X-gear - Development of Gear Drive-Trains Based on New Materials and Novel Gear Systems

The 135.000 European SMEs of the mechanical transmission sector producers of gears and gearing products rely on traditional technologies and are characterised by a general conservatism. However over the years the end products in which the gears are used have become more complex and are pushing the state of the art in new technology. Thus the requirement for more sophisticated and reliable gears become extremely important.

The gear industry has to implement major changes in gear design and gear fabrication techniques just to keep up with the changing needs of the end product. Moreover, the output of mechanical engineering equipment is growing much faster in China than in the Europe or USA. China is thus becoming a serious competitor for the European SMEs of the sector.

In line with the strategic objectives of the associations of manufacturers of gears and mechanical transmission systems, the objective of X-gear is the diffusion and the standardisation of novel technologies and new materials for a new generation of gears characterised by higher accuracy, resistance, reliability, and tribology properties. In this context X-GEAR plays a role in the competitiveness of European industry since aims to comply with the tighter and tighter requirements being put on the gear industry for lighter weight, higher torque transmissions and quieter, more efficient gear trains. Research activities will be focused on an innovative combination of: