In the 1960s, the Washington Museum exhibited the model of ancient Chinese guide car. According to archaeological evidence, this guide car appeared in 1000 BC, that is, China’s gear transmission has a history of 3000 years. But the later development speed was extremely slow. Only after the founding of the people’s Republic of China China’s gear transmission technology has made great progress. Gears and ears of wheat are the two elements of the national emblem and become the symbols of industry and agriculture. It can be seen that gears are extensive and important. From the founding of new China to the present, it is considered that the development mileage of gear transmission in China can be divided into four stages.
In the first stage, from the late 1940s to the 1960s, China began to have its own gear industry, during which there were about 160 gear manufacturing plants (workshops). In 1956, the (Beijing) Institute of Mechanical Sciences was established with a gear transmission research office, which is the earliest gear technology research and development institution in China.
The second stage was the 1970s. At that time, there were about 200 gear manufacturers, including 7 involved in the research of gear technology, such as Zhengzhou Machinery Research Institute, Xi’an Heavy Machinery Research Institute, Chengdu Tool Research Institute, etc. At the same time, there are about 10 colleges and universities engaged in gear transmission technology research.
The third stage is the 1980s. At that time, there were more than 500 major gear manufacturers and more than 10 research institutes, while the number of colleges and universities engaged in gear transmission technology increased to more than 30. The research of gear transmission technology has made great progress in China. At the same time, international exchanges are also frequent. In 1988, the International Academic Conference on gear transmission was held in Zhengzhou, China. 368 representatives from 18 countries attended the conference, including 105 overseas gear experts and scholars. In addition, Zhengzhou Machinery Research Institute of the Ministry of machinery completed the undpo project – China Gear Technology Development Center (1986-1990). The Unid of the project has invested a total of 900000 US dollars. The center also sends 21 engineers to industrial developed countries for further study.
The fourth stage is from the 1980s to the beginning of the 21st century. During this period, China’s gear transmission technology has become mature. There are more than 600 major gear manufacturing enterprises with an output value of US $3.1 billion. During this period, there were 10 research institutes engaged in gear transmission technology and more than 20 colleges and universities.