Powder Metal

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2018-09-01

Influence of Different Manufacturing Processes on Properties of Surface-Densified PM Gears

The properties of both shot-peened and cold rolled PM gears are analyzed and compared. To quantify the effect of both manufacturing processes, the tooth root bending fatigue strength will be evaluated and compared to wrought gears.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2018-01-25

One Step at a Time

Regular readers know that I am a big fan of both the Boy and Girl Scout programs. My children were scouts. My wife and I were scout leaders. One of...

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2017-11-01

Industry News

Gear Technology hosts dinner for technical contributors to the gear industry during this year's AGMA Fall Technical Meeting and Gear Expo in Columbus, OH. Plus other news from around the industry.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2017-09-01

What's New and Noteworthy in Powder Metal

First, the facts: powder metallurgy is a cost-effective method of forming precision net-shape metal components that allows for more efficiently designed products. It saves valuable raw materials through recycling and the elimination of costly secondary-machining. PM competes with wrought steel gears as the technology continues to advance. You'll find PM components in everything from automobile transmissions to aircraft turbine engines, surgical equipment and power tools.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2017-09-01

Wear Investigation of Finish Rolled Powder Metal Gears

When manufacturing powder metal (PM) gears lead crowning is not achievable in the compaction process. This has to be accomplished either by shaving, grinding or honing. Each of these processes has their merits and draw backs. When employing rolling using a roll burnishing machine lead crowning can be accomplished but due to errors in profile a hard finishing operation such as grinding is used by the industry. In this paper a helical PM gear that has sufficient tolerance class after rolling has been tested in a test rig for durability and the wear has been studied.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2017-06-27

MPIF Announces Award-Winning Powder Metal Parts

The winners in the 2017 Powder Metallurgy (PM) Design Excellence Awards competition, sponsored by the Metal Powder Industries Federation ...

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2017-03-01

It Doesn't Matter How Efficient Your Plant Is

To ensure profitability and avoid losses, accurately quoting jobs is the first line of defense.

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...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-01-10

Language Barrier

I have great admiration for people who can speak multiple languages, a skill that had eluded me despite two fairly serious efforts to learn a secon...

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2016-06-21

MPIF Announces Award-Winning Powder Metal Parts

The winners in the 2016 Powder Metallurgy (PM) Design Excellence Awards competition, sponsored by the Metal Powder Industries Federation ...

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2014-03-01

New ECM Furnace Improves Manufacture Efficiency of PM Components

The heat treatment processing of powder metal (PM) materials like Astaloy requires four steps -- de-waxing, HT sintering, carburizing and surface hardening -- which are usually achieved in dedicated, atmospheric furnaces for sintering and heat treat, respectively, leading to intermediate handling operations and repeated heating and cooling cycles. This paper presents the concept of the multi-purpose batch vacuum furnace, one that is able to realize all of these steps in one unique cycle. The multiple benefits brought by this technology are summarized here, the main goal being to use this technology to manufacture high-load transmission gears in PM materials.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2013-08-01

Automotive Transmission Design Using Full Potential of Powder Metal

For metal replacement with powder metal (PM) of an automotive transmission, PM gear design differs from its wrought counterpart. Indeed, complete reverse-engineering and re-design is required so to better understand and document the performance parameters of solid-steel vs. PM gears. Presented here is a re-design (re-building a 6-speed manual transmission for an Opel Insignia 4-cylinder, turbocharged 2-liter engine delivering 220 hp/320 N-m) showing that substituting a different microgeometry of the PM gear teeth -- coupled with lower Young’s modulus -- theoretically enhances performance when compared to the solid-steel design.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2013-06-01

Tooth Root Optimization of Powder Metal Gears - Reducing Stress from Bending and Transient Loads

This paper will provide examples of stress levels from conventional root design using a hob and stress levels using an optimized root design that is now possible with PM manufacturing. The paper will also investigate how PM can reduce stresses in the root from transient loads generated by abusive driving.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2012-08-01

