• TOPICS
    • Design
    • Manufacturing
    • Inspection
    • Heat Treating
    • Lubrication
    • Materials
    • The Gear Industry
    • Gears by Type
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Departments
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
  • NEWSLETTER
    • Subscribe
  • VIDEO
    • Gear Technology TV
      • Ask the Expert Live
      • Revolutions
    • Industry Videos
  • BLOGS
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • NEWS and EVENTS
    • Product News
    • Industry News
    • Events
  • ADVERTISING
    • Brand Awareness
      • Print: Display Advertising
      • Online: Web Banners & Keyword Banners
      • Online: Native Advertising (Sponsored Content)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
    • Response & Lead Generation
      • Online: Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Newsletters
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • Online: Buyers Guide
    • Print Advertising
      • Print: Display Advertising
      • Print: MPT Expo Showstoppers
      • Print: Buyers Guide
      • Print: Manufacturing sMart
      • Print: Specifications
      • MPT Expo Show Guide Advertising
    • Online Advertising
      • Online: Web Banners & Keyword Banners
      • Online: Native Advertising (Sponsored Content)
      • Online: Buyers Guide
      • Online: Specifications
    • E-mail Advertising
      • E-mail: E-Newsletters
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: AGMA Industry News
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • E-mail: Specifications
    • Special Promotions
      • Print: MPT Expo Showstoppers
      • Print: Buyers Guide
      • Print: Manufacturing sMart
      • MPT Expo Show Guide Advertising
  • CONTACT US
  • AGMA
    • Membership
    • Events
    • Education
    • Emerging Technology
    • AGMA Media
    • Standards
Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Home » Blogs » Gear Talk With Chuck » Fitting the Pieces Together

Gear Talk With Chuck
Gear Talk With Chuck RSS FeedRSS

Design / The Gear Industry / Module / Management / Purchasing / Big Gears
Charles schultz
Chuck Schultz is a licensed engineer, Gear Technology Technical Editor, and Chief Engineer for Beyta Gear Service. He has written the "Gear Talk with Chuck" blog for Gear Technology since 2014.

Fitting the Pieces Together

March 5, 2019
Charles D. Schultz
No Comments
It occurred to me recently that my request for “origin stories” may not have been inclusive enough. As an engineer, I tend to focus on the technical side of our business. Many of the greatest co-workers I have had never once worried about the difference between normal diametral pitch and module. They were quite happy to leave the design side to others while they attended to important duties elsewhere in the organization. Just as you cannot hope to have a successful baseball team with only pitchers, a gear shop needs a variety of skilled “position players” if it is to be more than just an academic exercise. We have “lost” some outstanding gear companies over the years due to problems that had nothing to do with the design of their products. Take something like cost estimating; I know most designers hate to get involved with it but without an accurate estimate you cannot stay in business long. I was fortunate to learn from a wonderful old accounting clerk who, despite living in a multiple ashtray could of cigarette smoke, had developed methods of predicting material, set-up, cycle, and heat treat costs from even the sketchiest of preliminary layouts. His ability to find similar projects in the company files was legendary. He was our secret weapon when there just was not sufficient time to develop a “clean sheet of paper” answer to an inquiry. Out in the shop itself, many a project was saved by the saw operator knowing just where a “drop end” could be found of the correct alloy and dimensions to replace a broken or out of tolerance part. In several stops on my journey, people in the purchasing department were often the hero [or heroine] of the hour by having just the right contact for that piece of “unobtainium” we needed. It would be great to hear from some of our non-technical gear guys and gear gals on how they got started in this trade. I am guessing they have a few interesting tales of dealing with those wacky engineering types.

Recent Comments

Thank you for this - Happy Saint Patrick's...

Post a comment to this article

Report Abusive Comment

Free Gear Technology Subscriptions
Subscribe
Free Gear Technology Subscriptions
Subscribe
FEATURED VIDEO
  • Kluber1
    Remote Monitoring of Girth Gear Performance
December 14, 2022
RECOMMENDED
  • 2022 Gear Technology Buyer's Guide

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122-buyers-guide.jpg
  • Reigniting the Educational Infrastructure

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_20_Image_0001.jpg
  • Profile: Continuing Education and Training with the AGMA

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_26_Image_0001.jpg
  • Polished Up!

    February 13, 2023
    gt0123_Page_38_Image_0002.jpg
  • Remaining Competitive

    February 13, 2023
    gt0123_Page_42_Image_0001.jpg
  • Polished Up!

    February 13, 2023
    gt0123_Page_38_Image_0002.jpg
  • Remaining Competitive

    February 13, 2023
    gt0123_Page_42_Image_0001.jpg
  • 2022 Gear Technology Buyer's Guide

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122-buyers-guide.jpg
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • AGMA
Powered byAGMA
Copyright © 2023 Gear Technology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact