153

Paper 19

PRECISION IN MARINE-GEAR MANUFACTURE:

THE MODERN APPROACH
A. Hadcroft*
In previous years, a high standard of accuracy in hobbing machine correction and gear production was
achieved by labori6us and painstaking work. Today, accurate gears are the rule rather than the exception,
and manufacturing plant is usually fully utilized. Serious interruption to manufacturing schedules can no
longer be tolerated for maintenance of the established product quality. The paper seeks to examine some of
the more modem procedures and equipment, and to mention those areas in particular which require constant
vigilance and attention to ensure that a gear manufacturing plant is maintained at high standards of quality
and efficiency.

INTRODUCTION

AT THE 1958 CONFEREXCE, Timms (1)t gave a very able

review of the instruments and methods of measurement
available at that time for dealing with large turbine gears
and hobbing machines. Considerable progress has been
made since that date, and much of this has been reflected
in our experience at Manchester.
Gear cutting at the works at Trafford Park dates from
1916, and throughout these years the company has been
alive to the necessity for continual improvements in
accuracy. Newton in 1949 (2) gave details of the elaborate
and effective means employed to correct the older machines
in the thirties and forties by means of cams to cancel out
transmission errors.
Having created satisfactory indexing by these methods,
reproduction of a new master wheel was possible, and
cams could then be dispensed with. It is of interest to note
that the first 8-ft worm wheel corrected in 1946 is still
today within the A grade quality of B.S. 1498:1954
specification for master worm wheels.
The painstaking effort essential to the old methods of
correction often resulted in a better standard of gear, but
the maintenance of this standard was costly. The lack of
structural rigidity in the machine tools, coupled with poor
foundations, gave little permanence to the alignments. In
the late 1940s progress along the then established lines had
changed from development to a burden of perpetual
The M S . of this paper was received at the Institution on 20th April
I970 and accepted for publication on 12th June 1970. 43
* Advanced Manufacturing Engineer, E.E.-A.E. I . Turbine Generators Ltd, TraffordPark, Manchester.
t References are given in Appendix 19.1.

maintenance. At that time the manufacturers of large

hobbing machines in the U.K. were well behind those in
the U.S.A. in ability, both as regards accuracy and machine
design. The existing U.K. plant, most of it of 191418
vintage, was in urgent need of replacement. T o continue
to renovate and, where possible, improve the transmission,
and at the same time accept the lack of rigidity inherent in
most existing machine tools, were now accepted as
uneconomic operations. In some instances attempts were
made to stiffen up existing machine structures, but in the
main this procedure was only partially successful.
The issue in 1948 of B.S. 1498, Gear hobbing machines
for turbine and similar drives, followed in 1951 by B.S.
1807 covering turbine gears, comprised a challenge which
was taken up by two U.K. machine tool manufacturers.
These specifications also indicated the existence of a
potential market. At Trafford Park the potential marine
market and the definite interest of the machine tool
builders gave encouragement to a new start being made.
These conditions created an opportunity to install new
plant in a temperature-controlled environment, where
isolated foundations could be provided and rigidity
designed into the machine tools. Significant advances were
being made by gear hobbing and grinding machine manufacturers. These advances, coupled with developments in
electronics and metrology, marked the beginning of a new
era.
An expanding market would demand gear manufacture
in quantity, with little time for the ingenious but laborious
maintenance and correction methods of the previous
decades. The near-laboratory conditions under which
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A. HADCROFT

154

gears were then cut had to give way to workshop processes

using plant capable of economic rates of production.
The criteria by which the quality of the product is finally
judged are the contact marking between the mating gears
and their uniformity of relative motion. The former is a
function of the machine tool alignment, the feed screw
accuracy, the hob accuracy and its mounting, and strict
control of the ambient temperature. It is also controlled
by the post-hobbing process, whether it be shaving or
grinding. Uniformity of relative rotation is a reflection of
the inherent inaccuracy in the kinematic link between the
work and the hob during gear cutting.
T o meet these conditions the gear shop in Manchester
was rebuilt on a new site, and a fully automated temperature-control plant was installed, The shop (Fig. 19.1)
accommodates the precision machine tools, together with
the associated metrology equipment,in a common area
144 ft long by 52 ft between the crane stanchions. A 40-ton
crane is provided, which runs on a track extending along

Fig. 19.1.

