and a long com...

ADDENDUM | 2017-08-01

William Brunton: 19th Century Neglected - but Influential - Engineer

Faithful readers of this space know we sometimes like to use Addendum to give relatively unknown 19th Century mechanical engineers/inventors their well-deserved props. Like, for example, William Brunton (1777-1851), who is credited - but generally unknown - with inventing the Steam Horse, also known as the Mechanical Traveler.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-07-26

Changing Business Models?

A few weeks ago I blogged about a disappointing shopping experience at a once-pre-eminent retailer. I must not have been the only unhappy customer ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-07-11

Origin Stories

Once in a while we need to take a break from the “honey do” list and start becoming familiar with our community. A trip to a nearby state park that...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-07-03

Happy Independence Day!

Other than the fireworks, it is a quiet day for most of us here in the United States. We need this annual holiday to remind us that, despite the ve...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-06-29

Listening is an Act of Love

I have been listening to Story Corps on National Public Radio for many years. The program shares audio recordings made in booths that trav...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-06-27

Tribal Memory

What a treat it has been to spend a few days with a group of young process engineers; sharing lessons learned alongside other gear industry veteran...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-06-09

A Lesson Learned and Acted On

I have been getting lots of windshield time this year between business travel, house hunting, relocation, and even a few days of vacation. Our fabu...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-06-06

Leadership in the Ranks

As a history buff, certain dates stick in my mind and prompt reflection when they roll around. I first learned about D-Day when they showed The...

ADDENDUM | 2017-06-01

Babbage's Engines

Though we think of the computer as a distinctly 20th Century invention, Charles Babbage designed several precursors way back in the early 1800s.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-06-01

Leadership in Action

I was a Boy Scout in my youth and served in a variety of leadership positions as an adult. One of the important skills — drilled into us as boys, a...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-05-11

Here There Be Dragons

On the AGMA Helical Gear Rating Committee we frequently deal with how to warn users away from potentially dangerous designs. Some years ago our won...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-04-06

Good Product Specifications are Critical to Good Design

History is full of great ideas that did not succeed — frequently because they did not meet the “needs” of the marketplace. One of the first things ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-04-04

What Makes a Good Design?

In my last post I insisted that good design wins in the marketplace. As a student of automotive history, I am compelled to admit that some very gre...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-03-30

Open Source Part II

One of the things I mention when teaching about gears is the long history of great minds who have contributed to our field. Early readers of Ge...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-03-28

Should Gear Technology be Open Source?

One of the few things I miss about my old commute is all the great content I heard on public radio. Ten hours a week of news, in depth features, an...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-03-23

10 Questions About Your Work

Few things are as terrifying as a blank page. As a follow-up to my suggestion about writing a personal history I offer these leading questions:

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-03-21

Every Story Matters

One of my favorite car enthusiast publications, Hemmings Classic Car, has a monthly feature where readers submit a personal essay on their...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-03-14

Shared Knowledge

If you think you know something, try teaching it. Putting aside the average engineer’s aversion to public speaking, the prospect of organizing your...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-01-12

The Essential Gear Book?

Continuing our discussion of gear training… What one book would you advise a newbie to purchase, read, and keep handy in the years ahe...

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2017-01-01

Repair of Large, Surface-Degraded Industrial Gears - a New Approach

This paper presents a new approach to repair industrial gears by showing a case study where pressure angle modification is also considered, differently from the past repairing procedures that dealt only with the modification of the profile shift coefficient. A computer program has been developed to automatically determine the repair alternatives under two goals: minimize the stock removal or maximize gear tooth strength.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-10-25

Good Ideas Before Their Time

Leonardo DaVinci famously sketched helicopters long before the technology needed to make them fly was developed. The American Motorcycle Associatio...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-10-11

The Birth of an Industry

Do you know your company’s origin story? I have worked at seven different gear companies and have visited dozens more; all of them seem to have an ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-09-22

Articles Wanted

In a short chat in the Gear Technology booth at the International Machine Tool Show the topic came up of what sort of articles o...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-08-30

Hear it First at FTM 2016

Gear Technology has a long history of publishing and archiving important technical papers from the American Gear Manufacturers’ Associatio...

ADDENDUM | 2016-08-01

What Was He Thinking

Having read about an automobile race in France, Kohlsaat decided he'd host America's first auto race in Chicago. The year was 1895 and automobiles were still a great curiosity. Kohlsaat, owner/publisher of the Chicago Times Herald, planned to exploit the growing interest in motoring by sponsoring a 54-mile race from downtown Chicago to nearby suburb Evanston, Illinois, and back. The match was open to all comers, foreign or domestic, whether powered by gas, electricity, or steam. The top prize: $2,000 (that's 50,000 2016 dollars).

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-07-14

Visit Us on Social Media!

Gear Technology and its sister publication, Power Transmission Engineering, have FaceBook pages...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-06-28

The Importance of Record Keeping

Very rarely does a gearbox designer have the opportunity to see his or her products at work many years later. Recently I was as...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-06-16

Training vs. Education

The high cost of college and the crushing weight of student debt are seldom far from the headlines these days. Community colleges and technical sch...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-06-14

Daily Chores

A current project has reminded me just how difficult it is to pull cost estimates together. You would think that with business being slow due to th...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-04-28

In Praise of Museums

The summer travel season is rapidly approaching, and here’s hoping your adventures include stops at a few museums. My wife and children tended to l...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-04-21

Importing Technology

My last posting on soccer mentioned the industrial sports leagues in Milwaukee. A city of ethnic neighborhoods much like other rust belt towns was ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-02-25

New Ideas in Gears

One of the perks of being a “public” gear person is the opportunity to interact with interesting people in and around our industry. Gear Techno...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-02-04

Super Bowl Week Reflection

It may surprise some people that there was football before the Super Bowl. I know this because back in those dark ages we wat...

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2016-01-25

Bodycote Launches Interactive History of Metallurgy

Bodycote, announces the launch of their Interactive History of Metallurgy after taking a look back at the long history of metal processin...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-01-07

Who Offered the First Enclosed Gearbox?

Let’s start 2016 off with a joint research project. While visiting a client late last year we got to talking gear history and he recounted a story ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-12-15

Holiday Traditions

Among my fondest memories at my various stops in the gear industry are the holiday traditions. Some places had well organized off-site events; othe...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-12-10

Doing Nothing is Not Without Risk

One last thought before we leave the subject of evaluating incoming quotes — doing nothing is risky. The gear business may seem like a stable, well...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-12-08

All Sales Considered

Regular readers of this blog know that I am not one of those engineers who disrespects salesmen and saleswomen. I have pointed out frequently that ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-12-03

If the Job Fits

When business slows down it is common for management to request that the Sales Department cast a wider net in hopes of landing some new account...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-10-15

Family Reunion Time

The AGMA Fall Technical Meeting (FTM) has been called a gear industry family reunion. This year’s gathering gets underway Sunday (Oct. 18th) in Det...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-10-08

Old School Technology Boosts High Technology

A popular cable car customizing show recently featured a segment on using 3-D printing to produce a prototype part. There wasn’t anything original ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-09-15

Disruptive is Not Necessarily Bad

There has been some discussion on-line recently about how to deal with “disruptive employees.” As a charter member of this group I feel compelled ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-09-10

A Century of Gears

The American Gear Manufacturers’ Association [AGMA] will celebrate its 100^th Anniversary in 2016. The party will begin with the Fall Tec...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-08-18

Behind Every Great Man…

I have been traveling quite a bit lately and that means lots of waiting time in airports. My Kindle is loaded with many books and during my most re...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-08-13

Sprucing Up Content

Back in 1987 I wrote a book about gears aimed at the novice engineer or purchasing agent. An Introduction to Gear Design was originally a work assi...

ADDENDUM | 2015-08-01

A Gear is a Gear is a Gear, Except When it Isnt

Look at that picture right over there on the right. That’s one of the Bronze Wheels of Peru. Looks like a gear, doesn’t it? If you knew nothing about it or the culture it sprang from and just happened to see it on the street, you’d probably label it as such. So many people have had that same thought, in fact, that the set has picked up another name: the Bronze Gears of Peru.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-07-28

Brainstorming to Better Products

Many gear companies are not in a position to develop new products but most of them could make their current products better. Business schools may p...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-07-09

Passion is a Good Thing

I wrote in my last post about the passion our technical experts feel for the gear trade. Passion, in my opinion, is an underappreciated factor in a...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-07-07

Expert Advice

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-06-30

Echoes of My Past

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-06-16

Reclaiming a Word’s Meaning

One of my “beefs” with sports terms taking over business discussions is the annexation of perfectly good words. A few days ago a national sports ta...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-05-26

Short Lived Gearbox Designs

“All memorable quotations referring to gearboxes involve expletives.” Peter Wright The author of Fo...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-05-19

Engineering vs. Science

History shows that engineering (using an idea without necessarily understanding it) usually gets the drop on science (understanding an idea wit...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-05-07

Applying Business Metaphors to Sports

We suffer through lots of sports clichés in business articles and motivational speeches. What if the reverse were done to sports teams? I am a big ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-04-30

What is Your Foundation Story?

