Gleason
What is Gleason?
Gleason is an internationally operating company specializing in the manufacturing technologies of gears and power transmission components. The company offers comprehensive solutions for designing, manufacturing, measuring, and automating gears. Gleason’s product and service portfolio includes gear manufacturing machines, cutting and grinding tools, measurement and metrology solutions, software, as well as automation solutions that support production for the demanding applications of the machining industry.
Gleason’s solutions are designed especially for machine shops and machining facilities where high-precision gears, toothed shafts, and transmission components are manufactured from metal or plastic.
Gleason’s History and Background
Gleason was founded by William Gleason in 1865 in Rochester, New York. Among the company’s early and most significant innovations was a machine developed for manufacturing bevel gears, introduced in the late 19th century, which laid the foundation for industrial gear production. Since then, Gleason has been a key player in the development of gear technology.
Over its more than 150-year history, Gleason has grown into a global corporation operating across several continents and serving customers in various industries. The company has maintained its position as an independent entity focused on gear technology, with product development grounded in extensive knowledge of the machining industry.
Gleason’s Technologies in Gear Manufacturing
Gleason's core expertise lies in managing gear manufacturing processes throughout the entire production chain. The company's solutions cover gear hobbing, grinding, honing, lapping, and finishing processes following heat treatment. In addition, Gleason offers fixturing solutions and automation for production lines.
In machining facilities, Gleason’s technology is especially utilized when high dimensional accuracy, repeatability, and process reliability are required, such as in the production of bevel, hypoid, cylindrical, and worm gears. Solutions are suitable for both one-off pieces and serial production requirements.
Measurement, Metrology, and Quality Assurance at Gleason
In gear manufacturing, measurement and quality assurance play a central role. Gleason offers a broad selection of gear measurement and analysis systems, such as coordinate measuring machines, analytical measuring devices, and laser and hybrid metrology solutions. These enable manufacturers to ensure that produced gears meet strict geometric and functional requirements.
The measurement solutions are designed to be integrated into the machine shop’s production process, allowing measurement data to support continuous process optimization and quality management.
Digital Solutions and Design Software
Gleason’s digital solutions combine gear design, manufacturing, and measurement into a unified whole. A key part of this system is software for gear sizing, simulation, and strength calculation, which supports industry standards and makes it possible to analyze complex power transmission solutions.
Digital design and simulation assist machinists and designers especially when the loads, service life, and functional performance of the gears being manufactured must be predicted before the actual machining process.
Gleason’s Applications in the Machining Industry
Gleason’s technologies are widely used across industries where gear reliability and accuracy are critical. Typical applications include transmissions for vehicles and work machines, industrial power transmissions, wind turbine gearboxes, mining and heavy industry machinery, and high-precision medical and electromechanical applications.
The solutions are suitable for manufacturing both large and small gears and support a variety of production models for machine shops.
Summary
Gleason is a gear technology expert with a long history, offering comprehensive solutions for gear design, manufacturing, measurement, and automation. The company’s technologies support the demanding production processes of the machining industry, where precision, process reliability, and comprehensive quality management are essential. Gleason’s expertise covers the entire lifecycle of gears, making it a significant player in the global machining industry.
