March/April 2000

Goldstein's Paradox

March 1, 2000

I just got off the phone with an associate of mine at a large gear manufacturing company.I was congratulating him on being awarded a new contract when he told me that they had just experienced a substantial downsizing.

Ferritic Nitrocarburizing Gears to Increase Wear Resistance and Reduce Distortion

March 1, 2000

Quality gear manufacturing depends on controlled tolerances and geometry. As a result, ferritic nitrocarburizing has become the heat treat process of choice for many gear manufacturers. The primary reasons for this are: 1. The process is performed at low temperatures, i.e. less than critical. 2. the quench methods increase fatigue strength by up to 125% without distorting. Ferritic nitrocarburizing is used in place of carburizing with conventional and induction hardening. 3. It establishes gradient base hardnesses, i.e. eliminates eggshell on TiN, TiAIN, CrC, etc. In addition, the process can also be applied to hobs, broaches, drills, and other cutting tools.

Reducing Production Costs in Cylindrical Gear Hobbing and Shaping

March 1, 2000

Increased productivity in roughing operations for gear cutting depends mainly on lower production costs in the hobbing process. In addition, certain gears can be manufactured by shaping, which also needs to be taken into account in the search for a more cost-effective form of production.

The Effect of Material Defects on Gear Perfomance - A Case Study

March 1, 2000

The quality of the material used for highly loaded critical gears is of primary importance in the achievement of their full potential. Unfortunately, the role which material defects play is not clearly understood by many gear designers. The mechanism by which failures occur due to material defects is often circuitous and not readily apparent. In general, however, failures associated with material defects show characteristics that point to the source of the underlying problem, the mechanism by which the failure initiated, and the manner in which it progressed to failure of the component.

Microsecond Heat Treatment of Gears

March 1, 2000

The performance of metal surfaces can be dramatically enhanced by the thermal process of rapid surface melting and re-solidification (RMRS). When the surface of a metal part (for instance, a gear) is melted and re-solidified in less than one thousandth of a second, the resulting changes in the material can lead to: Increased wear and corrosion resistance, Improved surface finish and appearance, Enhanced surface uniformity and purity, and Sealing of surface cracks and pores.

Gear Heat Treating by Induction

March 1, 2000

The induction hardening and tempering of gears and critical components is traditionally a hot subject in heat treating. In recent years, gear manufacturers have increased their knowledge in this technology for quality gears.

Marking Time With Wood

March 1, 2000

Clocks with wooden gears? In these days of gears made from plastic, steel and exotic materials; it is a little unusual to hear about a practical application for wooden gears. But that is exactly what David Scholl, the owner of Changing Times, a Harlingen, TX, clockmaker is offering us.

Product News

March 1, 2000

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

Technical Calendar

March 1, 2000

Complete Technical Calendar for March/April 2000.

Industry News

March 1, 2000

Complete Industry News for March/April 2000.

Revolutions

March 1, 2000

Welcome to Revolutions, the column that brings you the latest, most up-to-date and easy-to-read information about the people and technology of the gear industry.