I wrote last time about family and company history because it is fascinating to see how things came to be what they are. Some of the “movers and sh...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-04-28

Who Do You Think You Are?

I watch too much television. My excuse is that most of it is what was classified as “educational” back before cable exploded to 500 channels plus m...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-04-16

Economic Priorities

If you occasionally buy a lottery ticket, you probably enjoy speculating on what you would do with the money. The only assured value of a ticket is...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-03-19

Gear Milestones Needed

[starbox]The American Gear Manufacturers Association (www.agma.org) will be celebrating its centennial in 2016. In preparation for the big party, t...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-02-24

Why is this Stuff Still so Complicated?

[starbox] Much of my engineering practice is working with companies that design machines only once in a while. I enjoy working with the people on ...

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2015-01-01

Hub of the Gear Industry

The name Gleason is practically synonymous with gear manufacturing. Since the company was founded in 1865, the technology of gear manufacturing has been its focus, its core and its competitive advantage.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-11-20

One Man’s Treasure

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-11-11

The War to End All Wars

[starbox] As the son of a World War II sailor, I was raised with an honest respect for our nation’s veterans. The massive size of WW II and its ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-11-07

The Importance of Perseverance

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-10-29

History Lessons

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-10-23

Preserving Gear History

One of the initiatives now in progress since the close of the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA) 2014 Fall FTM was building a detailed timeline of the organization’s history since its founding in 1916.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-10-16

Publish or Perish

[starbox] My very first posting in this space was a call for papers for the 2013 AGMA Fall Technical Meeting. I had just gotten home from Arlingto...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-08-05

Make No Small Plans

[starbox] “Make no small plans” has been attributed to a variety of people over the years, but that doesn’t undermine its importance to fledglin...

ASK THE EXPERT | 2014-08-01

Importance of Contact Pattern in Assembly of Bevel vs Cylindrical Gears

Why is there so much emphasis on the tooth contact pattern for bevel gears in the assembled condition and not so for cylindrical gears, etc?

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-07-29

Management, Leadership, and Character

[starbox]

“Leadership is the practical application of character.” — R. E. Meinertzhagen

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-07-17

Reader Outreach

One of the objectives of this — or any — blog is to encourage two-way communication with its readers. Which reminds that Gear Tech...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-06-24

Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future

[starbox] There is a new commercial airing that shows flashbacks of a young girl enjoying a family road trip from the rear facing seat in their ...

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2014-06-01

The Past, Present and Future of Gear Manufacturing

The gear industry is full of storytellers. It's a niche market that boasts a remarkable cast of characters that have been sharing their stories with us for 30 years. In that time, the editors and staff of Gear Technology magazine have had the privilege to report the ins and outs of this highly-specialized industry. From technical articles to case studies and features, the main focus of this magazine has been to "provide a forum of discovery and innovation for you, the gear manufacturing industry." Our Publisher, Michael Goldstein, said as much in our inaugural issue of May/June 1984.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2014-06-01

30 Years of Calculation

Examining the history of software in mechanical engineering

VOICES | 2014-06-01

Inspiring the World Beyond the Theory of Gearing

Celebrating Dr. Faydor Litvin: Remarkable Scientist, Dedicated Mentor, Continuing Inspiration

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-05-27

The Arsenal of Democracy

[starbox] The Memorial Day holiday means different things to different people. To some it is the official start of summer, although the erratic ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-05-22

Failing Boldly

[starbox] Aside from the pure mechanical beauty of it, my favorite thing about the Indy 500 is the tradition. What’s more, few events can match ...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-05-13

A Sure Sign of Spring

[starbox] Over the years, some of the luster has come off the Indianapolis 500, but it remains a major cultural influence. I caught the racing b...

ADDENDUM | 2014-05-01

In Aviation, Pants Are Optional

The long and colorful history of aviation is comprised of many chapters and giants. The chapter we're reviewing in this installment of Addendum is the invention and development of the retractable landing gear.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-03-24

Great Moments in Gear Rating

[starbox] By now readers of this Blog are aware of my interest in gear trade history. The more I learn about how we got to this point in our und...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-03-07

What Did They Know and When Did They Know It?

