Why Pay For A Whole Gear When All You Need Is Part of One

The Challenge: A manufacturer of gear drives needed only a partial segment gear for their application. They wanted to produce this gear at a reduced cost but still meet their requirements.

The Solution: Perry Tool worked with the manufacturer’s design team to design the gear and create a die that would allow for the production of a partial segment gear. Perry Tool added additional lightening holes for further material reduction.

The Results: Creating a die for a partial gear eliminated secondary machining and reduced material costs. The lightening holes saved an additional 9% in raw material costs while maintaining the integrity of the gear. The manufacturer was also able to incorporate positive stops at both ends of the gear allowing for the use of a more economical drive, saving additional cost on the assembly.

Bronze Bearings Don’t Have To Be Simple Round Sleeves

The Challenge: An office equipment manufacturer needed to be able to place two bearings in a piece of equipment in close proximity to other parts. The problem was that the bearings were too small to hold enough oil to lubricate the bearings for the entire life of the product.

The Solution: Perry Tool designed a part that combined the two bearings and the three other parts that attached to the bearings into one single part. With this design, the whole part can be impregnated with oil. In addition, the two bearings were designed to maintain their close center distance tolerances. The part also facilitates the attachment of two other sheet metal pieces.

The Results: Combining multiple part functionality into a single part reduced both the material cost and the inventory cost of the individual parts and saved the manufacturer assembly costs as well.

When One Part Can Be Made To Fit All

The Challenge: A business equipment manufacturer had a gear they were having machined that required four different hole patterns for different applications. They came to Perry Tool & Research to manufacture these gears using tooling specific to each gear applications.

The Solution: Perry Tool suggested putting all four hole patterns in one part. Perry Tool designed the part and created the tooling.

The Results: By incorporating the hole patterns for all four applications in one part, the manufacturer saved on the tooling cost and the material cost for the part. In addition, the manufacturer reduced inventory costs by only having to stock one part versus four parts.

Extra Parts Are Sometimes a Good Thing

The Challenge: A manufacturer of gaming machines switched from the mechanical lever slot machines to the new push button electronic versions. However, people missed the excitement generated by pulling down the lever handle and the sound it made. The new slot machine use was dropping off. The manufacturer came to Perry Tool & Research for a part to emulate the feel and sound of the old lever pull machines without affecting the functionality of the electronic machines.

The Solution: Perry Tool designed two parts that would integrate into the new electronic machines. One part gave the feel of the lever handle being pulled while the other part made the sound of the tumblers spinning.

The Result: Slot machine returned to former levels of use. Gamblers now had a choice. They could use the push buttons on the electronic machines or pull the lever handle and experience the same excitement as with the old mechanical machines.

When Four Legs Are Better Than Two

The Challenge: A manufacturer required a new part for a high-speed microwave switch. The part was similar to previous parts that Perry Tool had manufactured for them with very good results. As initially designed, however, this new part would require some very expensive tooling and the reliability would be less than 100%.

The Solution: Perry Tool suggested leveraging one of the manufacturer’s current parts to create a three-piece assembly. New tooling was only required for the flat plate and an assembly fixture.

The Results: Leveraging the existing part eliminated the need for costly tooling. The manufacturer was also able to leverage two other sub assemblies already in their inventory for additional savings.