• 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 » Closing the Gap

Gear Talk With Chuck
Gear Talk With Chuck RSS FeedRSS

Design / Manufacturing / Inspection / Lubrication / Materials / Contact Analysis / Fatigue / Bearings / Helix / Simulation / Software / Whine / Processes / Grinding / Hobbing / Shaping / Wear / Friction / Bronze
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.

Closing the Gap

October 14, 2020
Charles D. Schultz
No Comments
We left the gear tribe arguing over how to solve the problems that were cropping up with the new-fangled double helical or herringbone designs. Faster and better machines were developed to appease accounting; the old practice of “running in” with an abrasive compound to better distribute load was revived, but the whiners wanted more progress. The fundamentalists in the spur gear faction bragged about their high tech hobbing machines being more accurate. Then they moved on to grinding the actual tooth flanks so the gears got “better” yet. “You can’t do that on your shaping machines!” they taunted. “We can if we do the two halves separately or have a wider gap,” the double helical people replied, while developing a machine to allow a rotary wheel to follow that helix angle. The shaping machines had guides to match the helix angle. Some were 15 degrees, others 20 or 23 or 30 or even 45 degrees. [Just to avoid patent litigation, a few were 29 degrees and 59 minutes, but that is getting off topic.] So the new universal hobbing machine needed to be able to handle the entire range of helix angles from zero (spur) to 45 degrees (crazy-high but not patent-infringing). Once those game changing differential mechanisms were introduced, the old questions about dealing with thrust and overturning moment resurfaced. Anti-friction bearings (a delightfully old school name for rolling element bearings) were getting better and better to keep up with faster rotating speeds. Surely they were now strong enough to tame physics’ dangerous forces. The Anti-friction bearing tribe, recently kicked out of the venerable and ancient Bronze Bushing tribe, agreed but only if the “numbers” were right. Complicated formulas were proposed. Test programs were required. New and more complicated forms of rollers were introduced. Strange concepts like fatigue limits, static and dynamic capacity, average life, and limiting speed were introduced. Suddenly, a squirt of congealed animal fat was no longer acceptable lubrication. All this “science” took time and money. And the re-united gear tribe is still left arguing just how much helix angle is enough and how much is too much ...

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
  • Kapp3
    Kapp Niles ZP 20 Set-up
November 16, 2022
RECOMMENDED
  • Precision Equals Performance at ZPE GripTec

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_28_Image_0003.jpg
  • State of the Powder Metal Industry

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_30_Image_0001.jpg
  • The Afterglow of Furnaces North America 2022

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_20_Image_0001.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
  • 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
  • Precision Equals Performance at ZPE GripTec

    October 12, 2022
    gt0922_Page_28_Image_0003.jpg
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • AGMA
Powered byAGMA
Copyright © 2023 Gear Technology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact