Profile: Lawler Gear Corporation Q&A: Greg Allen Company Gleason’s Approach toto High-Tech Plating Custom Workholding by Drewco A MEDIA SOLUTIONS PUBLICATION JULY 2003 JULY 2003 A MEDIA SOLUTIONS PUBLICATION 6 industryNEWS New products, trends and developments in the gear industry 13 terryMcDONALD — Safety Matters Common-sense commentary on how easy—and important—it is to departments stay sharp on the job when it comes to safety. features 14 Company Profile By Russ Willcutt pg. 14 Lawler Gear Corporation From a four-man operation to a thriving business, Lawler Gear provides an interesting mix of services. 18 Custom Solutions for Workholding Challenges By Matt Peterson Since every customer’s needs are different, this company places a premium on designing custom-tailored workholding solutions. pg. 18 26 Reinventing the Wheels By Michael Hayes Years in the making—and less than two years out of the gates—Gleason Cutting Tools’ new plating facility is a marvel of high-tech productivity. 40 Q&A — Greg Allen Greg Allen is a real world traveler, constantly combing the globe pg. 26 for premium parts to import into the U.S. marketplace. special advertising sections 33 MACHINES 36 MARKETPLACE 39 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS gearsolutionsonline.com • JULY 2003 • GEAR SOLUTIONS 3 From the Publisher Hello, and welcome to the July issue of Gear Solutions magazine. This time around we’ve turned our attention to tooling and workholding, and we hope you’ll enjoy reading the informative articles we’ve compiled on the subject. HWe’re also quite pleased about the caliber of the subjects themselves— Gleason Cutting Tools and the Drewco Corporation, as well as additional features on the Lawler Gear Corporation and the Greg Allen Company. We feel that the Gleason article is particularly powerful, as it features Published by the company’s new superabrasives wheel plating facility in Loves Park, Media Solutions, Inc. Illinois. After years of R&D—and a substantial investment on the compa- P.O. Box 383185 ny’s part—Gleason Cutting Tools has achieved amazing tolerances, and Birmingham, AL 35238 1-800-366-2185 Michael Hayes’ article describes how they have gone about achieving their goals. We found the words of Jay Werner, Gleason’s superabrasives plating manager, to be particularly insightful, and we wish him—and the company, David C. Cooper itself—the best of luck as they move forward on this very exciting project. PUBLISHER As for the Drewco piece on workholding, we quickly identified an interesting angle there, as well. Drewco is known throughout the gear man- Chad Morrison ufacturing industry as a company that takes a personal, hands-on approach VICE PRESIDENT to meeting its customer’s individual needs, so we thought that a couple of case studies outlining the challenges the company’s product designers have Teresa Hall successfully met would be fitting. The article’s author, Matt Peterson, has OPERATIONS/ done a great job of identifying and describing these projects, and we’re CIRCULATION indebted to him for his excellent work. In addition, we’re pleased to present yet another installment on the PRODUCTION issue of workplace safety by our resident expert, Terry McDonald. As an aside, Terry’s columns have resulted in a great number of comments from Andy Spain our readers, and all of them have been very supportive and appreciative of ART DIRECTOR his informed and realistic approach to encouraging safe work habits. And we’re also delighted to present Ray Lawler, president of the Lawler Gear Corporation, in our company profile, and to feature Greg Allen—world EDITORIAL traveler and founder of the Greg Allen Company—in our new Q&A depart- ment. Interesting people, all, and each with a fascinating story to tell. Russ Willcutt So we hope you’ll enjoy reading this issue of Gear Solutions as much as MANAGING EDITOR we have pulling it together. As always, we welcome your comments, sugges- tions, and submissions, which you can send to editor@gearsolutionson- CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: line.com or to my own address, which is listed below. We look forward to Michael Hayes hearing from you! Terry McDonald Matt Peterson David C. Cooper Publisher The views expressed by those not Gear Solutions magazine on the staff of Gear Solutions [email protected] magazine, or who are not specifically (800) 366-2185 employed by Media Solutions, Inc., are purely their own. All “industry news” material has either been submitted by the subject company or pulled directly from their corporate Web site, which is assumed to be cleared for release. Comments and submissions are welcome, and can be submitted to 4 GEAR SOLUTIONS • JULY 2003 • gearsolutionsonline.com [email protected]. industryNEWS New Products, Trends and Developments in the Gear Industry to field conditions. In addition, all shaft keys (input and output) are Tyrolit and Bosch Develop Tool-Free Disc Change now captured by drilled and tapped socket head cap screws, making Tyrolit and the German electronics group Bosch have achieved installation easier and avoiding the potential for losing