Quote: Is melonized(SP?) steel a new word for composite materials?
No. The composite gears are different, "non-metallic" IIRC.
I had a conversation w/ Dwayne Porter on the idea of trying one of the new Crane melonized gears. We came to the conclusion that if I did encounter some wear issues due to oil pressure load on the shaft or whatever, that the resulting particulate that comes from a bronze gear would probably do less damage than what would come off some type of treated steel gear.
End decision was to run a bronze gear, but (as I noted above) be careful during set-up to minimize vertical play of the gear. Can't add anything else now since my junk's still not running again.
