July/August 1997

The Total Customer Service Experience

July 1, 1997

What is a quality product? This is not an idle question. In the Darwinian business world in which we operate, knowing the answer to this question is key to our survival. A whole library of standards and benchmarks is available to help us gage how we're doing, but they don't really tell the whole story.

Eliot K. Buckingham

July 1, 1997

His resume reads like that of many gear engineers of his generation: the stint in the army during World War II; the break for college in the late 40s; deliberately vague descriptions of projects for the Air Force in the New Mexico desert in the early 50s; the corporate engineering jobs later on in the decade.

Detroit in 97 - the Biggest Gear Expo Ever

July 1, 1997

"A Decade of Performance" is the theme of the American Gear Manufacturers Association Gear Expo 97, to be held October 19-22 at Detroit's Cobo Hall. Products and services related to every aspect of the gear manufacturing process, from turning and grinding the blanks to coating and inspection of the gears,will be represented at the show.

Involute Inspection Methods and Interpretation of Inspection Results

July 1, 1997

Yefim Kotlyar

What is so unique about gear manufacturing and inspection? Machining is mostly associated with making either flat or cylindrical shapes. These shapes can be created by a machine's simple linear or circular movements, but an involute curve is neither a straight line nor a circle. In fact, each point of the involute curve has a different radius and center of curvature. Is it necessary to go beyond simple circular and linear machine movements in order to create an involute curve? One of the unique features of the involute is the fact that it can be generated by linking circular and linear movements. This uniqueness has become fertile soil for many inventions that have simplified gear manufacturing and inspection. As is the case with gear generating machines, the traditional involute inspection machines take advantage of some of the involute properties. Even today, when computers can synchronize axes for creating any curve, taking advantage of involute properties can be very helpful. I t can simplify synchronization of machine movements and reduce the number of variables to monitor.

Basic Honing & Advanced Free-Form Honing

July 1, 1997

Rotary gear honing is a crossed-axis, fine, hard finishing process that uses pressure and abrasive honing tools to remove material along the tooth flanks in order to improve the surface finish (.1-.3 um or 4-12u"Ra), to remove nicks and burrs and to change or correct the tooth geometry. Ultimately, the end results are quieter, stronger and longer lasting gears.

Structural Analysis of Teeth With Asymmetrical Profiles

July 1, 1997

This article illustrates a structural analysis of asymmetrical teeth. This study was carried out because of the impossibility of applying traditional calculations to procedures involved in the specific case. In particular, software for the automatic generation of meshes was devised because existing software does not produce results suitable for the new geometrical model required. Having carried out the structural calculations, a comparative study of the stress fields of symmetrical and asymmetrical teeth was carried out. The structural advantages of the latter type of teeth emerged.

Obtaining Meaningful Surface Roughness Measurements on Gear Teeth

July 1, 1997

Surface roughness measuring of gear teeth can be a very frustrating experience. Measuring results often do not correlate with any functional characteristic, and many users think that they need not bother measuring surface roughness, since the teeth are burnished in operation. They mistakenly believe that the roughness disappears in a short amount of time. This is a myth! The surface indeed is shiny, but it still has considerable roughness. In fact, tests indicate that burnishing only reduces the initial roughness by approximately 25%.

Ironclad Gears

July 1, 1997

This issue of Addendum is dedicated to gears that have served their country. There have been many, but among the most significant are surely those at work during the Civil War, when their application changed the nature of naval warfare forever. It's time to recall that role, namely, powering the revolving turret of the U.S.S. Monitor, one of the first "ironclad" vessels.

Product News

July 1, 1997

Welcome to our Product News page. Here we feature new products of interest to the gear and gear products market.

New Update of an Old Standard

July 1, 1997

Machinery's Handbook 25 by Erik Oberg, Franklin D. Jones, Holbrook L. Horton & Henry H. Ryffel, Reobert E. Green, ed., Industrial Press Inc., New York, NY, 1996 ISBA 0-8311-2424-5, $75.00 (Large Print Version, $95.00).

Technical Calendar

July 1, 1997

Complete Technical Calendar for July/August 1997.

M & M Precision, Penn State & NIST Team Up For Gear Metrology Research

July 1, 1997

In 1993, M & M Precision Systems was awarded a three-year, partial grant from the Advanced Technology Program of the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Working with Pennsylvania State University, M&M embarked on a technology development project to advance gear measurement capabilities to levels of accuracy never before achieved.

Hoechst Technical Polymers to Gather Plastic Gear Materials Data

July 1, 1997

Hoechst Technical Polymers has expanded its interests in plastic gears with the introduction of the new Plastic Gear Evaluation and Research machine P-Gear. The machine is the centerpiece of the company's continuing efforts to promote and develop the use of plastic gears in higher-powered applications.