Reverse Engineering

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2019-05-07

Dave Hinz — My Story

Sometimes there is a “gear guy” lurking inside an ordinary engineer. Risking the embarrassment of a poor result on an unexpected “pop quiz” was...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2018-09-14

The Usual Suspects

Once you accept that “stuff” happens in even the best of machine shops, you can begin to assess where the problems are likely to occur and start th...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2018-07-16

Planetary Gears: A Few More Things

Before we move...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2018-02-22

If Only It Was That Simple

In my last blog we went over “pitch” descriptions for spur gears. Engineers being stubborn individuals, it has not been possible to reach a consens...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2017-03-30

Open Source Part II

One of the things I mention when teaching about gears is the long history of great minds who have contributed to our field. Early readers of Ge...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-12-13

Job Satisfaction

    Every once in a while you need a reminder of why you enjoy your work. This week I got to witness final testing of a...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-04-14

Complex Antiques

I have a wonderfully complex gearbox to reverse engineer. It is a critical component for a thriving company that is the only known gearbox of its t...

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2016-03-01

Plastic Gearing Continues Converting the Unconverted

Plastic gears are everywhere today - throughout your car, at the oceans' lowest depths, in deep space. The question, when is a metal gear a candidate for plastic conversion, can be addressed in three words, i.e. what's the application?

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-01-19

A Wide World of Gears

Blogging from an American perspective can sometimes make me forget that the gear industry is active around the world. I get occasional reminders in...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2016-01-05

Happy to be Back to Work?

As much as I enjoy a bit of time off it gets boring if I am away from gears for too long. Since I have been in the consulting trade the lull in act...

ASK THE EXPERT | 2015-07-01

Determining Bull Gear Wear

We are currently experiencing wear on the bull gear on our converter at the steel plant. We want to be able to draw the original gear profile to compare this with the worn tooth before we decide on the next steps. I have attempted this, but there is a correction factor given and I am unsure how to apply this. Could someone give advice on this? Please find attached the PDF’s for the bull gear and the pinion gear. They are old drawings! The wear is on the wheel.

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-01-29

Feedback and Comments

[starbox] We are starting our second year of this blog and are pleased that it was named one of the Top 50 Design and Development Blogs on the Int...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2015-01-15

Studying the State of the Art

[starbox] A few years ago I presented a paper on reverse engineering at the AGMA Fall Technical Meeting. I heard through the grapevine that some f...

GEAR TALK WITH CHUCK | 2014-05-06

The Peer Review Process

[starbox] I began this blog with an appeal for abstracts for the 2014 AGMA Fall Technical Meeting. For those of you who had an abstract accepted...

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2013-08-01

Gear Expo 2013 - An Oscar-Worthy Indy Production

We are well into an odd-number year, so it must be just about time for another Gear Expo. Indeed, the big show -- Gear Expo 2013 -- kicks off in Indianapolis at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, September 17, wrapping up Thursday the 19th at 4:00 p.m. And whether you are exhibiting or attending, the bottom line is you are going -- a good thing for you, your company and the tightly knit U.S. gear industry.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2013-08-01

Engineering Questions - SME has the Answers with Knowledge Edge

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) has been gathering, validating and sharing manufacturing knowledge for more than 80 years. Traditionally, SME resources were purchased by individuals for their own personal use or by colleges and universities as textbooks. Recently, these same colleges and universities were looking for digital resources to provide to their instructors and students. Companies were requesting SME content digitally for their employees as well.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2012-09-01

Refurbishing a Ball Mill ; Bevel Gear Backlash

Our experts comment on reverse engineering herringbone gears and contact pattern optimization.

EVENTS | 2011-11-01

IPTEX 2012 Preview

India is rapidly turning into a global manufacturing hub, thanks to the country’s manufacturing and engineering capabilities, vast pool of skilled expertise and its size. These qualities offer it a strategic advantage for the manufacturing segment. A large number of international companies in varied segments have already set up a manufacturing base in India and others are following suit. It only makes sense to bring this industry segment together under one roof to discuss the current trends and technology prevalent to the marketplace. IPTEX 2012 is scheduled from February 9–11, 2012 at the Bombay Exhibition Center in Mumbai, India.

VOICES | 2007-09-01

Uncovering Core Competencies

How can a company grow its business or plan for growth when its niche area only accesses the smaller part of the pie?

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2005-07-01

Opportunities for Gear Grinders - Insights from the Machinery Front

Tom Lang of Kapp Technologies shares his views on the trends affecting ground gears.

INDUSTRY NEWS | 2005-02-06

Rush Gear Announces Reverse Engineering Capability

Rush Gears Inc., of Fort Washington, PA, announced their capability to reverse engineer both drawings and sample parts. According to ...

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 2003-05-01

Characterizaton of Retained Austenite in Case Carburized Gears and Its Influence on Fatigue Performance

Carburized helical gears with high retained austenite were tested for surface contact fatigue. The retained austenite before test was 60% and was associated with low hardness near the case's surface. However, the tested gears showed good pitting resistance, with fatigue strength greater than 1,380 MPa.

FEATURE ARTICLES | 2000-09-01

Gear Up for Performance: An Introduction to Synthetic Lubricants for Fractional Horespower Applications

Editor's Note: The following article details the advantages of synthetic lubricants in certain applications. However, the user should be aware of certain design issues arising from the extract chemistry of the synthetic. For example, some synthetics may have low solvency for additives. Others may not be compatible with mineral oils or nonmetallic components such as seals and paints. Some synthetics may absorb water and may not have the same corrosion resistance as mineral oils. Finally, the user should consider biodegradability or toxicity before switching to any new lubricant. Many of these concerns are present in petroleum-based lubricants as well, so consult a lubrication specialist before specifying a lubricant.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1999-03-01

Fatigue Aspects of Case Hardened Gears

The efficient and reliable transmission of mechanical power continues, as always, to be a central area of concern and study in mechanical engineering. The transmission of power involves the interaction of forces which are transmitted by specially developed components. These components must, in turn, withstand the complex and powerful stresses developed by the forces involved. Gear teeth transmit loads through a complex process of positive sliding, rolling and negative sliding of the contacting surfaces. This contact is responsible for both the development of bending stresses at the root of the gear teeth and the contact stresses a the contacting flanks.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1997-07-01

Structural Analysis of Teeth With Asymmetrical Profiles

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.

VOICES | 1991-11-01

Viewpoint

Dear Editor: In Mr. Yefim Kotlyar's article "Reverse Engineering" in the July/August issue, I found an error in the formula used to calculate the ACL = Actual lead from the ASL = Assumed lead.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES | 1991-07-01

Gear Fundamentals Reverse Engineering

Whether gear engineers have to replace an old gear which is worn out, find out what a gear's geometry is after heat treatment distortion, or just find out parameters of gears made by a competitor, sometimes they are challenged with a need to determine the geometry of unknown gears. Depending on the degree of accuracy required, a variety of techniques are available for determining the accuracy of an unknown gear. If a high degree of precision is important, a gear inspection device has to be used to verify the results. Frequently, several trial-and-error attempts are made before the results reach the degree of precision required.

EVENTS | 1989-05-01

Technical Calendar

May 18-21. AGMA Annual Meeting, "The Changing World of Gears." Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, Tucson, AZ. July 12-14, 1989. ASM international Conference on Carburizing. Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center, Lakewood, CO. September 12-20, 1989. European Machine Tool Show, Hannover, West Germany.