TOPICS CALENDAR BUYER'S GUIDE AGMA

Oil

| 2025-02-26

79th STLE Annual Meeting & Exhibition

Join your peers and the tribology community for the 79th STLE Annual Meeting & Exhibition, May 18-22, 2025 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia (USA). Each year STLE's conference showcases some 500 technical presentations, application-based case studies, best practice reports and discussion panels on technical and market trends. The exhibition and popular Commercial Marketing Forum spotlight the latest products and services of interest to lubrication professionals that come from around the world, representing a full range of the industry’s most prestigious corporate, government and academic institutions.

EVENT | 2024-06-18

Turbomachinery and Pump Symposia 2024

TPS is a vital industry event, offering a forum for the exchange of ideas between rotating equipment engineers and technicians worldwide. TPS is known for its impact on turbomachinery, pump, oil & gas, petrochemical, power, aerospace, chemical and water industries.

EVENT | 2023-04-11

Reliable Plant 2023

This three-day event offers attendees learning sessions and case studies on the latest industrial lubrication and oil analysis technologies. The comprehensive conference schedule covers every facet of the machinery lubrication industry and includes workshops on topics such as employee performance, lubrication fundamentals, condition-based maintenance and maintenance planning.

EVENT | 2022-10-03

Houstex 2023

SME's Manufacturing Technology Series in Houston, Texas brings together key decision makers, major tool and technology suppliers and thought leaders from across a broad spectrum of manufacturing disciplines. Hands-on equipment demonstrations, keynotes and panel discussions, emerging manufacturing technology showcases, and networking activities offer attendees an opportunity to learn about the latest manufacturing trends.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2022-08-23

Oelheld Offers Technical Expertise for Machining Applications at IMTS 2022

Oelheld US will be located in Booth #237475 in the North Hall. Oelheld technical experts will be on hand to discuss grinding, erosion, precision machining, and filtration, among other topics.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2022-04-15

Oelheld Offers Grinding Oil Performance Benefits

Many see the fluids as an unnecessary evil to the grinding process, failing to realize that selecting the right grinding fluid can lead to significant improvements in cycle time, surface quality, finishes, secondary operations, such as tool coatings. Oelheld has put together a short article on grinding oil considerations.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2021-11-01

Lowering the Temperature of Gear Oils with Performance Polymer Technology

Higher operating temperatures can be detrimental for the quality of oil which can, in turn, cause gearbox durability issues.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2019-06-01

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

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.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-01-18

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

Chris’ account of p...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2018-05-08

Making Things Work

There is an old saying that if the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Imagine that you are tasked by your employer to de...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2018-03-01

Out of Your Depth?

How did that over pin calculation work out? My congratulations if you managed to work your way through it without tearing your hair out. Guess what...

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2017-09-01

ExxonMobil on Benefits of Synthetic Gear Oils

Base oils play an important role in determining the performance of an industrial gear oil. They influence characteristics such as low temperature performance, biodegradability, energy efficiency and high temperature thermal and oxidative stability.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2017-08-08

WZL Gear Conference Highlights Latest Technology

Liebherr Gear Technology Inc. recently hosted the 7^th WZL Gear Conference in the USA 2017 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This two-day program o...

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2017-03-01

Shifting Fortunes

Amidst the energy industry's uncertain future, gearbox manufacturers are focusing on supplying the aftermarket.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2017-01-01

Oil-Out Endurance Under the Lens

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.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2016-08-01

Transient EHL Analysis of Helical Gears

This paper addresses the lubrication of helical gears - especially those factors influencing lubricant film thickness and pressure. Contact between gear teeth is protected by the elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) mechanism that occurs between nonconforming contact when pressure is high enough to cause large increases in lubricant viscosity due to the pressure-viscosity effect, and changes of component shape due to elastic deflection. Acting together, these effects lead to oil films that are stiff enough to separate the contacting surfaces and thus prevent significant metal-to-metal contact occurring in a well-designed gear pair.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2016-03-01

Defying the Oil Ripple

The oil industry is (pardon the pun) tanking. That may conjure up horrific images of other industries following suit in a domino effect of collective collapse into the overabundant oil slick the industry is currently drowning in, but not everyone is getting knocked down alongside the oil sector.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2013-11-01

Understanding Oil Analysis: How it Can Improve Reliability of Wind Turbine Gearboxes

Historically, wind turbine gearbox failures have plagued the industry. Yet an effective oil analysis program will increase the reliability and availability of your machinery, while minimizing maintenance costs associated with oil change-outs, labor, repairs and downtime. Practical action steps are presented here to improve reliability.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2013-10-01

Purchasing Gear Lubricants - Be Careful When Playing the Numbers Game

When it comes to purchasing gear lubricants, many people on both the sales and purchasing side decide to play the numbers game. The person with the most numbers, or the biggest numbers, or the lowest numbers, must have the best product - right? Wrong; gear oil selection is not a game, and numbers alone cannot determine the right product for an application.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2013-03-01

My Gear Is Bigger than Your Gear

Industry battles it out for World's Largest Gear title.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2012-01-01

New Energy - Same Challenges

Uncertainty casts a shadow over future business opportunities for manufacturers serving the new energy markets.

VOICES | 2011-11-01

Vacuum Oil Quenching

The October 2011 issue of Gear Technology featured the article “Low-Distortion Heat Treatment of Transmission Components,” which covered the combination of low-pressure carburizing and high pressure gas quenching in an automotive environment. Here, heat treating expert Dan Herring explains why oil quenching is an appropriate choice for many applications.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2010-11-01

Gear Fault Detection Effectiveness as Applied to Tooth Surface Pitting Fatigue Damage

A study was performed to evaluate fault detection effectiveness as applied to gear-tooth pitting-fatigue damage. Vibration and oil-debris monitoring (ODM) data were gathered from 24 sets of spur pinion and face gears run during a previous endurance evaluation study.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2009-01-01

Big Gears - High Standards, High Profits

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.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2007-11-01

Design of Oil-Lubricated Machine Components for Life and Reliability

This article summarizes the use of laboratory fatigue data for bearings and gears coupled with probabilistic life prediction and EHD theories to predict the life and reliability of a commercial turboprop gearbox.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2005-03-01

Environmentally Friendly Cutting Fluids

Environmentally friendly cutting fluids aren't just good for the environment. They can also be good for performance.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2004-01-01

Service Behavior of PVD-Coated Gearing Lubricated with Biodegradable Synthetic Ester Oils

The following article is concerned with the analysis of the wear-reducing effect of PVD-coatings in gearings. Standardized test methods are used, which under near-real conditions enable statements to be made about the different forms of damage and wear (micropitting, macropitting, scuffing).

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2003-07-01

Vegetable-Based Oil as a Gear Lubricant

Universal tractor transmission oil (UTTO) is multifunctional tractor oil formulated for use in transmissions, final drives, differentials, wet brakes, and hydraulic systems of farm tractors employing a common oil reservoir. In the present work, the gear protection properties of two formulated vegetable-based UTTO oils, one synthetic ester-based UTTO oil, one synthetic ester gear oil, and one mineral based UTTO oil are investigated.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2001-11-01

Systematic Investigations on the Influence of Viscosity Index Improvers on EHL Film Thickness

Mineral-oil-base lubricants show a significant decrease of kinematic viscosity with rising temperature, as exemplified in Figure 1 by lubricants for vehicle gears. An important attribute of lubricants is their viscosity index (VI), according to DIN/ISO 2909 (Ref. 4). Viscosity index is a calculated coefficient, which characterizes the change of viscosity of lubricants as a function of temperature. A high viscosity index represents a low variation of viscosity due to temperature and vice versa. A low viscosity-temperature-dependence is required for lubricants that are operated at significantly varying temperature conditions, such as vehicle engine and gear lubricants in summer and winter time. This way, the oils remain flowing and pumpable at low temperatures on the one hand; and on the other hand, sufficiently thick lubricant films can be formed at higher temperatures for a safe separation of the surfaces.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1996-09-01

Gear Wear Caused By Contaminated Oils

The diagnosis and prevention of gear tooth and bearing wear requires the discovery and understanding of the particular mechanism of wear, which in turn indicates the best method of prevention. Because a gearbox is a tribologically dependent mechanism, some understanding of gear and bearing tribology is essential for this process. Tribology is the general term for the study and practice of lubrication, friction and wear. If tribology is neglected or considered insignificant, poor reliability and short life will result.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 1995-05-01

Gear Oil Classification and Selection

Today gear drive operations have several options when selecting the proper lubricant for their gearboxes. As in the past, the primary lubricant used for gearbox lubrication is mineral oil. But with the advances in technology, synthetic hydrocarbons (PAOs) and polyglycols show very specific advantages in certain applications. With gear drives becoming more and more precise, it is now also to the benefit of the gear operator to verify that he or she has the proper additive package and viscosity in the lubricant selected. Fig. 1 shoes that a gear oil is a combination of a base oil and specific additives. The base oils can be either mineral oil, a synthetic or even in some cases a combination of the two.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1995-05-01

EHL Film Thickness, Additives and Gear Surface Fatigue

Aircraft transmissions for helicopters, turboprops and geared turbofan aircraft require high reliability and provide several thousand hours of operation between overhauls. In addition, They should be lightweight and have very high efficiency to minimize operating costs for the aircraft.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 1995-05-01

Ten Myths About Gear Lubrication

Myth No. 1: Oil Is Oil. Using the wrong oil is a common cause of gear failure. Gears require lubricants blended specifically for the application. For example, slow-speed spur gears, high-speed helical gears, hypoid gears and worm gears all require different lubricants. Application parameters, such as operating speeds, transmitted loads, temperature extremes and contamination risks, must be considered when choosing an oil. Using the right oil can improve efficiency and extend gear life.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 1992-07-01

Cutting Low-Pitch-Angle Bevel Gears, Worm Gears and The Oil Entry Gap

Question: Do machines exist that are capable of cutting bevel gear teeth on a gear of the following specifications: 14 teeth, 1" circular pitch, 14.5 degrees pressure angle, 4 degrees pitch cone angle, 27.5" cone distance, and an 2.5" face width?

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1984-10-01

Scoring Load Capacity of Gears Lubricated with EP-Oils

The Integral Temperature Method for the evaluation of the scoring load capacity of gears is described. All necessary equations for the practical application are presented. The limit scoring temperature for any oil can be obtained from a gear scoring test.