Improved materials and design practices are putting plastic gears into increasingly demanding applications. One example is increasing use in Europe of plastic actuators at rear wheels that transfer power to parking brake systems. Other automotive uses include gear in doors, where new low-emission grades of polyacetal have been developed.
Any precision gears probably will be custom gears. Design rules for plastic are entirely different than they are for metal. One old problem in plastic gear design is misaligned mating spur and helical gear surfaces. A newly adapted gear design handbook from ABA/PGT of Manchester, CT, describes how to crown gear teeth to avoid the problem. Another good design reference is a downloadable brochure from UFE of Stillwater, MN, that covers "must-ask questions" about plastic gear design.
Click below to read about the latest Plastic Gear product trends:
Almost every automaker has had to 'pick a side' when it comes to alternative fuel options and ways to divest from a reliance on gasoline. Fiat is looking to back compressed natural gas or liquid propane as an interim solution.
Designing and filling a new type of water bottle might take less engineering work, but the description will help kids understand how science, math, and engineering influence their lives even through things that seem mundane.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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