What Are the Limits?

Power Transmission components are pretty
mundane, right? Gears and bearings can only be arranged
so many ways, after all. You’d think by now that we’d
have discovered every possible way to make mechanical devices
as strong and efficient as possible.
But that’s not so. In fact, this issue we have a rare treat for
you. It’s a technical article that’s really more of a think-piece.
The article I’m talking about is “Machine Elements – Shaping
the Future through continuous Evolution,” which you can
find on page 30. The article is written by some of the world’s
top researchers working in the area of mechanical power
transmission components.
The authors propose that we still have plenty of gains to be
made with those components. In fact, they argue that there’s
something akin to Moore’s Law that can be applied in our
industry. Moore’s Law famously predicted the doubling of
semiconductor capacity every year since 1965—a prediction
that has largely held true.
And although there’s no evidence of anything approaching
anywhere near an annual doubling of capacity in any of
the capabilities of mechanical components, the authors have
demonstrated that there have been significant increases in
certain areas every year.
For example, the toque densities of wind turbine gearboxes
have increased by about 5% per year since the 1990s.
Similarly, the authors have shown how frictional losses in tapered
roller bearings have decreased by about 4% per year
since 2011. And while those improvements are more in the
range of 4-5% per year, they’re still improvements, built on
the previous year’s improvements.
A skeptic might argue that these researchers are simply
promoting their work in order to secure the next round
of funding and projects. But the gains are real, and they’re
being implemented in products you use every day.
Better designs produce better efficiencies. Better materials
provide better strength. Improved manufacturing technologies
create tighter tolerances.

Perhaps most importantly, components are no longer
considered as just components. They’re part of a system, and
the system is being investigated as a whole. Computer modeling
has advanced to the point where those systems can be
analyzed and optimized in ways that were never before possible.
Sensors and electronics add new data that continues to
feed the progress.
So what does this mean for those of us who work in mechanical
power transmission components? To me, it means
the future is bright. New products and technologies continue
to be introduced every day. Some of it comes from academic
research. Some of it comes from industrial R&D. But some
of it comes from good old-fashioned creative engineering—
something our readers have in abundance.
We’ll keep bringing you information about the latest advances,
no matter where they originate. You keep reading,
and creating, and advancing the capabilities of power transmission
components.
Just like with Moore’s Law and computer chips, there probably
are physical limits to what’s possible. But we haven’t
reached them yet.