Foreword

Summary

Noncircular gears (NCG) have been considered a curiosity and a product of niche applications for a long time because of their design and manufacture complexity. However, thanks to the availability of powerful computers and sophisticated CNC machine tools, the design and manufacturing of NCG became more feasible and their potential in many fields can be more easily exploited.

NCG are used to improve the function, versatility, and simplicity of many mechanical processes. For instance, they allow speed matching on assembly lines, linear motion with quick return, and stop-and-dwell motion. Very recent publications in highly respected scientific journals show that the interest in NCG is still very strong, for both the theoretical and manufacturing challenges involved, especially in today's high-performance automatic machines.

In this context, this book on NCG is very welcome. It covers all the basic issues of NCG and shows how to solve most of the key problems in NCG design and manufacturing. It clearly presents the foundations of this topic, very useful to the beginner, as well as new and advanced concepts of great importance to both scientists involved in research issues and skillful designers facing NCG sizing and manufacturing. In particular, the book represents the most comprehensive and authoritative treatise on NCG available today for scientists and designers. When complemented with a recently published book, Gear Geometry and Applied Theory (2nd ed.) by F. L. Litvin and A. Fuentes (Cambridge University Press, 2004), which provides the fundamentals of all types of gears, the whole field of the theory and applications of gears is covered.