I'm presuming that you'll be attending IMTS at McCormick Place, Chicago, September 11–17. I mean, why wouldn't you? If you’re reading this magazine, then you're somehow involved in the world of gear manufacturing, and whether you're a design engineer sitting at a computer every day, a machinist working on the shop floor or an inspector working in a quality control lab, you need to understand how gears are made to do your job well.
After more than two years of COVID isolation, it feels good to be getting out of our bunkers and interacting with people again. Last month, I had the great pleasure of attending the AGMA Annual Meeting, where executives from member companies got together in person for the first time since 2019. The 2020 meeting was canceled at the last minute due to COVID. Last year’s meeting was held virtually, with an electronic meeting room and videoconference presentations. But this year felt like a return to normal.
You may have noticed that we’ve spruced things up a bit over at geartechnology.com. The website has undergone a complete overhaul, from the front-end design to the back-end programming and system that allows us to be as efficient as possible in producing and delivering the content you need.
The past year has been quite a wild ride for the world, and that includes the manufacturing economy. When COVID hit, every industry took its share of lumps. But for some time now, manufacturing industries have been charging forward.
Okay, I'll admit it. It's a trick question, because of course there's no such thing as a perfect gear. There will always be manufacturing errors, inconsistencies and human error. Tools and machines wear down, so that the first gear you produce will always be different from the one hundredth.