3D printing is a relatively new technology that’s starting to take over the world. Now in the hands of manufacturers and consumers alike, 3D printing simplifies the engineering process, enabling for faster prototyping and greater precision when creating everything from machine parts to statuettes. But could modern 3D printing be used to make gears? Materials …Continued

Gears look like they run perfectly smoothly; after all, they’re designed to. Gears are supposed to tightly interlock and drive each other without much resistance or additional components within a system. However, most gears need some kind of lubricant to keep running smoothly, and your choice of lubricant could play a major role in your …Continued

Gears are such a common simple machine that it’s hard to think there was ever a time before they were used. But just like the wheel or any other man-made invention, gears had a starting point, and a course of evolution over thousands of years that have led to their current state today. It’s hard …Continued

Gears don’t last forever, but under the right conditions, they could end up lasting a very, very long time. Different gears have different lifespans, and of course, how you create and treat a gear will affect how long it lasts. Over time, structural inefficiencies or normal wear and tear could chip away at the gear’s …Continued

When manufacturing gears, you have to think about backlash. No, we’re not talking about a wave of people who vocally disagree with the gear manufacturing process or retaliation for some kind of event. In the engineering world, backlash refers to both a naturally occurring error in motion when gears move, and the gap between gears …Continued

You’ve probably heard of a rack and pinion before, but you may be unfamiliar with how the mechanism works or what it’s used for in a practical context. A rack and pinion exists as a working pair of gears designed to convert rotational motion into linear motion. The device does this with one circular gear, …Continued

Worm gears are a special type of gear with a unique design. There’s a worm wheel, which looks much like a “traditional” spur gear, and the worm gear component itself, which consists of a spiral that’s driven forward by the wheel. This produces a sliding action with low output speed and high torque, making the …Continued

You know what gears are. You’ve probably used at least a handful of devices and machines today that rely on gears to function. But do you know why gears exist in the first place, and what role they play in your machines? Let’s take things back to basics and talk about what gears are used …Continued

There are dozens of types of gears available, for all different types of applications. While spur gears represent most people’s conception of a “typical” gear, they have a number of disadvantages. They tend to suffer from wear and tear over time (especially if they don’t fit properly or are used with improper lubricant), and if …Continued

If you’re unacquainted with the world of gear manufacturing, some of the terminology we use to describe our products and processes may confuse you. That’s why we’ve come up with this short glossary of terms to help you understand the basics of the industry: Spur. Spur gears are “traditional” gears, circular with teeth around the edge. …Continued