Case Study

Obsolete Gear Replacement

Designing a replacement gear to meet the original OEM valve and MIL-V-24624 requirements, and getting it shock and vibration-qualified.

The Challenge:

JA Moody was asked to provide a solution to the obsolescence of a long-time qualified gear which was utilized with the 10”-14” Keystone Navy butterfly valve and listed on QPL-24624.

The company needed to source an OEM to design a replacement gear with the same form fit, function, and material as the original, then get it qualified for shock & vibration requirements.

The Journey:

JA Moody’s engineering team vetted, then worked closely with a gear manufacturer who had previous experience supplying gears to the Navy. All critical data including required torque, valve topworks dimensions, and shipboard applications were provided to the OEM, for the gear design to meet existing requirements.

The Solution:

A new gear was designed that not only met all the criteria but was also lighter in weight and utilized a high-efficiency gear design.

The Implementation:

The shipyard customer received regular status reports, reviewed all drawings, and was kept informed of the schedule. The prototype gear was available in six months and mounted to the Keystone butterfly valve for qualification at a NAVSEA-certified test lab.

The Qualification:

JA Moody has the training and technical expertise to oversee qualification testing and understands the difficulty of qualifying assemblies for the Navy. The qualification testing had several challenges, first with a valve-machining error and then with a snap ring in the gear failing. JA Moody worked with both the valve and gear OEMs to correct the problems, and the third time, the assembly successfully passed Medium Weight Shock and Type I Vibration testing.

The Result:

The JA Moody engineering team provided a solution to the obsolete gear, with a new and more efficient gear that can be utilized on new ship construction, and backfit on existing shipboard applications.

Learn more about obsolete gear replacement.