AGMA 944-A19 PDF

This information sheet describes many of the ways in which powder metal, PM, gear teeth can fail and recommends methods for reducing PM gear failures. It provides basic guidance for those attempting to analyze PM gear failures. The information sheet should be used in conjunction with ANSI/AGMA 1010 in which the gear tooth failure modes are defined. Similar definitions can also be found in ISO 10825 [1]. Although these standards are primarily focused on steel parts, they help investigators understand failures and investigate remedies.

This information sheet does not define “gear failure”. One observer's “failure” is another observer's “runin.” There is no single definition of gear failure, since whether or not a gear has failed depends on the specific application.

The information presented in this document applies to spur and helical PM gears. However, with some exceptions the information also applies to other types of PM gears.