How will EV manufacturing innovations impact gear standards?

Six years ago, the Board of Directors and leadership of the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA) started a whole new department whose sole purpose was to watch emerging technologies and their possible impacts on the gear industry. 

Electric vehicle (EV) technology was one of the original topics alongside IIoT, robotics & automation, new materials, and 3D printing. At that time, there were many directions that the automobile industry could have gone in motor development, including doing away with gears entirely by putting electric motors in the four wheels. 

EV Requirements Are Pushing New Gear Developments

But today, we are seeing systems emerging with common threads across several companies. And gears are playing a major role. We are watching older techniques like honing and skiving return to help address the need for tighter tolerances. And machine tool companies are staying ahead of the need for new techniques to help with microsurface finishes, and higher precision gears. 

We see gears being stressed in new ways by regenerative braking, and we are watching developments of new alloys and new materials. Alongside this emerging technology work, we have been consistently updating our standards. And we believe it is the right time to bring the industry together to discuss the standards needed specifically for EV technology.

The Leading Authority on Gearing Standards

AGMA is not new to the standards business. Our first foray into this realm was back in 1916 when a group of nine manufacturing companies joined forces to standardize gears for noisy street cars. (Noise seems to be a consistent issue for gearboxes in vehicles.) 

Since then, we have developed hundreds of documents, in partnership with the industry, on a variety of topics directly impacting the gear industry. From consistently updating our materials standards to developing and deploying the first standards for wind turbine gearboxes first in the US and then working to have them adopted to the International Standards Organization (ISO) for global standardization, we understand the complexities of this work. And we understand gears. 

AGMA works on standards in the United States, but more broadly it is the Secretariat for ISO/TC 60 Gears, where we manage the work of global standards development for the gear industry. We will be relying on our century of work as we invite stakeholders in the electric vehicle space to provide input on next steps for standards developing in their space. We invite you to join us.

EV Manufacturers Will Gather at Motion + Power Technology Expo

AGMA will host an EV Town Hall from 8:00–10:00 am on October 19 during the Motion + Power Technology Expo (MPT Expo) which takes place October 17–19, 2023 at the Huntington Place Convention Center in Detroit, Michigan. Attendance for this event is free and just requires registration through the MPT Expo website.

Our first goal of this meeting is to talk about the standards that already exist. We will discuss our three published noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) documents that could be applied to EV gears: 

• ANSI/AGMA 6025-E19, Sound for Enclosed Helical, Herringbone and Spiral Bevel Gear Drives
• AGMA 914-B04, Gear Sound Manual
• ANSI/AGMA 6000-C20, Specification for Measurement of Linear Vibration on Gear Units. 

We will discuss the relevant design documents: 

• ANSI/AGMA 6002-D20, which covers internal combustion vehicle spur and helical gears 
• ANSI/AGMA 6123-C16, Design Manual for Enclosed Epicycle Gear Drives
• ANSI/AGMA ISO 23509-B17, Bevel and Hypoid Gear Geometry

In addition to these documents that have specific applications for electric vehicle technology, there are the standards with more broad applications that would have relevant sections that may need updating including, but not limited to ANSI/AGMA 1010-F14 Appearance of Gear Teeth—Terminology of Wear and Failure.

Join the Industry to Hear About the Future of EV Gearing Technology

This introduction will provide the basis for the bulk of the meeting, which will be listening to the industry on where they are finding needs for standards updates or new standards entirely. Standards are not created in a vacuum. They are best achieved when you have a majority of stakeholders providing direct input for these documents. AGMA has the expertise both in understanding the complexities of gears themselves, and also in successfully managing these discussions. But our work depends on your voices. Come be part of the experience.

Sign-up for the AGMA EV Town Hall through the MPT Website here: Home 2023—Motion + Power Technology Expo 2023 (motionpowerexpo.com).

Disclosure: This article is an advertorial and monetary payment was received from AGMA. It has gone through editorial control and passed the assessment for being informative.

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