Case Study: Nabtesco Corporation achieves lower gear contact stress, greater durability and faster design with Dassault Systemes (Abaqus & Isight)

Nabtesco Corporation - Customer Case Study

Nabtesco Corporation, a maker of precision yaw and pitch drives for wind turbines, needed to optimize pinion gear tooth crowning to maximize contact area and minimize average contact stress for improved durability under gusty and vibrating conditions. To replace time-consuming physical paint tests and manual trials, Nabtesco used Dassault Systemes' SIMULIA Abaqus finite element analysis together with Isight process automation to model contact area and stress history analytically.

Using Dassault Systemes' Abaqus combined with a proprietary user subroutine and Isight-driven optimization, Nabtesco produced fine-mesh submodels, validated FEA against rig tests, and automated large-scale post-processing to evaluate designs quickly. The solution lowered contact stress across the tooth surface, significantly improved predicted gear durability, drastically reduced design time and physical testing, and is expected to cut maintenance and lifecycle costs in the field.

Nabtesco Corporation

Kazuhiko Yokoji

CAE Manager