Our standards

Standards applied to gears are technical documents developed by regulatory bodies in order to establish rules for the calculation, design, production, assembly and inspection of gears. Unfortunately, still in the 21st century, there is no universal standard so these standards vary according to the country where you live.

Standards are usually developed over a period of years by bringing together scientists, gear manufacturers, end users and university technicians in a group called the TC (Technical Committee). The TCs meet periodically to review and improve any deficiencies in the standard.

In 1965 the inch dimensions (diametral pitch gear system) were replaced by metric units (metric gear system). All countries in the world adopted the metric gear system except the USA, although more and more engineers are working with the metric gear system in the USA.

One of the most complicated issues regarding gear standards at the international level is the large number of standards from local regulatory bodies.

In the USA, the governing body for gear standards is the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA). This association has standards for gears in inch units and standards for gears in metric units. When specifying a gear standard, the current AGMA standard for inch pitch spur gears is AISI/AGMA 2015-1-A01. This standard is similar to the metric pitch standard ISO 1328-1:2013.

In the European Union, the two main standards for spur gears are ISO 53, ISO 1328-1:2013 and ISO-6336. However, in Germany, spur gears are standardized by DIN 780, DIN 867, DIN 3961, DIN 3962, DIN 3963, DIN 3964, DIN 3966 and DIN 3967.

In the UK, BS 436 is specific to inch pitch spur gears and BS 4582 is specific to metric pitch spur gears.

In Japan, the standard for spur gears is JIS B 1702-1:2016. Japan also has a standard set by the JGMA (Japan Gear Manufacturers Association).

Since 1998, the main gear regulatory bodies have been reviewing their standards and modifying them with the aim of creating a unified international standard that will simplify the calculation and design process and reduce manufacturing costs. This will be a very important advantage for everyone since the use of a universal standard allows gears manufactured by different companies and in different countries to comply with the same technical specifications.

Just as in mathematics 2+2=4 in all countries of the world, someday all gear regulatory bodies will set aside their kingdoms and for the benefit of all will adopt a single standard for gear calculation and manufacture.