the full length of the shop. The building is sited approximately north-south, and windows constructed from
sealed glass bricks are provided at a high level on all but
the south side, thus shielding the equipment from direct
sunlight. Separate air locks are provided for the admission
of work and for pedestrian traffic.
TEMPERATURE CONTROL PLANT

In preference to a plant housed in separate cubicles, each

with its own control system, the machine tools and
metrology equipment are established in an open area
giving easy access for work handling and supervision. The
temperature-control plant provides six changes of air per
hour and maintains temperatures within a total range of
2 degF at constant relative humidity.
Conditioned air is introduced through the ceiling grills
and extracted at floor level. After fresh air has been added,
it is cleaned by being passed through rotary viscous filters
and cooled through direct-expansion coolers. The air is

Temperature-controlled gear shop at Manchester

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PRECISION IN MARINE-GEAR MANUFACTURE: THE MODERN APPROACH

155

Air flow diagram-gear shop.

Layout of complete plant gear shop.

Fig. 19.2a. Temperature-control plant

L
E
!

Fresh air

Pre- heat

Schematic layout, temperature-control plant-gear shop. (View on arrow X in Fig. 1 9 . 2 ~ ~ )

A Extraction fan.
B Control dampers.
C Filters.
D Air conditioner.
E Plenum fan.
Fig. 19.2b. Temperature-control plant

then passed through a preheater and air-conditioner, and

delivered by a plenum fan at the required wet and dry
bulb temperatures (Figs 1 9 . 2 ~and 19.26).
The plant has operated satisfactorily over a number of
years, needing little attention other than the annual
inspection and overhaul.
MACHINE TOOL FOUNDATIONS

The gear manufacturing plant is housed in close proximity

to other heavy engineering activities. T o preserve satisfactory machine tool alignments under these conditions,
unusual foundations are required. Furthermore, distortion

in the machine tool scantlings under widely varying loads

must be avoided. T o achieve this aim, the gear-cutting and
grinding machines are bolted to heavy fabricated steel bedplates that are themselves supported at three points on
resilient mountings (Fig. 19.3).
The bed-plates carry adjustable wedges on the top face
supporting the underside of the machine tool. The stiffness
of the fabrication is designed to permit adjustment of the
machine's internal alignment by the supporting wedges.
After final adjustment, the bed and machine are securely
bolted together to form a single unit that is free-standing
on three small areas. Before this type of foundation was
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A. HADCROFT

Support oreas

Resilient mountings

bolts

Fig. 19.3. Typical three-point mounting

installed, the principle was proven on a pinion-hobbing

machine that was sited adjacent to a stanchion base supporting a heavy crane track. Until the new foundation was
installed it was not possible to cut precision gears.
The position of the support areas for the foundation
minimizes the deflection caused by the varying work loads
and the changing position of the heavy column. Two
supports are placed directly beneath the work-table and
one under the column bed, the position of the latter giving
minimum bending moment at the extreme ends of the
column travel. The supports under the work-table being
directly beneath the area of changing load, no bending is
induced into the structure. Under these conditions the
whole machine is free to move in space but will remain,
together with the work-piece, as one integral unit.
The resilient mounting at each support area is hard
rubber, bonded between two steel plates ;each is installed
in a manner that permits removal for inspection and
replacement. A common type of mounting was used for all
machines, but the size of the mounting and the type of
rubber varied according to the load. The natural frequency
of all the units is about 500 cycles/min. These mountings
and foundations have operated satisfactorily over the past
14 years; none has been replaced.
The continuity of satisfactory alignment is reflected in
the match between the products from the various machines.
Departure is indicated by the extended post-hobbing
work that is needed to attain a satisfactory match over the
tooth face.
The gear-shaving process has in some measure provided a method by which mismatch can be corrected, but
anything more than minor correction is unsatisfactory.
Furthermore, correction by gear shaving is something of

an art rather than a science, the time and cost for the work
being difficult to estimate. Hence, there is both a functional
and an economic advantage in these foundations; they
keep manufacturing times to a minimum by maintaining
machine tool alignment over long periods. In addition,
continuity in correct gear cutting provides reliable
knowledge of process times, which is essential in the
preparation of manufacturing schedules and cost estimates.
MACHINE TOOL ALIGNMENT

