Significant Advances in Single-Pass Finishing for Gear Manufacturers

(Image Courtesy of The Energy Collective)

New techniques are opening up to those in our industry thanks to a new approach to the single-pass finishing process as it relates to the manufacturing of gears. An article in Gear Solutions magazine discusses some of the changes that have been implemented, and the potential advantages of this recently discovered technology. Diamond tooling can be expensive - the cost of materials and the upkeep of your equipment can seem taxing. The key to the single-pass process, as reported by Gear Solutions, involves following the existing centerline of the bore to be finished with as little pressure as possible. This ‘path of least resistance’ may seem like an obvious avenue of approach for many gear manufacturers- but there are many in our industry who have lost time and money on something so simple. The article relates the information in this way:

“The key to the single-pass process is to allow the diamond tooling to follow the existing centerline of the bore to be finished with as little pressure as possible. This is normally done by allowing the tool, part, or both to float. Depending on many other variables, bore geometry to better than 0.2µm (.000008”) is possible. Sine all of the diamond tools are set to specifice sizes and do not require expansion during each cyle, the single-pass process is able to achieve unsurpassed size control in production (1 µm with near perfect repeatability). These results are very predictable and repeatable, thus lend perfectly to Statistical Process Control.”

It seems like a no-brainer that this process would be successful, but by constantly trying to augment tools, assembly fixtures and machine augmentations, gear manufacturers have been able to steadily increase their production rates while improving the precision with which they bore. According to the article- fuel pumps, power-steering pumps, hydraulic timing components, connecting rods, cylindrical bores, diesel rollers and most importantly, gears can all benefit from these newly developed approaches to the single bore process.

To learn more about advances in gear manufacturing technology, check out Gear Motions:

www.gearmotions.com

To read the article from Gear Solutions Magazine, follow this link:

http://www.gearsolutions.com/article/detail/5459/advances-in-single-pass-bore-finishing

Pete and Repeat Build a Gear: Whose Client Calls Them Back?

Geartechnology.com has an interesting article this month regarding the recent economic downturn as it relates to gear manufacturers, and how those in our industry can meet and exceed our buyer's expectations with greater efficiency. The article, by associate editor Matthew Jaster, discusses the future of the gear manufacturing industry and what aspects of the business will come to the forefront as America begins to climb its way back from the recent recession. Among the areas of focus listed were quality of gears produced, the timeliness in which they are delivered to consumers, and the value of the actual product as it relates to customer satisfaction. According to the article, with more potential buyers shopping around for better deals and with less repeat business due to the recession, gear manufacturers should take heed to make sure that the people that come to them keep coming back:

"Customer service plays a large role in delivery as well. The medical manufacturing rep has received countless phone calls from customer service agents in the gear industry. "They just state the same thing over and over again. 'We'll have it in another three weeks,' 'Give us three more weeks,' 'It's going to be about three more weeks.' Sure, they were polite enough to keep us informed on where the order stood, but this wasn't exactly the kind of customer service we were looking for."

Warren Buffet, investment guru and philanthropist, summed it up when saying, "Price is what you pay; value is what you get." Whether your'e purchasing automobiles, heavy industrial equipment or a bulk order of gears, the same rules apply. The gear industry remains an area of manufacturing where complex components need to perform consistently and without failure. In the gear industry, companies tend to pay for what they get."

The article makes several solid points regarding the future of the gear manufacturing industry, particularly as it relates to producer/consumer relationships. Customer service is mentioned often as the main reason that customers may not come back to a manufacturer. For those of us in the gear manufacturing industry, the lesson we should take from this article is that customer support can sometimes have more of an effect on our business than the quality of the gears we produce. For next quarter, manufacturers should focus more on their bedside manner if they want to keep their clients coming back.

To learn more about the gear manufacturing process, check out Gear Motions:

http://www.gearmotions.com/

To read the article from geartechnology.com, follow this link:

http://www.geartechnology.com/issues/0810x/gearbuyers.pdf

Are you Ready for IMTS 2010?

