Todd Weberg from Cotta, LLC will be at Railway Interchange 2025 on May 21 in Indianapolis, IN to network with global rail OEM and MRO professionals – as well as learn about new products and emerging trends in the industry. If you’d like to setup a meeting at the show, please email sales@cotta.com.
Since our inception, Cotta has survived many trials and tribulations. Within its over 100 year history, Cotta has persevered through 2 World Wars, the Great Depression, 2 Pandemics, as well as numerous recessions. And just how has Cotta weathered all these storms and maintained to survive? We believe that the main reason is because of our high quality, American-made product lines. Our customers demand tough, reliable performance and Cotta delivers the right unit for the exact application. So through good times and bad, rest assured that Cotta is here to provide your power transmission needs.
Cotta Tech Talk – High-Speed Gearboxes Used in Major Aerospace Manufacturer’s Grid Lab
A major customer of Cotta is using our high-speed gearboxes in conjunction with a device called a dynamometer to spin generators used in jet aircraft. The goal is to bring hybrid electric propulsion to aircraft. The Grid is an advanced electric power systems lab. The lab will allow our customer to develop electric motors, controllers, generators and distribution systems to achieve electrified propulsion on jet aircraft. As with automobiles, the effort to electrify propulsion is part of an industrywide goal to reduce carbon emissions. Testing helps improve the energy efficiency of jet aircraft to reduce the plane’s operating costs and meet regulatory requirements of a low-carbon economy. For over 50 years Cotta has been offering a broad range of high-speed gearboxes that can be used in a wide range of applications.
Today our gearboxes are being used by major aerospace commercial, business and military jet aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing, Bombardier and Lockheed Martin along with engine and component manufacturers such as Pratt & Whitney, General Electric, Collins, and Honeywell to name a few. Whether it is for R&D or a production test stand Cotta can customize a high-speed gearbox to meet your exact needs. Contact Cotta today to learn more about our extensive line of high-speed gearboxes.
https://cotta.com/wp-content/uploads/Cotta-gearbox-in-test-lab.jpg440660fortytwo eightynine/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cotta_transmission-llc-logo.pngfortytwo eightynine2025-05-01 12:33:162025-05-01 16:05:57Cotta Tech Talk – High-Speed Gearboxes Used in Major Aerospace Manufacturer Grid Lab
Here at Cotta, we center our procurement strategy on three primary pillars: supplier development, utilizing the latest enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology, and a comprehensive quality management system. We have established a strong network of suppliers over the 119 years we’ve been in business through our assessment and qualification process, continued evaluation of our suppliers’ quality and delivery performance, as well as regular onsite visits and conference calls with our supply base.
Cotta uses JobBOSS to help automate procurement tasks, streamline processes, and manage our inventory. This technology allows for improved efficiency, reduced costs (which are passed on to our customers), and better supplier relationships.
Cotta is ISO 9001:2015 certified and has a comprehensive quality system that keeps our procurement process in control and provides us with a consistent methodology for supplier selection which helps to ensure operational consistency. Please consider Cotta for all your gearbox, spare part, and refurbishment needs!
In the heart of industrial operations, Cotta gearboxes play a crucial role in ensuring smooth and efficient production. However, with the increasing demand for continuous operation, critical components of the gearbox can often malfunction or break down. This is where Cotta steps in, offering comprehensive and specialized gearbox repair services designed to get your operations back on track quickly and reliably. Cotta has a clear understanding of these causes and employs a meticulous repair process that ensures that gearboxes are restored to optimal performance.
Common Causes of Gear Failure
Wear-Related Issues:
Moderate Wear: Caused by inadequate lubrication or contamination, leading to surface damage in the addendum and dedendum areas1.
Excessive Wear: Progression of moderate wear results in significant material loss, often accompanied by pitting.
Abrasive Wear: Radial scratches or grooves caused by foreign particles like metal debris or sand in the lubricant.
Corrosive Wear: Chemical reactions from moisture or additives in lubricants leading to fine pitting on gear surfaces.
Surface Damage:
Frosting: Micro pits on the surface due to heat breaking down the lubrication film.
Spalling: Shallow, large-diameter pits caused by high contact stress.
Pitting: Initial pitting results from improper gear fit, while destructive pitting occurs due to surface overload.
Mechanical Failures:
Breakage: Teeth break off due to high stress or excessive loads, leaving evidence of fatigue at the failure point.
Misalignment: Poor alignment causes uneven wear and premature failure.
Overloading: Excessive loads on gear teeth or shafts result in stress beyond design limits.
Lubrication Issues:
Insufficient or improper lubrication leads to overheating and friction between metal surfaces, causing gear and bearing damage.
Contamination:
Dirt, sand, or metal particles in the lubricant cause abrasive wear and seal failures, leading to leaks and reduced efficiency.