High-Performance Sintered-Steel Gears for Transmissions and Machinery: A Critical Review

Except for higher-end gear applications found in automotive and aerospace transmissions, for example, high-performance, sintered-steel gears match wrought-steel gears in strength and geometrical quality. The enhanced P/M performance is due largely to advances in powder metallurgy over last two decades, such as selective surface densification, new materials and lubricants for high density and warm-die pressing. This paper is a review of the results of a decade of research and development of high- performance, sintered-steel gear prototypes.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2012-08-01

Powder Metal Magic

Capstan Atlantic, located in Wrentham, Massachusetts, produces powder metal gears, sprockets and complex structural components. The company has provided unique powder metal products in a variety of industries including automotive, business machines, appliances, lawn and garden equipment and recreational vehicles.

PRODUCT NEWS | 2011-11-01

Liebherr's LDF350 Offers Complete Machining in New Dimension

The objective, according to Dr.- Ing. Hansjörg Geiser, head of development and design for gear machines at Liebherr, was to develop and design a combined turning and hobbing machine in which turning, drilling and hobbing work could be carried out in the same clamping arrangement as the hobbing of the gearings and the subsequent chamfering and deburring processes.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2011-08-01

Gear Material Risks and Rewards

Technology investments lead to product innovation at gear materials suppliers.

EVENTS | 2011-06-01

PM Design Winners Announced at Powdermet 2011

Design innovation, superior engineering properties, high end-market visibility and sustainability distinguish the winners of the 2011 Design Excellence awards, the annual powder metallurgy (PM) design competition sponsored by the Metal Powder Industries Federation.

EVENTS | 2010-08-01

PM Community Gathers for Annual Event

The metal powder industry gathered in force this past June for PowderMet 2010, the 2010 International Conference on Powder Metallurgy and Particulate Materials.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2010-06-01

Bending Fatigue, Impact and Pitting Resistance of Ausform-Finished PM Gears

The powder metal (P/M) process is making inroads in automotive transmission applications due to substantially lower costs of P/M-steel components for high-volume production, as compared to wrought or forged steel parts. Although P/M gears are increasingly used in powered hand tools, gear pumps and as accessory components in automotive transmissions, P/M-steel gears are currently in limited use in vehicle transmission applications. The primary objective of this project was to develop high-strength P/M-steel gears with bending fatigue, impact resistance and pitting fatigue performance equivalent to current wrought steel gears.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2009-09-01

Comparison of PM-HSS and Cemented Carbide Tools in High-Speed Gear Hobbing

This article examines the dry hobbing capabilities of two cutting tool materials—powder metallurgical high-speed steel (PM-HSS) and cemented carbide. Cutting trials were carried out to analyze applicable cutting parameters and possible tool lives as well as the process reliability. To consider the influences of the machinability of different workpiece materials, a case hardening steel and a tempered steel were examined.

EVENTS | 2009-06-01

Events

PowderMet 2009, plus the full technical calendar for Gear Technology's June 2009 issue.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2008-06-01

The Powder Metal Method

Despite economic uncertainty, the future looks promising for PM Gears.

EVENTS | 2007-11-01

Gear Expo 2007 Recap

The general impression—whether encouraged by AGMA or developed anecdotally—is that Gear Expo 2007 was a reasonable—though certainly relative—success

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 | 2007-01-01

Effects on Rolling Contact Fatigue Performance

This article summarizes results of research programs on RCF strength of wrought steels and PM steels.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2005-11-01

Utilization of Powder Metal and Shot Peening Residual Stress to Maximize Cost and Performance Benefit of Highly Loaded Gearing

This article focuses on bending fatigue strength improvements of P/M gearing from recent improvements in P/M technology, combined with shot peening.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2005-07-01

Superfinishing Gears - The State of the Art, Part II

In a previous article, the authors identified two misconceptions surrounding gear superfinishing. Here, they tackle three more.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2004-11-01

