One of the most important choices you’ll face in gear manufacturing is what kind of material to use. There are dozens of choices, including cast iron, bronze, and ceramic, but all of them come with a share of advantages and disadvantages.
Most notably, each material offers a different hardness and different wear loss; the harder the material, the more compact it can be, but the more sensitive it’s going to be to ordinary wear and tear. The cost and process of manufacturing are also important considerations.
Typically, ceramics and metals lie on opposite ends of the spectrum:
- Ceramic gears are good for applications where metal alloy gears wouldn’t ordinarily succeed, such as in machines that require non-magnetic parts. Ceramics are both non-magnetic and bio-compatible, which makes them ideal for biotech applications, and for vacuum environments; they’re also good insulators of electricity. Unfortunately, they have very low fracture toughness, and can be difficult to manufacture due to their high melting points.
- Metal-based gears, created using metal injection molding, complement ceramic gears. They’re much easier to manufacture, and are generally less subject to wear and tear (though some specific metals have a low fracture toughness). Plus, unused material can be recycled for future gears, making the process even less expensive.
Metallic glass, a new alternative gear material, seeks to combine those advantages in one, all-applicable material. Metallic glass offers high strength and is fairly resistant to wear, plus has lower melting temperatures that make it easier to manufacture. It’s malleable, which makes it flexible, but also offers a similar strength as steel. On top of that, it resists corrosion.
If you’re interested in learning more about the materials we use for our gears, or if you’re ready to place an order, contact Federal Gear today!