December 2014

Encouragement and Enthusiasm

In the Stott household, we love math. Well, maybe not everyone in my household loves it equally, but since they were in kindergarten, whenever one of my children asked me for help with math homework, my reply has been an instant and cheerful “We love math!”

The American Industrial Renaissance

At SKF, we believe in the longterm development of the U.S. industrial economy. The reindustrialization is supported by a strong university-based research network, a competitive workforce and energy supply from domestic energy resources. However, there are still challenges, particularly regarding the availability of skilled labor. Business, education and governments have a responsibility to work together to ensure this is not the bottleneck in U.S. industrial development. I am particularly pleased with and support the work the National Association of Manufacturers is doing in this area.

The Applications of Bevel Gears

EDITORS’ NOTE: “The Applications of Bevel Gears” is the excerpted third chapter of Dr. Hermann Stadtfeld’s latest book — Gleason Bevel Gear Technology (The Gleason Works, Rochester, New York, USA; All rights reserved. 2014; ISBN 978-0-615-96492-8.), which appears here unabridged through the kind graces of Dr. Stadtfeld and Gleason Corp. Future installments will appear exclusively in Power Transmission Engineering and Gear Technology magazine over the next 12 to 18 months.

The Latest Design Technologies For Gear Devices with Great Transmission Ratios

Four types of gear devices with great transmission ratios (simply called great ratio gears or GRGs) are discussed in this paper. They are strain wave gearing devices (SWGs), trochoidal gear reducers (TGRs), hypocyclic gear reducers (HGRs) and James Ferguson-type planetary drives (JFDs). The structures, advantages and basic performances of these four devices are compared. The latest design and strength analysis methods are also introduced. To conclude, the future tendencies of GRGs are predicted.

Getting a Piece of that Sweet Coupling Pie

He was out. Nine years ago, Ross Rivard left the coupling industry for the shimmering new world of luxury automotive components at Lacks Enterprises, where he was immediately enveloped by platinum trim systems and chrome composite wheels. It was glitz and glam and as sparkly clean as the fresh-fromthe-dealership cars his products were embellished onto.

The Small Motor Rule, How Will This Affect You

According to the Department of Energy (DOE), more than half of all electrical energy consumed in the U.S. is used by electric motors. To address this, several years ago, the DOE conducted a technical study as to what could be done to raise the efficiency levels of “small” motors. After years of study and litigation, the Small Motor Rule (SMR) was passed that covers two-digit NEMA frame single- and three-phase ¼ through 3 horsepower motors in open enclosures.

2014 Buyers Guide

Leading industry Buyers Guide

Pre-Tension Thrust Bearings

What is the recommended method of gripping a spinning shaft (with up to 130 hp of rotational energy) to install pre-tension thrust bearings and conventional thrust bearings (load = hundreds of pounds) when the shaft cannot have any high points because it must pass through an area of tight clearances to assemble? Will snap rings still withstand the harsh vibration of this environment?

Finite Element Evaluation of Bearing Instrumentation Method

This paper presents an evaluation of measurements being taken on a 750 kW wind turbine gearbox being tested by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). High-speed stage gears and bearings have been identified as critical components of the gearbox; during gearbox testing, these components were instrumented and tests were developed to evaluate loads on high-speed tapered roller bearings (TRBs). In this paper an advanced finite element-based contact modeling procedure has been applied to model the high-speed stage with the bearings fully modeled in order to evaluate strain levels. A major conclusion is that the strains of the slotted grooves are at such a level that they have acceptable signal-to-noise levels. This was verified by the results of the initial experiments presented here.

The Model T Ford: One Mean Machine

Some of us are old enough to have had say, great-grandparents, for example, who when the occasion arose would casually refer to cars as “machines.” It sounded funny and arcane, and we would snicker under our breath. But of course the laugh was on us; back in the day — 1910s through the 1930s — automobiles were commonly referred to as machines.

Product News

News from the industry about new products.

Global Industrial Outlook: Houston, We Have a Problem

With two armed conflicts underway impacting economic performance in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, we continue our investment stance of “Buy on the Sound of Cannons — Selectively” — but readers of Power Transmission Engineering should not be sanguine. Geopolitics is beginning to exert significant pressure on several end markets: I specifically refer to oil price. West Texas Intermediate or WTI has dropped from its $95-105 trading range in late spring to about $75 — about a (25%) drop despite wo ongoing conflicts because of excess supply.

Industry News

News from around the industry.

Energy Efficiency, Configurable Solutions Highlight Pack Expo

A wide variety of companies displayed mechanical power transmission and motion control technologies at Pack Expo, held in November in Chicago. The event, which is the largest packaging and processing trade show in North America, attracted more than 48,000 attendees, according to show owner and producer PMMI. The four-day event included 2,352 exhibiting companies, an increase of more than 19 percent from the previous show in 2012.

Calendar

Calendar of everything coming up over the next coming months.

Motors and Motion Meet in St. Louis

The motors might be small, but the big-brain technology driving these electrical wonders was on full display at the 2014 Small Motor & Motion Association Fall Technical Conference, convened November 4-6 in St. Louis, MO. SMMA, the manufacturing trade association (120 members strong) that tends to the best interests of the electric motor and motion control industries — including manufacturers, suppliers, users, consultants and universities — played gracious host to a wide array of presenters from an equally diverse range of sources — from academia to the federal government. Like gears, motors are most everywhere, as evidenced by SMMA’s membership (consumer-, public interest-, national defense- and commercial-oriented) demographic which includes: appliance; transportation; medical equipment; office automation and computers; aerospace; and industrial automation. The association’s mission: To “serve as the principal voice of the electric motors and drives industry” and to provide a forum to “develop, collect and disseminate technical and management knowledge.”