GEARS & GEARBOXES
FROM RACE TRACK TO RUNWAY:
F
HOW HEWLAND’S MANUFACTURING EXPERTISE IS OPENING DOORS IN AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE
or more than six decades, Hewland Engineering has been synonymous with motorsport transmission technology. From Formula One and endurance racing to rallying and touring cars, the company’s name has become associated with high-performance gear systems capable of operating in some of the world’s most demanding environments. While motorsport remains central to the business, Hewland’s expertise is increasingly finding applications beyond the racetrack. Today, the UK engineering specialist is leveraging decades of experience in precision gear design and manufacturing techniques to support aerospace and defence customers, where quality, repeatability and traceability are as critical as outright performance. This approach has been applied to design and manufacturing of both linear and bevel gear sets – crucial in both motorsport and aerospace applications – and which are at the heart of the evolution the company is adopting and applying with its advanced gear grinding technology and sophisticated closed- loop manufacturing processes.
Built around Klingelnberg grinding and inspection systems, The result is a highly repeatable production methodology that has been refined through years of motorsport advancement and is now helping Hewland meet the stringent requirements of AS9100-compliant aerospace and defence programmes.
A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO GEAR MANUFACTURING
Central to Hewland’s manufacturing strategy is a Klingelnberg G60 gear grinding machine paired with a P65 precision measuring centre. Together, the systems create a digitally connected workflow linking design, manufacture and inspection. Every gear is produced and validated against the original design intent, providing exceptional consistency and traceability.
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This approach differs from the traditional gear- cutting methods still widely used across the industry. While high volume manufacturers rely on dedicated cutting tools designed to produce a specific pressure angle, this approach does not offer the flexibility demanded by Hewland, for handling designs requiring revision or optimisation.
Andrew Lawrence is the senior team leader in the Bevel Gear section with more than 30 years’ experience at Hewland. He said: “With traditional cutting, you use a tool that has been designed to produce a specific pressure angle. Once that cutter exists, the die has been set. There’s really no room for manufacturing flexibility. If you discover that the tooth form isn’t quite right for the application, you’ll probably need to redesign the cutter and invest in a completely new set of tooling. “Grinding gives us far greater flexibility. We can alter the profile digitally within the design software and produce a revised tooth form without having to start again with new cutting tools. In many cases, we can continue using the same grinding wheel while generating a different profile.”
That flexibility is particularly valuable in high- performance, low volume applications where operational testing can reveal opportunities for further optimisation. “Customers provide information about expected
loads and transmission deflections, and we design around those parameters,” Lawrence continues. “Usually the design performs as intended, but occasionally you’ll identify areas for improvement”. “Because we’re always manufacturing to the nominal design data, we have a precise blueprint against which we can compare any returned components. That gives us a very powerful engineering feedback loop.”
ACCELERATING DEVELOPMENT THROUGH DIGITAL MANUFACTURING
Although gear grinding itself is not new, Hewland’s fully integrated digital workflow has dramatically accelerated the journey from concept to production for motorsport applications and now for the aerospace sector. Historically, creating the machine settings required to manufacture a new spiral bevel gear could take weeks of manual calculations and setup work. Today, Hewland uses Klingelnberg’s KIMoS software to generate both the macro geometry of the gear set and the micro geometry that defines the detailed tooth form.
The software creates a complete digital model containing all the manufacturing and inspection data required throughout the component’s lifecycle. “Everything exists within a single digital file,” says Lawrence. “The gear geometry, grinding parameters and inspection requirements all remain connected throughout the process.”
“What previously might have taken weeks can now be completed in a matter of minutes. Once the design has been approved, we can load the data directly into the grinder and begin manufacturing very quickly. In some cases, prototypes can be produced within a week.” This approach is ideally suited to Hewland’s low-volume, high-value manufacturing environment, where rapid iteration and engineering adaptability are often more important than maximising production volumes.
Summer 2026 UKManufacturing
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