loose parts. a technological breakthrough in angle grinding. In a three-year The 55 CDR model also features an enlarged drain plug arrange- collaboration, the two companies have developed the first SDS ment, allowing for faster, more-reliable drainage of the gearbox. quick-clamping system for angle grinders found worldwide. The “These improvements new technology has been increase the durability and patented, which leads to reliability of our conveyor Worcester Gear adds a an international competitive drives, making maintenance Quick Drill Stretch advantage. an easier, simpler task,” Continuing its commitment to meet The revolutionary SDS says Barry Hall, director of its customer’s delivery needs, hold system allows a tool-free operations at Philadelphia down costs, and expand its second- disc change for the first Gear’s Midwest Regional ary operation capabilities, Worcester time ever in angle grinders. Service Center. “In addition, Gear recently purchased and installed Hook wrenches or other the improvements should a Quick Drill Stretch, manufactured ancillary tools are no provide longer service life for by Quick Mill of Peterborough, longer necessary with Bosch SDS grinders. The disc is attached to these conveyor drives, ulti- Ontario. The Quick Drill Stretch is a computer-driven drilling station that the tool and affixed by a quick turn. Thus, accessories hardly ever mately saving our customers also taps and c-bores. Its table get lost. The new Tyrolit grinding wheels are also compatible with both time and money.” measures 36” x 180” and can conventional grinders (without SDS). Philadelphia Gear is accommodate a workpiece with a Tyrolit has been producing cutting and grinding wheels for angle known for its long-lasting height up to 18”. grinders since September 2002. The product line includes cutting and reliable selection of The Quick Drill Stretch improves wheels for steel plates, pipes, and reinforcement rods, as well as automotive conveyor gear Worcester Gear’s efficiency in per- rough grinding wheels for finishing weld seams or deburring steel. drives. Such drives can be forming these secondary operations Tyrolit also produces diamond grinding wheels for tiles and flagstones. found in wide use in auto- on racks and for other appropriate Tyrolit is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of bonded grinding, motive plants throughout drilling applications. This should cutting, sawing, and drilling tools, and it attaches great importance to the United States. help Worcester Gear to meet its innovation and precision. More than 100 researchers and applica- A founding member of customer’s time-critical delivery tion engineers at the headquarters in Schwaz/Tirol are constantly the American Gear situations and cost targets. developing and improving high-quality Tyrolit products. Manufacturers Association For more information, visit the For more information, access the Tyrolit Web site at [www.tyrolit.com] (AGMA), Philadelphia Gear Worcester Gear Web site at or visit Bosch at [www.bosch-pt.com]. offers products and servic- [www.wgear.com]. es found in use worldwide; Improved Automotive Conveyer Drives from conveyor gear drives used in long-wall coal mining operations, to emergency repair services critical to the power generation indus- from Philadelphia Gear tries. The company serves thousands of customers around the globe Philadelphia Gear Corporation, a full-service provider of gearing and from its regional service and manufacturing facilities in New Castle, power transmission solutions, announces product improvements to Delaware, Birmingham, Alabama, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles. its durable and reliable line of automotive conveyor line gear drives. Philadelphia Gear is headquartered in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Bulls-eye sight flow For more information, contact Thomas Chaump at (800) 766-5120, indicators have been or send e-mail to [email protected]. Visit the company’s added to both the 55 Web site at [www.philagear.com]. and 155 CDR conveyor units. These new indicators allow for the oil level to be determined at a glance, removing the possibility of the old-style standpipe breaking in operation. In addition, the new sight flow indicators New Arm Control/Laser Tracker Combo from FARO virtually eliminate the possibility of overfilling gearboxes in operation. FARO Technologies, Inc., has released two of its top-selling portable Shaft lip seals for these units have been upgraded from “Buna N” coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) in a single package. The material to “Viton,” providing longer service life and more tolerance FARO Combo Package unites the company’s Platinum FaroArm 6 GEAR SOLUTIONS • JULY 2003 • gearsolutionsonline.com Smooth, Silent Transcyko® cycloidal speed reducers are as smooth as they are silent. Cycloidal Speed Reducers Available from Transcyko Transcyko® cycloidal speed reducers are smooth, silent, operate without vibration, and can absorb extremely high shock loads in excess of 500 percent. The reducers also come with a two-year warranty.