Most gearbox repair follows a familiar sequence. A unit shows up damaged, the shop measures what’s worn, makes replacement parts, reassembles, and ships it back. Scott Franks, P.E., spent decades inside that world at Lufkin Industries and came to believe it wasn’t enough.


This article demonstrates why bevel gears are designed with a zero sum of profile shifts—showing that independent shifts merely replicate what a modified pressure angle already achieves—and explains the practical benefits of using conical generating gears for tooth profile crowning.
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The article proposes a method to optimize cylindrical gearbox tolerances by balancing gear noise performance and manufacturing costs using modeling, analysis, and meta-model-based optimization.
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20NiMo9-7 alloy achieves up to 48 percent higher fatigue strength than conventional carburizing steels in the as-carburized condition, eliminating the need for shot peening and grinding in automotive gear applications.
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An excerpt from Gear Technology Solutions by Dr. Hermann J. Stadtfeld exploring the mathematics behind conjugate bevel and hypoid gears—from the fundamental laws of gearing and the conditions for perfect conjugacy to why real-world power transmissions require deliberate crowning rather than theoretically exact conjugate designs.
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The world of bevel gear grinding is a complex topic. How do you determine which grinding and dressing parameters to select for a desired surface finish? What type of grinding wheel should be used? What type of dresser should be used? How do all these factors affect the gear noise and quality levels? These are some questions that will be addressed in this article.

When electric drives are used in vehicles, the masking effect of an internal combustion engine disappears, allowing the noise behavior of the transmission to take center stage. At the same time, peak power and torque increase, engine speeds increase, and power must be transferred optimally in both directions due to the regenerative braking system. Conventional design parameters remain important, however: The build space is limited, durability must not be compromised, and the product must still be cost-efficient. Optical metrology as part of a hybrid measurement concept helps to overcome all these challenges.
Discover how next-generation bevel gear metrology combines flank form, waviness, surface quality, and root geometry analysis in a single automated inspection cycle. Advanced software and standard probes deliver faster measurements, deeper diagnostics, improved process control, and enhanced gear performance.
Deburring gears is dusty, repetitive, and hard to staff. The OB7 cobot from Productive Robotics automates it with quick setup and no programming required. Consistent finish on every part, built in the USA. See the full cobot deburring package and request a quote.
Gleason’s new line of high-performance QFS Quick-Flex Segmented Collets are designed for seamless integration with all major workholding systems. Manufactured to the highest standards, they provide exceptional concentricity, durability and clamping force. With their blue vulcanised clamping elements, QFS are a commitment to quality, offering run-out accuracy of ≤5 µm. Put them to the test.
TfG’s RGC 350 Radial Chamfering Machine from Machine Tool Builders produces defined, reproducible chamfers and ‘perfect’ teeth every time. The continuous, high-speed cutting process works wonders even on workpieces with interfering contours. What used to be slow, painful and expensive is now fast, painless, and perfect.
Gleason's Closed Loop System with robot or cobot loading now fully automates the measurement and correction process in gear production. Automatically prompting corrections on connected production machines, the GMSP series not only reduces human error in repetitive tasks, it also increases utilization of inspection equipment up to 90%.
At American Precision Gear, quality isn’t just a priority — it’s the foundation of everything they do. The shop specializes in high-precision miniature gears for aerospace, defense, and medical applications, where the strictest tolerances are non-negotiable. Helios Gear Products partnered with American Precision Gear to integrate the MZ 1000 D-Drive into their production.


Machine Tool Builders, Inc. (MTB) now offers SMG's new SH550 CNC Vertical Gear Hobbing Machine, expanding the SH Series to accommodate workpieces up to 570 mm in diameter and a swing of up to 750 mm (22.5 in. / 29.5 in.). With the addition of the SH550 at the upper end and the SH210 as the smallest model in the line, SH Series machines cover production needs for small-, medium-, and coarse-pitch gears, with pitch capability to 3.2 DP or Module 8 as standard.
Sep 22, 2026 - Sep 23, 2026

The RPM (Reliability Process & Maintenance) Symposium (Kalamazoo, MI) is a conference event where end users can network and learn about industrial facilities, reliability, maintenance best practices, electric motor driven powertrains, and IIoT.
Jul 29, 2026 - Jul 30, 2026
Oct 12, 2026 - Oct 14, 2026
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