[starbox] No, I am not launching a criminal investigation. The title of this posting summarizes my ongoing study of the history of gear ratings....

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-03-05

Dr. Faydor L. Litvin: 100 Years a Genius

[starbox] The Gear Technology gang wishes to congratulate Dr. Faydor L. Litvin of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) on celebr...

PUBLISHER'S PAGE | 2014-03-01

The Next Transformation

Every so often manufacturing is jolted out of its inertia by a transformative technology – one that fundamentally changes not only the way products are made, but also the economics of the business.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2014-03-01

PPD Wear Protection Treatment for Large Parts Opens New Horizons

Environmentally friendly, highly efficient and lasting a product's lifetime. With characteristics like this, Pulsed-Plasma Diffusion (PPD) technology from Oerlikon Balzers has established itself as an industry standard for the treatment of large automotive press tooling. Now the technology specialists are targeting new applications with this advanced process, offering an alternative to traditional hard-chrome processes.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-02-18

100 Years of Four Wheel Drive?

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-02-15

Time for a Gear Industry Mount Rushmore?

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-01-31

Barn Find Gearboxes

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2013-09-01

Exhibitors Confidential

Gear Expo 2013 product preview features a look at many of the key booths you won't want to miss.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2013-08-01

Engineering Questions - SME has the Answers with Knowledge Edge

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) has been gathering, validating and sharing manufacturing knowledge for more than 80 years. Traditionally, SME resources were purchased by individuals for their own personal use or by colleges and universities as textbooks. Recently, these same colleges and universities were looking for digital resources to provide to their instructors and students. Companies were requesting SME content digitally for their employees as well.

PUBLISHER'S PAGE | 2013-08-01

Gear Expo - Mecca Meccanica

It's an ideal time for a pilgrimage to AGMA’s Fall Technical Meeting and Gear Expo, which take place in Indianapolis.

EVENTS | 2013-06-01

Liebherr Touts Technology at Latest Gear Seminar

For two days in Saline, Michigan, Liebherr's clients, customers and friends came together to discuss the latest gear products and technology. Peter Wiedemann, president of Liebherr Gear Technology Inc., along with Dr.-Ing. Alois Mundt, managing director, Dr.-Ing. Oliver Winkel, head of application technology, and Dr.-Ing. Andreas Mehr, technology development shaping and grinding, hosted a variety of informative presentations.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2013-05-01

Delivering Big Gears Fast

When a customer needed gears delivered in three weeks, here’s how Brevini Wind got it done.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2013-04-29

Liebherr Achieves Highest Turnover in its History

World economic development was weaker in 2012 than in the previous year. Although growth was still 3.2 percent, the emerging markets&rsqu...

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2012-10-01

Differential Gears

What are the manufacturing methods used to make bevel gears used in automotive differentials?

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2012-09-01

IMTS 2012 Product Preview

Previews of manufacturing technology related to gears that will be on display at IMTS 2012.

ADDENDUM | 2012-03-01

The New Now: U.S. Workforce Sustainability

Faithful Addendum readers are accustomed to finding upbeat, whimsical and oddball stories about gears in this space. What follows is not about gears, exactly. Rather, it is, as opposed to the usual bleak news about America losing its manufacturing mojo—a look at a positive, hopeful development in that regard.

ADDENDUM | 2011-10-01

The Antique Gear Show

While the cable networks seem to be inundated with collectible television shows, the Addendum staff believes there's room for one more.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2011-01-01

Big Gears Better and Faster

Indexable carbide insert cutting tools for gears are nothing new. But big gears have recently become a very big business. The result is that there's been a renewed interest in carbide insert cutting tools.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2010-09-01

The Efficiency Experts

Bradley University and Winzeler Gear collaborate on the design and development of an urban light vehicle.

ADDENDUM | 2010-09-01

Manufacturing Software...To Go

ITAMCO develops gear-related apps for the iPhone and related devices.

EVENTS | 2010-01-01

Calendar

The technical calendar from the January/February 2010 issue of Gear Technology.

VOICES | 2009-07-01

Optimization through Customization

Many engineers and purchasing agents think it is more expensive to custom design a component or assembly these days when often customization can save on total costs.

ADDENDUM | 2009-07-01

You Want It When

What do glam and avant garde rock star Brian Eno, AGMA and Seattle Gear Works have in common? Admittedly, not much. But there is a connection of sorts.

