The first edition of the international calculation method for micropitting—ISO TR 15144–1:2010—was just published
last December. It is the first and only official, international calculation method established for dealing with
micropitting. Years ago, AGMA published a method for the calculation of oil film thickness containing some comments
about micropitting, and the German FVA published a calculation method based on intensive research results. The FVA and the AGMA methods are close to the ISO TR, but the calculation of micropitting safety factors is new.
Faithful Gear Technology readers may recall that our July 2009 issue contained an update of the deliberations
provided by Bill Bradley. Now, almost two years later, there is an ISO/IEC wind turbine gearbox standard out for draft international standard ballot (ballot closes 2011-05-17).
An offshore jack-up drilling rig is a barge upon which a drilling platform is placed. The barge has legs that can be lowered to the sea floor to support the rig. Then the barge can be “jacked up” out of the water, providing a stable work platform from which to drill for oil and gas. Jack-up drilling rigs were first introduced in the late 1950s. Rack-and- pinion-type jack-up units were introduced soon after that and have dominated the industry ever since.
Gear manufacturers are moving into an era that will see changes in both engineering practices and industry
standards as new end-products evolve. Within the traditional automotive
industry, carbon emission reduction
legislation will drive the need for higher levels of efficiency and growth in electric and hybrid vehicles.
Meanwhile, the fast growing market of wind turbines is already opening up a whole new area of potential for gearbox manufacturers, but this industry is one that will demand reliability, high levels of engineering excellence and precision manufacturing.
QuesTek Innovations LLC is applying its Materials by Design computational design technology to develop a new
class of high-strength, secondary hardening gear steels that are optimized for high-temperature, low-pressure (i.e., vacuum) carburization. The new alloys offer three different levels of case hardness (with the ability to “dial-in” hardness profiles, including exceptionally high case hardness), and their high core strength, toughness and other properties offer the potential to reduce drivetrain weight or increase power density relative to incumbent alloys such as AISI 9310 or Pyrowear Alloy 53.
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.