Whilst alignments, once set, are maintained over long

periods by the steel foundations, initial settings have to be
made and from time to time adjustments are required.
Rapid and reliable methods of checking and adjusting
alignments are needed to reduce to a minimum the outage
time of major machine tools. In the late 1950s, research
work commenced on the development of an optical
replacement for the test pillar. By 1960 such an instrument, later known as the reflecting Rodolite, had reached
a satisfactory stage in development. In its fully developed
state it included the mercury Rodolite; both versions have
been fully described by Dyson and Tillen (3).
These instruments will define a straight line within
0.0025 rnm (0.0001 in) over 6 m (20 ft). When they are
being used, instead of the conventional test pillar, a hobbing machine can be prepared for examination in 5-6 h,
provided, of course, that all the supporting equipment is
available.
The two versions of the Rodolite are complementary.
They consist of two target gratings with a common sighting head. The reflecting target is a 50 mm (2 in) diameter
grating ruled to 400 lines/in with a fixed reflector; the

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PRECISION IN MARINE-GEAR MANUFACTURE: THE MODERN APPROACH

mercury target is similar, but it has a pool of mercury

reflector. Thus, the reflecting Rodolite will establish the
relation of a moving point relative to the axis of a rotating
table or chuck, while the mercury version will establish
the relation to a vertical axis.
It is known that the use of a long outrigger from the hob
saddle to the table centre can result in readings which
contain exaggerated errors resulting from cross-wind in
the column shears. However, use of both targets in turn at
the centre of the hobbing machine table, sighted from the
same outrigger, will indicate the departure of the table
axis from the vertical. If the telescope is then transferred
to the hob position and sighted on the mercury target at
the foot of the column, a corresponding departure of hob
motion from a vertical line can be measured.
The reflecting instrument has a distinct advantage in
checking and setting horizontal pinion machine alignments, because the traditional pillar test was always
unsatisfactory when extended over an appreciable hob
travel.
The reliability and high accuracy of these instruments,
together with their rapid application, appreciably assists
in shortening the time required to make adjustments in
machine tool alignments.
FEED SCREWS

Control and adjustment of feed screw accuracy are features

normally outside the capability of the gear manufacturer.
Nevertheless, at the present time reliable screws can be
obtained from firms specializingin this type of equipment.
Accurate examination in situ is readily carried out using
National Engineering Laboratory (N.E.L.) linear and
circular gratings. These tests show the cyclic error arising
from the thrust bearing in addition to the cyclic and linear
errors of the screw and nut assembly.
H O B S AND SHAVING CUTTERS

It has been recognized for many years that gear-cutting

hobs for turbine drives require a higher standard of
accuracy than that specified for industrial gearing.
Previously, hobs were manufactured by specialist firms to
the specification MOY G/2 compiled by the National
Physical Laboratory. I n 1959, B.S. 2062, covering gear
hobs for general purposes, was issued; this was extended
in 1960 to cover hobs for turbine drives. Whilst this
specification goes some way towards meeting the requirements, there are anomalies that require clarification. At
the present time these are overcome by the goodwill
existing between the hob manufacturer and the user.
The gear-shaving process now has common acceptance
as a method of refining the tooth profile and making minor
corrections to the helix angles. In use, the accuracy of the
shaving cutter profile is reflected in the tooth contact
marking of the shaved gears. The quality of these cutting
tools is specified by B.S. 2007.However, in many instances
the ultimate refinement of the profile has to be defined on

a cut and try basis to suit a particluar gear; the final

correction is assessed by the contact marking between the
mating gears.
GEAR PROFILE MEASUREMENT

The generation of a tooth profile cannot be adjusted whilst

cutting on a hobbing machine. This is not significant
because proven plant usually ensures continuity of satisfactory products. With a gear-grinding machine this is not
so; adjustments can be made as the work proceeds, the
profile accuracy being dependent on the settings made by
the machine operator. Again, the profile accuracy is finally
judged by the contact marking between the mating gears;
but it is necessary to remove the gears from the machine to
make the check. Resetting is usually necessary for correction and final refinements. This time-consuming practice,
particularly when grinding gear wheels, amply demonstrated the need for a portable profile-measuring instrument of the autographic type that could be used on a
gear-grinding machine.
Development of involute measuring equipment was
started at the A.E.I. Research Laboratory at Aldermaston
in 1956, being aimed specifically at portable equipment.
The principle on which the development work proceeded
was the osculating circle at the pitch line. Resin casts were
made of the tooth profile; these were moved through an
arc of known radius past a measuring head that indicated
the departure of the profile from the true arc. The readings
were compared with calculated values. I n the next phase
of development the cast was eliminated by arranging for
the measuring stylus to move over the gear profile (4).
I n this manner a measurement was made of the deviation of the profile in the normal plane from a circular arc
having a centre on the base cylinder and a radius equal to
the curvature of the theoretical profile at the pitch point.
The development instrument is a light but rigid tubular
frame that can be positioned normal to the profile by two
ball feet, locating in the tooth spaces, and a knife edge
resting on the outside diameter of the gear. A parallelogram
mechanism set to rotate a stylus through a predetermined
arc having a centre on the base cylinder (Fig. 19.4) is
driven up the tooth profile by a synchronous motor. The
stylus and the drive motor are electrically connected to a
recorder, which is arranged to give a trace of the profile
deviation from the arc. The full calculation for the
theoretical trace is complex, but this is normally done by
computer. Where the instrument is used over a particular
range of gearing, and for all practical purposes, a simplified
calculation is sufficient.
Before this instrument was accepted as a piece of workshop equipment, tests were made to prove its agreement
with other established profile-measuring machines. The
plotted readings from the Vinco portable ordinate
measuring machines were also compared with readings
from the profilometer; close agreement was found with all
the equipment. Finally, a suspension harness was provided
to support the instrument on the vertical face of a gear