EVENTS | 2009-01-01

Events

The complete Events section from the January/February 2009 issue of Gear Technology.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2008-09-01

Industry News

The complete Industry News section from the September/October 2008 issue of Gear Technology.

PRODUCT NEWS | 2008-09-01

Roto Flo's Servo-Actuated CNC to Debut at IMTS

Most anyone that has been in the gear industry—or any machining and tooling oriented business, for that matter—is probably at least somewhat familiar with the Roto-Flo workhorse line of hydraulic-actuated spline and thread rolling machines. After all, they’ve been at it for decade

EVENTS | 2008-08-01

Basic Gear Noise Short Course Covers Fundamentals

More than 1,350 engineers and technicians have attended the basic course at Ohio State's GearLab.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2008-05-01

Industry News

The complete Industry News section from the May 2008 issue of Gear Technology.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2007-03-01

Effects on Rolling Contact Fatigue Performance--Part II

This is part II of a two-part paper that presents the results of extensive test programs on the RCF strength of PM steels.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2006-11-01

Optimization of the Gear Profile Grinding Process Utilizing an Analogy Process

In order to grind gears burn-free and as productively as possible, a better understanding of the process is required.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2006-04-30

GTI Spindle Launches Fourth Repair Facility at Caterpillar Plant

GTI Spindle Technology launched a state-of-the-art spindle repair facility onsite at Caterpillar Fuel Systems in Pontiac, IL. Accordi...

PUBLISHER'S PAGE | 2005-09-01

Making It in America: U.S. Manufacturing Is Alive, Well and Prospering

Most firms in the gear industry we've talked to over the past year are making more gears than ever, generating more sales, and filling up their schedule books into next year and beyond.

PRODUCT NEWS | 2005-07-01

Product News

The complete Product News from July/August 2005.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2005-07-01

Opportunities for Gear Grinders - Insights from the Machinery Front

Tom Lang of Kapp Technologies shares his views on the trends affecting ground gears.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2005-07-01

Systematic Investigations on the Influence of Case Depth on the Pitting and Bending Strength of Case Carburized Gears

The gear designer needs to know how to determine an appropriate case depth for a gear application in order to guarantee the required load capacity.

EVENTS | 2005-05-01

Events

The complete Events section from May/June 2005.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2005-02-03

Brown Named Division President at Inductoheat

Douglas R. Brown was promoted to president of the forging division at Inductoheat of Madison Heights, MI. According to the company'...

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2005-01-01

New Approach to Computerized Design of Spur and Helical Gears

Applying "Dynamic Block Contours" allows the designer to predict gear quality at the earliest stage of the design process.

PUBLISHER'S PAGE | 2004-11-01

Breath of Fresh Air

Whew. IMTS is over, and I’m relieved, in more ways than one.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2004-07-01

Greener Gears

Companies around the world are learning to embrace the environment, and the gear industry is no exception. This special section takes a look at how some gear manufacturers are doing their part to conserve resources, preserve and protect the environment, and give back to the land. What we’ve found is that adopting environmental measures is far more than just good corporate citizenship. For many gear industry companies, good environmental practices also turn out to be good for the bottom line.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2004-05-01

A Model of the Pumping Action Between the Teeth of High-Speed Spur and Helical Gears

For a high-speed gearbox, an important part of power losses is due to the mesh. A global estimation is not possible and an analytical approach is necessary with evaluations of three different origins of power losses: friction in mesh contact, gear windage and pumping effect between teeth.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2004-05-01

Single-Flank Testing of Gears

This article was originally published 20 years ago, in Gear Technology’s first issue. It describes a method of evaluating the smoothness, or lack of smoothness, of gear motion. This lack of smoothness of motion, known as “transmission error,” is responsible for excitation of gear noise and problems of gear accuracy and sometimes has a relationship to gear failure.

ADDENDUM | 2004-03-01

Anchors Aweigh

Fred Young, president of Forest City Gear in Roscoe, Illinois, discovered a new market on a flyfishing trip on the White River in Arkansas.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2003-07-01

Industry News

Complete Industry News for July/August 2003.

PRODUCT NEWS | 2003-05-01

Product News

Complete Product News for May/June 2003.

ADDENDUM | 2002-03-01

Undercover Gears

Top Secret Code Name: Ginger Mission: Design, prototype and test a transmission for a new device. The transmission must be compact and efficient. It should have almost no backlash, and it must be able to operate in both forward and reverse. Most importantly, the transmission must be quiet. In fact, it shouldn't sound like a transmission at all. It should blend in with the environment and sound like music or the wind. This mission, should you choose to accept it, is top secret. Not even your employees can know what you're working on...