At this years Industry and Technology Conference in Chicago, there will be over fifty gear manufacturers putting on exhibitions regarding the latest technology in the industry. They’ll also be there to rub elbows with fellow gear producers and discuss upcoming changes in the market (some of which have been detailed in previous posts on this blog). So, if you’re one of the many who were not able to get a spot in the Gear Technology pavilion and haven’t planned ahead on attending, what can the 2010 Industry and Technology Conference do for you? Gear Technology Magazine, who ran an article about the conference in this month’s issue, had this to say for non-attendees:

“It may take months of preparation to get the most out of the IMTS experience, and both exhibitors and the show management have abundant Internet resources available in advance. One such resource is through social networks online. IMTS insider news can be found on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as the IMTS technology e-newsletter. The IMTS group on YouTube features 60-second ehibitor submissions about why visitors should come to their booths. Visitors can vote to rate the video, and the highest rated one will have theirs posted prominently on imts.com.”

So, even if you can’t make the show itself, you can still get the gist of what each exhibitor will be discussing at their individual booths. Beyond that, each of the videos links to the exhibitors homepage, where you generally find a more developed discussion of the points made in their youtube videos. You also have the opportunity to decide which ones are the most relevant to gear manufacturing as an industry. The more manufacturers that vote for certain videos, the more likely it is that it will show as an indicator of how the industry is trending once the selected videos are permanently posted. So, even if you can’t make the show, you can at least swing over to their youtube channel and voice your opinion regarding what’s important in the gear manufacturing industry.

To learn more about Gear Manufacturing, check out Gear Motions:

www.gearmotions.com

To submit a video for the youtube competition, click on the IMTS website:

www.imts.com/60seconds

To read the article from Gear Technology magazine, click here:

http://www.geartechnology.com/issues/0810x/imts2010.pdf

Manufacturing Technology Consumption on the Rise...

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

A recent article from GearTechnology Magazine discusses the increase in consumption of manufactured technology in the United States, referred to as the USMTC or US Manufacturing Technology Consumption. The article states that according to the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association and the Association for Manufacturing Technology, May saw a consumption total of $178.34 million. The number was reached based on data supplied by companies that participate in the USMTC program, which, while showing a decrease from April of this year, is up almost sixty percent from May of 2009. The article quotes the president of the Association for Manufacturing Technology:

"While we would like to see the first quarter growth rates continue, we are not surprised by the typical second quarter ebb and flow in capital spending," says Peter Borden, AMTDA president. "We have seen an additional month of substantial orders, which helps to confirm that a sustainable recovery is taking place despite the buzz of those forecasting a W-shaped rebound. Industry forecasts for the year have been revised slightly upward by many sources, and if Congress passes the bonus depreciation allowance, this could accelerate growth even further."

The full report, which is available at www.amtonline.org, also contains a geographical breakdown of the Northeast, South, Midwest, Central and Western regions as they relate to this uptrend in manufacturing technology consumption. Essentially, this report is important to gear manufacturers because it could signal a boom in our industry that has already begun and may become more apparent by the end of the year. It would probably be a good idea, if you belong to this industry to read the full article.

To learn more about Gear Manufacturing technologies visit GearMotions:

http://www.gearmotions.com/

To read the full report from amtonline, visit this link:

www.amtonline.org

To read the article from GearTechnology magazine:

http://www.geartechnology.com/news.php?in=2530

The Race to $5 Billion: Functional Fluids in 2013

(Image Source: ExxonMobil.com)

One of our recent blog posts dealt with the likelihood of a breakdown in an assembly being related to insufficient or incorrect lubrication. The July 2010 issue of Gear Technology magazine had an article which reports that the demand for synthetic lubricant and functional fluid will reach around $4.8 billion by the year 2013. According to the article, this estimation would require a three percent raise in demand over the next three years to be correct. This means a lot for those in the market of lubricant distribution, but also serves as a prediction for those in the gear manufacturing industry. As the article reports regarding trends in industries related to function fluids:

"While engine oils and hydraulic and transmission fluids will achieve relatively strong growth going forward, other types of synthetic lubricants and fluids are expected to realize a slow decline in demand through 2013, largely as a result of falling average fluid prices. The largest market for synthetic lubricants and function fluids is light vehicles. This reflects not only consumer uptake of engine oils and transmission fluids, but also the universally synthetic nature of antifreeze, break and de-icing (windshield wiper) fluids."

It is clear from this article and other articles recently discussed in this blog that synthetic lubricants and functional fluids will play a large role in many industrial arenas over the next few years. As gear manufacturers, it is likely that our relationship to the fluid and lubrication market will change as a result of this. It is always a good idea to try to anticipate changes in your market before they effect your business, but this article stands as a shining example of how paying attention to related markets may hold some benefit in projecting the future of your market.

To read the article form Gear Technology Magazine:

http://www.geartechnology.com/