Gears
Gears:
Introduction:
■ Gears are toothed members which transmit power / motion between two shafts by meshing without
any slip. Hence, gear drives are also called positive drives.
■ In any pair of gears, the smaller one is called pinion and the larger one is called gear immaterial of
which is driving the other.
■ When pinion is the driver, it results in step down drive in which the output speed decreases and the
torque increases. On the other hand, when the gear is the driver, it results in step up drive in which
the output speed increases and the torque decreases.
The following kinematic relationship exists
for their linear velocity, v
v = ω2 r2 = ω1r1
v
= 2π N2r2 = 2πN1r1
2
velocity ratio, 1
ω2 / ω1 = N2 / N1 = r1 / r2 = T1 / T2
Classification of Gears
■ Gears are classified according to the shape
of the tooth pair and disposition into spur,
helical, double helical, straight bevel, spiral
bevel, worm and spiral gears.
Continued..
Spur Gears
■ Teeth are parallel to the
axis of the gear
■ Advantages
❑ Cost
❑ Ease of manufacture
❑ Availability
■ Disadvantages
❑ Only works with mating
gear
❑ Axis of each gear must
be parallel
Helical Gears
■ Teeth are at an angle to the gear axis
(usually 10° to 45°) – called helix angle
■ Advantages
❑ Smooth and quiet due to gradual
tooth engagements (spur gears
whine at high speed due to impact).
Helical gears good up to speeds in
excess of 5,000 ft/min
❑ More tooth engagement allows for
greater power transmission for given
gear size.
❑ Parallel to perpendicular shaft
arrangement
■ Disadvantage
❑ More expensive
❑ Resulting axial thrust component
Helical Gears
■ Mating gear axis can be
parallel or crossed
■ Can withstand the
largest capacity
Worm Gears
■ Gears that are 90° to each
other
■ Advantages
❑ Quiet / smooth drive
❑ Can transmit torque at right
angles
❑ Good for positioning
systems
■ Disadvantage
❑ Most inefficient due to
excessive friction (sliding)
❑ Needs maintenance
❑ Slower speed applications
Bevel Gears
■ Gear axis at 90°, based
on rolling cones
■ Advantages
❑ Right angle drives
■ Disadvantages
❑ Get axial loading which
complicates bearings and
housings
Spiral Bevel Gears
■ Same advantage over
bevel gears as helical
gears have over spur
gears!!
■ Teeth at helix angle
■ Very Strong
Gear Nomenclature
Gear Nomenclature
LAW OF GEARING
Arc of contact
It is the distance travelled by a point
on either pitch circle of the two
wheels during the period of contact of
a pair of teeth.
Arc of contact = path of contact / cos
ϕ
Number of pairs of teeth in contact ( contact
Ratio), n = Arc of contact / circular pitch
Interference in Involute gears
•Power transmission through a pair of teeth is along the line of action or the
common normal to the two involutes at the point of contact. The common normal is
also a common tangent to the two base circles and passes through the pitch point.
•The tooth profiles which are in contact must be involutes so that line of action does
not deviate.
• Mating of two non-conjugate( non-Involute )
teeth is known as interference because the two
teeth do not slide properly and thus rough
action occurs.
•Involute can exists only outside the base
circle, any profile of teeth inside the base circle
will be of a non-involute type.
•To have no interference of the teeth, the adde-
ndum circles of the wheel and pinion must
Intersect the line of action between E and F.
The points E and F are called interference Points.
Forms of teeth profiles
1. Involute profile 2. Cycloidal profile
Comparison of involute and cycloidal teeth:
[Link] Involute teeth Cycloidal teeth
1 Little variation in centre distance only one theoretically correct
does not affect the velocity ratio. center distance
2 Manufacturing becomes simple and Manufacture is difficult and
cheap. costly
3 Involute tooth are weaker compared Cycloidal tooth is generally
to cycloidal because of radial flanks. stronger because of spreading
flanks
Pressure angle remains constant
4 Pressure angle varies from
maximum to zero at pitch point
and again to maximum
Interference can occur if min. no. of
5 teeth is not followed Interference does not occur at
all
Gear trains
•Combination of gears used to transmit motion from one shaft to another is
called gear trains.
•To obtain large speed reduction within a small space.
Types of Gear Trains:
•Simple gear trains
•Compound gear trains
•Reverted gear tarins
•Epicyclic or planetary gear trains
Simple Gear Train
•A series of gears, capable of
receiving and transmitting motion
from one gear to another is
called
a ”simple gear train”.
• All the gear axes remain fixed
relative to the frame and each
gear is on a Separate shaft.
•Speed ratio is the ratio of the
speed of the driving to that of the
driven shaft.
•The reverse of the speed ratio is
known as “train value”
Compound Gear Train
•When a series of gears are
connected
In such a way that two or more
gears rotate about an axis with the
same angular velocity, it is known
as compound gear train.
•Other than the input and output
shafts, carry more than one
gear .
Reverted Gear Train
•If the axes of the first and last wheels of a
compound
gear coincide, it is called a reverted gear train.
•This arrangement is used in clocks and in simple
lathes where back gear is used to give a slow
speed to the chuck.
Since the distance between the centers of the
shafts of gears 1 and 2 as well as
gears 3 and 4 is same, thereforer1 + r2 = r3 + r4
Therefore ,T1 + T2 = T3 +
T4
Epicyclic or Planetary Gear Train
•A gear train having a relative
motion of axes is called a
planetary or an epicyclic gear
train.
•In an epicyclic train, the axis
of at least One of the gears a
S
also moves relative to the P
frame
Differential Gear Mechanism
•A differential of an automobile
permits the two wheels of a vehicle
to rotate at the same speed when
driving in straight while allowing the
wheels to rotate at different speeds
when taking a turn.
•Thus a differential gear is a device which
adds or subtracts angular displacement