The Adams Company, a custom manufacturer of bevel, helical, spur, worm gears and shafts, are continuing to acquire the latest equipment to produce the most efficient, economical and high quality gears and shafts. The company has recently purchased a Process Equipment Company (PECo) ND430 CNC Gear Measurement System. This CNC measurement system is used to ensure the quality and consistency of gears, splines, worms and gear cutting tools.

Measurements include:  tooth profile, helix slope and angle, pitch variation and pitchline runout, tooth thickness, size over/under pins and micro finish. The system comes with analysis and tolerance evaluation packages that are consistent with AGMA and ISO specifications. The machine is currently housed in their environmentally controlled and compliant inspection laboratory. Parts may be traditionally aligned between centers using a standard motorized tailstock or mounted on a precision chuck device. Using either location method, a true part coordinate reference system may be established using the ND Series coordinate transformation algorithms and 3-D mapping system to conduct measurements according to actual or functional part datum features.

"The accuracy and repeatability of the inspection process is great," says Mark Derby, operational manager. "Not only that, but it also provides documentation for our quality control guidelines and traceability if questions arise further down the line."

The Adams Company uses the PECo Gear Measurement System for final set-up inspection and process control. They also use the ND430 to reverse engineer gears and shafts to identify the exact dimensions of parts supplied by their customers.