Gearbox Repair Process
Cotta employs a systematic approach to repair gearboxes, ensuring that all issues are addressed effectively:
Initial Inspection
Perform a visual and functional assessment of the gearbox to identify external damages, leaks, or misalignments.
Assign a unique job number and document the gearbox condition with photographs for reference.
Disassembly
Carefully disassemble the gearbox to avoid further damage.
Catalog each component for inspection and future reassembly.
Cleaning
Remove all grease, debris, and contaminants from components to allow accurate inspection.
Clean internal lubrication systems to prevent future contamination issues.
Failure Analysis
Inspect gears, shafts, bearings, and seals for wear patterns, cracks, or other signs of damage.
Conduct non-destructive testing on reusable parts to ensure safety and performance standards are met.
Repair or Replacement
Repair damaged components through machining or welding.
Replace worn-out parts such as bearings, seals, and gaskets.
Reverse engineer and manufacture new parts if original components are unavailable or beyond repair.
Reassembly
Reassemble the gearbox with precision, ensuring proper alignment of gears and shafts.
Apply fresh lubrication tailored to the specific gearbox requirements.
Testing
Conduct thorough performance tests such as no-load spin tests to verify functionality.
Check parameters like backlash, tooth contact patterns, and shaft end play for compliance with original specifications.
Final Quality Assurance
Repaint external casings for corrosion resistance.
Package the repaired gearbox securely for transport back to the client’s facility.
By combining expert diagnostics with precise repair techniques, Cotta ensures that repaired gearboxes meet or exceed their original performance standards. This comprehensive process minimizes downtime while extending the operational life of your equipment.
As drilling season approaches, it’s time to make sure your equipment is up to the challenge of what will be a banner year in the industry. Tap into over 119 years of top tier innovation and industry knowledge to ensure optimum performance. Whether its Offshore, gas, oil or water drilling Cotta will keep you well ahead of the competition with product recommendations, equipment upgrades and repairs. Contact Cotta now to get all your parts and gearbox repair needs under way asap. Let Cotta help you gear up for a great drilling season!
https://cotta.com/wp-content/uploads/Cotta-TT-drill-rig.jpg13061950fortytwo eightynine/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cotta_transmission-llc-logo.pngfortytwo eightynine2025-03-06 10:21:092025-03-06 10:21:09Cotta Tech Talk – Offshore Gas Oil or Water Drilling
Powered by Custom-Engineering Expertise: Did you know?
For more than a century, Cotta has been a driving force in the design of heavy-duty transmissions. Charles Cotta engineered his breakthrough constant-mesh shifting transmissions in 1906 and soon supplied the emerging automobile and truck industries with main transmissions. Cotta shifted to industrial products and the off-highway vehicle market in the 1940’s and then, two decades later, we added a line of high-speed gearboxes. Today, Cotta is the premier leading manufacturer of top-quality, precision-engineered gearboxes for many specialized mobile and stationary applications such as: vocational trucks, defense, off -highway, aerospace, heavy industry, well-drilling, mining, marine and much more.
Cotta designs in accordance with SAE, AGMA, ISO, and API standards to ensure product quality and to support our zero-defect policy. We have over 5,000 existing product designs available, plus our experienced engineers and craftsmen can take any new transmission application from concept to delivery at our production facility here in Beloit, WI. You don’t have to be a gearbox expert with Cotta as your source. Whether you need a standard, modified standard, or a completely new design, our engineering team will work with you to meet your specific requirements, effectively and efficiently. Cotta’s engineers and designers work with our customers to develop solutions and then deliver drawings in virtually any CAD format to drop into the customer’s own design.
High-performance products. Collaborative team of experts. Solving problems and exceeding expectations. We are Cotta.
John Locarno from Cotta, LLC will be at PB Expo 2025 on February 27-28 in Miami Beach, FL to network with team members from aerospace OEMs, defense contractors, airlines and MROs – as well as learn about emerging trends in the aviation industry. If you’d like to setup a meeting at the show, please email sales@cotta.com.
Reggie Williams from Cotta, LLC will be WWETT 2025 on February 19-20 in Indianapolis, IN to network with team members from Wastewater OEMs, Environmental OEMs, and MROs – as well as learn about new products and emerging trends in the industry. If you’d like to setup a meeting at the show, please email sales@cotta.com.
Cotta performs a multitude of manufacturing operations in-house at the Beloit, Wisconsin plant. Expect your Cotta gearbox to perform your important task day in and day out? Well then insist on genuine OEM Cotta parts when it comes time to service your unit. Cotta employees take pride in our facility by continuously completing numerous manufacturing operations including, but not limited to, turning, milling, hobbing, shaping, grinding and gear tooth grinding. Our ISO certification requires us to inspect each part thru every operation in order to provide a quality Cotta part to our customer. So, whether you are in need of new replacement parts or even a new unit, rest assured you will receive a quality product when you place an order with Cotta.
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