In the article below in Gear solutions magazine by Kirk Gino Abolafia, it considers the methods of designing gears to take on the most critical environments.
How do we define attributes needed to face critical environments? The gear must have to have one or more of these requirements:- high flux resistance, high tensile strength, high fatigue resistance and extreme corrosion resistance.
In fact, all of the above in one form or another can be necessary for the many environments that Ronson Gears are manufactured for. Our gears have to work from outer space to the depths of the oceans and anywhere else in between!
So we are well aware of the challenges and the specific needs of manufacturing gears for extreme environments and welcome an article that highlights the issues involved.
The article explains the various design, material and production challenges and offers up some potential solutions to improve production efficiency.
It examines issues arising from miniaturization, thin walls, the increased usage of advanced materials and creating the unique profiles necessary for gears to operate in extreme environments.
A suggestion is that manufacturers should consider implementing alternative manufacturing processes rather than trying to incorporate them in to existing production.
Alternative manufacturing including Additive Manufacturing AM, Pulsed Electro Chemical Machining PECM, or Electrical Discharge Machining EDM which the article examines and accesses.
View the article here for the full explanation of the issues, challenges and solutions to designing gears for the extremes.