High Performance Gears Using Powder Metallurgy (PM) Technology

Powder metallurgy (P/M) techniques have proven successful in displacing many components within the automobile drive train, such as: connecting rods, carriers, main bearing caps, etc. The reason for P/M’s success is its ability to offer the design engineer the required mechanical properties with reduced component cost.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 1999-09-01

Powder Metallurgy Innovations

Powder metal. To gear makers today, the phrase conjures images of low power applications in non-critical systems. As powder metal technology advances, as the materials increase in density and strength, such opinions are changing. It is an ongoing, evolutionary process and one that will continue for some time. According to Donald G. White, the executive director of the Metal Powder Industries Federation, in his State-of-the-P/M Industry - 1999 report. "The P/M world is changing rapidly and P/M needs to be recognized as a world-class process - national, continental and even human barriers and prejudices must be eliminated - we must join forces as a world process - unified in approach and goals."

FEATURE ARTICLES | 1998-07-01

Alternative Gear Manufacturing

the gear industry is awash in manufacturing technologies that promise to eliminate waste by producing gears in near-net shape, cut production and labor costs and permit gear designers greater freedom in materials. These methods can be broken down into the following categories: alternative ways to cut, alternative ways to form and new, exotic alternatives. Some are new, some are old and some are simply amazing.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 1996-09-01

AGMA & MPIF Develop Standards, Information Sheet for Powder Metal Gears

AGMA and members of the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) are three years into a joint project to develop specifications and an information sheet on rating powder metal gears. According to committee vice chairman Glen A. Moore of Burgess-Norton Mfg. Co., the first phase of the project, the publication of AGMA Standard "6009-AXX, Specifications for Powder Metallurgy Gears," should be completed in late 1996 or early 1997.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1996-09-01

Alternative Lubrication Methods for Large Open Gear Drives

The type of lubricant and the method of applying it to the tooth flanks of large open gears is very important from the point of view of lubrication technology and maintenance. When selecting the type of lubricant and the application method, it is important to check whether it is possible to feed the required lubricant quantity to the load-carrying tooth flanks, This is necessary to avoid deficient lubrication, damage to the gear and operational malfunctions. It is important to determine the type of lubricant, which may be fluid or grease-like. The consistency of the lubricant will have a direct impact on the ability of the lubrication system to feed adequately the lubricant to the gear. The interactions between the common types of lubricant and the lubrication application methods for open gear drives are shown in Fig. 1.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1996-09-01

Powder Metal Gear Design and Inspection

Powder metallurgy (P/M) is a precision metal forming technology for the manufacture of parts to net or near-net shape, and it is particularly well-suited to the production of gears. Spur, bevel and helical gears all may be made by made by powder metallurgy processing.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1996-07-01

Noise Reduction in Plastic & Powder Metal Gear Sets

The data discussed in this article was taken from an upright vacuum cleaner. This was a prototype cleaner that was self-propelled by a geared transmission. It was the first time that the manufacturer had used a geared transmission in this application.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1995-09-01

The Beginner's Guide to Powder Metal Gears

Increasingly gear designers and product engineers are capitalizing on the economic advantages of powder metallurgy (P/M) for new and existing gear applications. Powder metal gears are found in automobiles, outdoor power equipment transmissions and office machinery applications as well as power hand tools, appliances and medial components.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1995-09-01

Comparison of Surface Durability & Dynamic Performance of Powder Metal & Steel Gears

Surface-hardened, sintered powder metal gears are increasingly used in power transmissions to reduce the cost of gear production. One important problem is how to design with surface durability, given the porous nature of sintered gears. Many articles have been written about mechanical characteristics, such as tensile and bending strength, of sintered materials, and it is well-known that the pores existing on and below their surfaces affect their characteristics (Refs. 1-3). Power transmission gears are frequently employed under conditions of high speed and high load, and tooth surfaces are in contact with each other under a sliding-rolling contact condition. Therefore it is necessary to consider not only their mechanical, but also their tribological characteristics when designing sintered gears for surface durability.