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A. HADCROFT

Involute

4-

r = Radius of arc equal to

radius o f curvature of involute at the pitch
circle COMPARISON OF INVOLUTE WITH REFERENCE CIRCLE

I
2xDP

Root

Pitch
point

THEORETICAL TRACE
y=calculoted points o f profile

ZXDP

Ti p

Fig. 19.4. Trace from profilometer

wheel whilst mounted on a grinding machine, for which

purpose the instrument was originally devised. All the
development work was carried out using the laboratory
instrument, which was finally replaced by a new workshop
instrument (Fig. 19.5).
This work had established for the first time a portable
instrument that will autographically record the error
occurring in a gear tooth profile. By its use the profile can
be measured and corrected where necessary whilst the
gear is still mounted on a grinding machine. This facility
makes a considerable contribution towards reduced cost
and handling time, with an improvement in the overall
accuracy of the product. The instrument finds little use on
hobbed gears, other than when a finishing process such as
gear shaving is involved. I n this case it can be used as an
investigational instrument to help resolve problems, and
where necessary to provide inspection records that would
otherwise be unobtainable.
Similarly, in monitoring gear performance in service it
can be readily adapted to measure the tooth profiles of
installed gears. Very little preparation is needed other than
the removal of some of the covers from the upper part of
the gearcase. In this manner, a periodic inspection of the
tooth profiles can be carried out, in situ, in a relatively
short time.
PITCH ACCURACY

I n the early 1960s the N.E.L. was developing a circular

grating unit designed for the continuous measurement of
kinematic errors between rotating units. The equipment
was portable and capable of measuring angular phase errors
to an accuracy of f0-5seconds of arc. I t was readily adaptable to the measurement of worm-worm wheel errors in
gear-hobbing machines and has since been fully developed

to monitor the kinematic link between the hob and the work.

This equipment has been fully described by Smith and

McGregor (5).
For correction work it was first applied to a 3.8 m
(150 in) hobbing machine at Manchester (Fig. 19.6) that
some years previously had been certified to conform to
B.S. 1498: 1954, Grade A standard. The machine accuracy
had deteriorated and the worm wheel errors as measured
from a spur test gear showed an accumulative pitch of
0.09 mm (0.0036 in) over a 4-2 m (166 in) span. The
predominant error was sinusoidal but there were some
superimposed short span errors. The one direction tested
indicated that the worm wheel axis needed to be moved
and some correction of the worm wheel teeth was
required.
Although the portable grating unit at the time was a
laboratory rig, it was decided, in conjunction with the
N.E.L., to use the equipment to monitor the correction
work. The hobbing machine has a built-in provision for
adjustment of the worm wheel with respect to the axis.
Its position is initially controlled by eight radial screws
and finally secured by bolts and dowels.
The first readings taken by the portable grating unit
confirmed those taken from the spur test gear; these are
shown in Fig. 19.7. Before dealing with the shorter span
errors the predominant sinusoidal error was adjusted by
moving the worm wheel centre. The main grating was
mounted above the table centre, with sufficient space under
it to allow an operator to work within the hollow table
journal. It was then possible, whilst the machine was
running, to shift the worm wheel centre and monitor the
result by the grating unit. Control was excellent and the
adjustments were positive; the results of the first move are
also shown in Fig. 19.7.

