In the power transmission world, there are varying schools of thought regarding the quality versus price equation.  In instances where avoiding machine failure is critical to the success of a business, risk management has evolved to help decision makers reduce the chances of costly machine breakdowns.  After establishing the context, identifying and assessing risks, the best equipment is normally specified.  There are, however, some applications that aren’t as critical, which is when price is perceived as being more important than quality.

Premature wormwheel failure, with a broken tooth section

Last week, a customer brought in a wormbox that he had purchased from a Chinese/Italian manufacturer to our workshop for assessment after it had failed prematurely and under little load.  The customer was perplexed as to why a straightforward application (packaging industry)  would cause the gearbox to fail.  The initial teardown revealed a piece of the wormwheel had snapped off, although delving further into the reasons for it breaking off showed the true cause of the failure; the bronze wormwheel was cast to only an unmachined and irregular-shaped cast iron surface, with no positive keying of the two materials.

The Bonfiglioli wormwheel (right) features cast lugs to assist with transmission, whereas the offering on the left relies solely on casting irregularities.

We immediately checked one of our Bonfiglioli wormbox wormwheels for a direct comparison, and found that these come with cast lugs to mate the two parts together.  The bronze fills the cast iron keyed sections to avoid failures like the one experienced by the other unit.

As the attached picture shows, the Chinese/Italian output hub (lower of the two, with a broken piece of wormwheel) relies solely on the roughness of the casting for its mating surface, whereas the genuine Bonfiglioli output hub has the lugs that assist the gearbox in transmitting the design torque that is claimed by the manufacturer in the catalogue.

The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is obviously more than simply a quality versus price equation, especially in mechanical power transmission. Factors such as diminished performance, outage and failure expenses, added future risks and even the damage to customer loyalty make any initial capital expenditure benefits seem very small.  Sometimes the oldest adages still ring the most true: ‘you get what you pay for and you pay for what you get’.  In support of this, All Torque Transmissions markets only quality brands of known manufacture.

2013 marks the 18th installment of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, after Adelaide brought the race to Australia back in 1985.  The race has surged and waned in recent times, as the global financial crisis took hold across the globe and wallets were opened less.

The biggest attraction of the race is the cars themselves, which follow a very fast evolutionary cycle after their release.  Technologically, a lot of the focus has been on the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) that the teams employ, which generates extra power by using dynamic braking, not unlike a KB Electronics DC 4-Quadrant motor control.  For a really good explanation of what KERS is and how it is used in a Formula One racecar, check out this excellent article by Craig Scarborough.

Industrial technology in racing isn’t limited to the cars, however, as Bonfiglioli demonstrated with its C102 in-line helical gearbox, being used to start historic Ferrari Formula One engines.  The C102 is hooked up straight to the engine drive shaft – with the ratio matched to the engine start speed.  Actually, Bonfiglioli has more than a passing interest in Formula One, teaming up with the Minardi Team (now Toro Rosso) in supporting the Museum of Scientific and Technological Heritage.

Everyone at All Torque Transmissions is looking forward to March 14-17 and is proud of the way Formula One showcases this magnificent city.

Senior Baldor and Dodge personnel toured All Torque’s Braeside Head Office on Thursday, the 28th of February, 2013, following the announcement by the two companies of a major distribution agreement for Victoria.  All Torque Transmissions has been welcomed by Baldor and Dodge as a supply partner for the extended range of Dodge mechanical power transmission equipment, including TAII Torque-Arm gear reducers, mounted bearing units and Dodge’s full range of couplings.

International Sales Director for Baldor Electric Company, Bruce Walters, and Sales and Marketing Manager for Dodge MPT, Leigh Gregson, were welcomed and on hand to oversee the stock shipment going in, making sure that all ranges and sizes were catered for in the process.  According to joint-director of All Torque, Robert Allan, keeping stock is an essential part of supporting a major brand like Dodge; “Victoria has a lot of existing applications where Dodge products are already doing the job.  We will support the brand both with the ongoing stuff as well as new applications that call for higher quality power transmission equipment.”

The Dodge mechanical power transmission range is designed and manufactured in the United States and is renowned for utilising quality materials during construction.

National Manufacturing Week is gearing up again for 2013, being held at Jeff’s Shed in May.  This year, there will be 12 distinct product zones; ranging from air technology to welding technology, although All Torque’s major focus will be the engineering zone and its power transmission sub-group.

National Manufacturing Week used to be a part of something called the Australian Industrial Engineering Exhibition, but that name was dropped a couple of years ago in favour of the NMW moniker.

Registration to enter has already opened up, so you can click here to fill out your details and get a barcode emailed through.

All Torque Transmissions team members will be attending the show over the four days of the event, and we all look forward to seeing both everyone there and the latest innovations in the power transmission industry.