Cast Iron: A Solid Choice for Reducing Gear Noise

Robert O'Rourke is a product engineering manager with the Dura-Bar division of Wells Manufacturing Company (Woodstock, IL), which introduced continuous cast iron to the North American market in 1961. He can be reached at (800) 227-6455 or by email at rorourke @wellsmanufacturing.com. Material selection can play an important role in the constant battle to reduce gear noise. Specifying tighter dimensional tolerances or redesigning the gear are the most common approaches design engineers take to minimize noise, but either approach can add cost to the finished part and strain the relationship between the machine shop and the end user. A third, but often overlooked, alternative is to use a material that has high noise damping capabilities. One such material is cast iron.