SCOPE
The purpose of this manual is to establish a common base for communications pertaining to various types of gear units in differing applications and to encourage the maximum practical degree to uniformity and consistency between sound measurement practices within the gear industry.

Because of the wide variation of gear driven systems and acoustical environments, this manual attempts to indicate certain areas where special considerations might be necessary and must be agreed upon between purchaser and gear manufacturer when discussing gear sounds.

FOREWORD
[The foreword, footnotes and annexes, if any, in this document are provided for informational purposes only and are not to be construed as a part of AGMA 914-B04, Gear Sound Manual:  Part I – Fundamentals of Sound as Related to Gears; Part II – Sources, Specifications and Levels of Gear Sound; Part III – Gear Noise Control.]

Concern with industrial noise created a need for a sound standard on all types of products. Noise measurement, control and attenuation on gear driven equipment is dependent upon the individual characteristics of the prime mover, gear unit, and driven machine - as well as their combined effects as a system in a particular acoustical environment.

Proper assessment of these considerations is essential for realistic determination of acoustic values. The knowledge and judgment required to properly evaluate the various factors comes primarily from years of accumulated experience in designing, manufacturing, and operating gear units. For this reason, the detailed treatment of the testing and resultant conclusions for specific product applications is best accomplished by experts in the field.

The complexity makes most sound standards difficult to apply or interpret properly. The AGMA Acoustical Technology Committee developed the Gear Sound Manual 299.01 to provide improved communication between project engineers, gear manufacturer, and user in the areas of Fundamentals of Sound as Related to Gears (Part I), Sources, Specifications and Levels of Gear Sound (Part II), and Gear Noise Control (Part III).

This Information Sheet was originally issued as three separate documents: AGMA 299.01, Section I, Fundamentals of Sound as Related to Gears; AGMA 299.01, Section II, Sources, Specifications and Levels of Gear Sound; and AGMA 299.01 Section III, Gear Noise Control. Section I was approved by the membership in January 1978, Section II was approved in October 1978, and Section III was approved in October 1978. Combining the three entitled, AGMA SOUND MANUAL, was approved by the AGMA Technical Division Executive Committee in October 1987.

The first draft of AGMA 914-B04 was made in November, 2002. It combines all three parts into one document with three clauses, updates references, and adds a subclause on Fast Fourier Transform analysis. It was approved by the AGMA membership in March, 2004.

Reaffirmed March 2018

Pages: 45

ISBN: 1-55589-820-3