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159

Fig. 19.5. Goulder-A.E.I. profilometer

Fig. 19.6. Portable grating unit mounted on 150-in machine

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A. HADCROFT

Machine: 150-in wheel Hobben.

Worm: Fine pitch engaged. Single start.
Linear pitch : 0.5025-0.4975 in.
Wheel: 720 teeth. 0.500-in pitch.
Fig. 19.7. Errors recorded by portable grating unit on 150-in hobbing machines before and after correction of table

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PRECISION I N MARINE-GEAR MANUFACTURE: THE MODERN APPROACH

In a comparatively short time the anticlockwise error

was reduced from 14to 6 seconds of arc, and clockwise from
12 to 44 seconds of arc. Superimposed on the cumulative
error were a number of short span errors which required
correction at the tooth contact. Where correction could take
advantage of metal on the flanks the procedure was no more
than a careful scraping at the right spot. This was defined by
the use of hard lacquer painted on the flanks, followed by a
period of running that readily showed the contact marking.
Where the error was due to metal shortage a study determined the best position for the worm wheel centre. This
was a compromise that would provide metal on the flanks
yet require minimum hand scraping to correct the overall
error that was consequential to a move of the axis.
The precise location of the teeth to be corrected was
determined by pieces of adhesive tape adhering to the
flanks of the worm wheel teeth. On going through the mesh
with the worm these teeth were shown by peaks on the
chart record. The tooth to be adjusted was easily found by
counting from these markers ; thus, there was a positive
link between the record and the hardware.
The work continued for approximately eight weeks.
Much of this period was running time to create toothcontact marking, but there were a number of moves of the
worm-wheel centre to help diminish the hand-correction
work on the short-span errors. As the work continued and
the errors were reduced, the increasing cost for diminishing return became evident. The work was stopped when
the fundamental component of the error had been reduced
to 2-7 seconds of arc in the clockwise direction, and
3 seconds of arc in the anticlockwisedirection. These figures
brought the machine within the B.S. 1498: 1954, Grade A
standard. The final records are shown in Fig. 19.8.
This grating equipment also indicates the cyclic errors
due to the worm, the table drive gears, and the hob drive
gears. They are superimposed on the record of the fundamental component and distinguished by their various
frequencies. I n this instance, however, no work was needed
on the other gear trains.
GEAR-GRINDING MACHINES

The success with the portable grating unit, described

above, led to investigation of the equipment for use on
gear-grinding machines.
On some machines, such as the Maag SHS.150, the
accuracy of indexing is linked with the generation of
the involute profile. This is generated by the rotation of the
table combined with a translatory movement of the slide
carrying the table. This movement is derived from a lead
screw coupled to the table drive through a gear train. The
worm-worm wheel drive to the table can be measured in
much the same way as the hobbing machine. However, to
check the kinematic link that controls the generation, a
linear grating would be needed to monitor the table
translation and relate it to table rotation. The factor T is
introduced into this relationship owing to the pitch of the
lead screw, which is 47r mm. The table is driven by a single

161

start worm and a 216-tooth worm wheel. The relationship

between the screw and table is expressed by

where L is the length of translatory movement, 0 the

rotation of the table in degrees, Pp the pitch change gear
ratio, and P , the number of teeth-change gear ratio.
It was not possible to provide a calibrated linear grating
that was compatible with these conditions, therefore a
helium-neon laser unit was used in conjunction with the
grating unit. This work has been fully reported by
Smith (6).
The errors found in the machine were not significant
and no work has been carried out in the way of improvements to the kinematic link between table rotation and
translation.
NITRIDED G E A R S

Considerations of economic production tend to favour a

procedure that eliminates the grinding operation and
completes the gear before exposing it to the hardening
process. The nitriding process has proved to be satisfactory
in this respect and a large number of gears have been
manufactured in this way. Experience to date covers a
wide variety; at the large end of the range are pinions up
to 1.8 m (6 ft) in overall length and 2 ton in weight, and
wheels 1.3 m (50 in) in diameter and 35 cm (14 in) face
width. With conscientious stress relieving before finish
cutting, and correct matching of the elements before
nitriding, no significant change in contact marking has
been noticed.
To prove this, a sensitive method of measuring tooth
contact is needed; this can be satisfied by applying tool
makers marking dye to the teeth of one of the meshing
units, then driving one by the other. Some of the dye is
transferred; but, although this is of interest, the criterion
is the hard metallic marking that is evident on the dyecovered tooth flanks. A careful study will determine the
precise areas of tooth contact to a tolerance of the order of
0.005 mm (2 x
in). This is readily proved by a controlled change in alignment between the two gears.
The final marking is recorded by the use of transparent
adhesive tape, which, after application to the areas carrying the marking dye, can be peeled away with the contact
pattern on the adhesive side of the tape. When fixed with
the adhesive side to stiff paper, a clear and permanent
record of the tooth contact is formed.
THE SEVENTIES