PRODUCT NEWS | 2002-03-01

Product News

Complete Product News for March/April 2002.

ADDENDUM | 2001-05-01

Gear Fashion

Combining involute curves and body curves, merging factory and fashion, Winzeler Gear has transformed one of its products into gear haute couture. Winzeler Gear has created a plastic gear dress.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2000-03-01

Microsecond Heat Treatment of Gears

The performance of metal surfaces can be dramatically enhanced by the thermal process of rapid surface melting and re-solidification (RMRS). When the surface of a metal part (for instance, a gear) is melted and re-solidified in less than one thousandth of a second, the resulting changes in the material can lead to: Increased wear and corrosion resistance, Improved surface finish and appearance, Enhanced surface uniformity and purity, and Sealing of surface cracks and pores.

ADDENDUM | 1999-11-01

One Fast Gear Boxx

You go, and if your name is Ryan Boxx, you go faster than everyone else. Boxx became the fastest 15-year-old in America this summer when he won his division of the National Hot Rod Association's Junior Drag Racing League National Championship.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 1999-09-01

Industry News

Industry News for September/October 1999.

ADDENDUM | 1998-09-01

Back in the Good Old Days

Come with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear...Ok, this is not the Cisco Kid, but we do have a little game for you. Guess the year the following advertisements and excerpt were printed - they all appeared in a dingle issue of Machinery Magazine.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 1998-05-01

New Guidelines For Wind Turbine Gearboxes

The wind turbine industry has been plagued with gearbox failures, which cause repair costs, legal expenses, lost energy production and environmental pollution.

VOICES | 1998-03-01

Viewpoint

Jules Kish responds to comments about his article on finding a hunting ratio, and Dr. Sante Basili argues that shaving is still the best way to finish a rough-cut gear.

VOICES | 1997-09-01

The First Lady of Gearing

In 1877, Irish immigrant William Gleason, owner of a machine tool business in Rochester, NY, suffered a terrible blow. Gleason's son Tom died. The loss was not merely a personal one. Tom had been his father's assistant, and the senior Gleason had no one to fill the gap and help him carry on his business.

ADDENDUM | 1997-01-01

Calculating Gears

Interesting gear factoids discovered wasting time on the Net while pretending to be working...The first four-function mechanical calculator was built by the mathematician Gottfried Leibniz in 1694. While not commercially available for nearly 200 years, the design was the basis of many such calculators until well into this century.

ADDENDUM | 1996-03-01

The Gears of Avon & Other Tragedies

As part of the Addendum Team's never-ending quest to improve the overall cultural tone of the gear industry, we bring you the following: April 23 is the 432nd birthday of William Shakespeare.

ADDENDUM | 1995-11-01

The Sines of the Fathers

Your Addendum team has come across a number of Good Ole Boys in its time; now we bring you something of even more interest - a Good Ole Gear Book. Mr. Robert Price, of Automation - Gears - Machinery, a gear consulting firm in Delanson, NY, shared with us a real find.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1995-07-01

Hotter, Faster, Harder Cutting

What Is Whisker-Reinforced Ceramic? Whisker-reinforced ceramic as applied to cutting tool inserts comprises a matrix of aluminum oxide into which approximately 50% by volume of high-purity silicon carbide "whiskers" are randomly dispersed. The "whiskers" are, in fact, single crystals having dimensions of approximately 0.6 microns in diameter x 10-80 microns in length. These "whiskers" have a tensile strength on the order of 1,000,000 psi (690 MPa). The composite material that is the best known and most widely applied using this technology is designated WG-300 and manufactured by the Greenleaf Corporation of Saegertown, PA.

ADDENDUM | 1995-01-01

Watch This Space

Good References In the 7th Edition of McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 10 pages are devoted to the subjects of Gears, Gear Cutting and Gear Trains.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1989-03-01

The Wafer Shaper Cutter

In 1985 a new tooling concept for high volume gear production was introduced to the gear manufacturing industry. Since then this tool, the wafer shaper cutter, has proven itself in scores of applications as a cost-effective, consistent producer of superior quality parts. This report examines the first high-production installation at the plant of a major automotive supplies, where a line of twenty shapers is producing timing chain sprockets.

History

ANCA's TX and MX machines offer skiving cutter sharpening