Gear accuracy (customer requirements)

The accuracy standard currently accepted is that defined
by B.S. 1807 in its various grades, but for naval installations certain tolerance bands are usually reduced to 60 per
cent.
At the present time there appears to be little demand
from the customer for anything better, and design has still
to justify existing standards. The real need is for the

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A. HADCROFT

correlation of accuracy, loading, and noise parameters to

provide the design criteria for the machinery of the next
decade.
The revised B.S. 436, which is intended eventually to
replace B.S. 1807, is based on internationally accepted
tolerance bands. These have yet to be related to design
requirements in contrast to empirical figures that have
their origin in the most optimistic achievement of the gear
manufacturer.
Measuring instrumentation sophistication
The overall achievement in metrology in the last decade
has eliminated the need to cut test gears to prove the
accuracy of gear-generating machines. For large units this
was an expensive and time-consuming procedure that
recurred after each period of repair or modification. The
continuous monitoring of accuracy is currently carried out
by measuring the product rather than the machine tool.
Modern electronic equipment, such as that designed by
Hofler and the N.E.L., will readily measure the short span
and cumulative pitch errors whilst the gear remains on the
machine (7) (8). Unfortunately, when these measurements
are carried out on the hobbing machine they have no
reference to the axis of the installed gear. After removal
from the machine the meshing check serves to prove the
alignments and matching profiles.
Ultimately, it is hoped that some form of seismic or
grating unit will be developed to provide a slow-speed
check on the relative velocity of two meshing elements.
When applied to a meshing frame, this could then be
considered a composite check on the mating elements. By
their various frequencies the tooth contact, profile, pitch,
and axis alignment could all be identified from an autographic record. Since the source of the composite error
could arise in a number of machines, investigational work
could be required, using the equipment of the last decade,
which would be adequate for the purpose.

Hobbing machine users

Being concerned with gear-hobbing machines, the author
regrets that once again the U.K. has returned to the same
position as that which prevailed in the late 1940s-early 50s.
In Europe, other than in Western Germany, there is no
manufacturer of large high-grade turbine gear-hobbing
machines; nor, so far as is known at the time of writing, is
there an established manufacturer of this type of machine
tool in the U.S.A. I n these circumstances the U.K. user is
forced to seek an expensive source of help and machine
tool supply outside the U.K., or once again resort to selfhelp, as pre-1950. This time he is better equipped
technically and has better manufacturing facilities at his
disposal; but, unfortunately, he still lacks the design
experience of the machine tool builder with many machines
in service.
The machine tools already installed can be maintained
at their present accuracy standard and may even be
improved. Nevertheless, progress is not made by maintaining that which exists; technical achievement comes

from the design and manufacture of new plant, and at the

moment we look in vain to the U.K. machine tool indusmy
for a lead in this respect.
Gear manufacturers
The author believes that the current need is for higher
production rates. I n general, it can be stated that accuracy
requirements can be met, but the metal removal rate of the
average large turbine gear hobber is usually less than
1 in3/min. I n many instances the power available at the
main motor is of the order of 50 hp, and an increase of 300
per cent in metal removal rate does not seem to be
unreasonable. Development in precision gear-cutting
tools and in cutting tool materials is needed; again, the
lead at the moment is being taken by firms outside the
U.K. The benefits which will accrue are higher production rates and, above all, a reduction in capital investment
for plant expansion to meet heavier production
programmes.
CONCLUSIONS

No matter what care is taken to produce accurate gears,

and no matter what records are produced to support this,
the criterion is a satisfied customer.
The procedures and equipment described in the paper,
whilst not sufficient in themselves to satisfy this end, have
made a great contribution to the maintenance of quality
standatds at the authors firm in the context of a full
production schedule.
Future requirements are for a realistic assessment of
accuracy requirements and for redesign of machines and
tools to maintain this accuracy with faster rates of production.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Thanks are due to English Electric-A.E.I. Turbine

Generators Ltd for permission to publish the information
given in this paper.
A P P E N D I X 19.1
REFERENCES

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(2)

(3)
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(5)
(6)
(7)

(8)

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