Design of Speed Gear

Box (SGB) of Machine Tools

52
 Gear Layout and Ray Diagram for SGB

A cluster gear usually comprises two or three spur

gears of same module but different number of
teeth in a single block which is made to slide along
a spline shaft to get engaged through a particular
pair of gears Since cluster gears generally have two
or three gears, the number (ns) of output speeds
(No) can be
Zn = 2m × 3n (m and n = 0, 1, 2, 3, …)

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Gear Layout and Ray Diagram for SGB

54
Change of speed by shifting cluster gears.
 Gear Layout and Ray Diagram for SGB
The actual values of the speeds, their distribution (in GP)
and the transmission ratios at every step (gear pair)
according to the gearing diagram are depicted in more
detail by what is called Ray diagram
1. How 12 speeds in GP are attained by different
combinations of gear pairs, for example, output speed,
2. Number of stages, number of steps in each stage,
number of shafts and number of gears required for a
particular gear layout.
3. The transmission ratio at each step.

55
 Gear Layout and Ray Diagram for SGB

For example, 12 (Zn) can be factorized as

2 × 2 × 3 or 2 × 3 × 2 or 3 × 2 × 2
where 2 and 3 stand for 2-gear cluster and 3-gear
cluster, respectively.

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Gear Layout and Ray Diagram for SGB

(a) Ray diagram (RD) and (b) gear layout for a 12 SGB.

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 Gear Layout and Ray Diagram for SGB

Here a, a1, b, b1, etc. stand for number of teeth of gears.

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 Gear Layout and Ray Diagram for SGB
The basic characteristics of RD are
1. Each nodal point receives only one arrow.
2. The nodal points for the output speeds (in GP) appear
equidistant for logarithmic display.
3. The parallel arrows indicate same mating gears and same
transmission ratio.
4. All transmission ratios (TR) or gearing speed ratios are
multiples of the common ratio (Φ), that is
TR = (Φ)m (m = 0, 1, 2, 3, …)

59
 Example
Draw schematically an economic and feasible gear
layout and the corresponding Ray diagram for the
speed gear box of a lathe having 18 spindle speeds
in GP with common ratio of 1.25 (≅ 21/3).

60
 Optimum Ray Diagram for SGB
Two primary criteria are generally considered:
1. Feasibility (or permissibility): Transmission ratio, TR
should always be restricted to 1/4 ≤ TR ≤ 2
2. Overall economy: reduction in size and weight of the
gear box.
In RD of SGB, conventionally speed (rpm) increases from
left to right and hence torque decreases from left to right.
Again, the diameter of the shafts decreases with the
decrease in the maximum torque acting on that shaft. The
economy criterion is assessed by summation of diameter
of the shafts. A criterion used for that is ΣD′ which
indicates summation of nodal numbers corresponding to
lowest speeds of the shafts. Lower value of ΣD′ is
preferable for smaller diameter of shafts. 61
 Optimum Ray Diagram for SGB
A case of selection of suitable RD based on feasibility and
economy. Let Zn = 12 and Φ = 1.25 and RD = unilateral
cross type.

62
 Optimum Ray Diagram for SGB
(a) Zn = 12 = 2 × 2 × 3, maximum reduction is 1/(φ)8
which, for φ = 21/3, is lower than 1/4. Hence this RD is not
feasible (or acceptable).
(b) Zn = 12 = 2 × 3 × 2, maximum reduction is 1/(φ)6 =
1/4; this is acceptable.
(c) Zn = 12 = 3 × 2 × 2, maximum reduction is 1/(φ)6 =
1/4; this is also acceptable.
RD type b is more economic as the value of ΣD′ is
lower (21) than in the other (22).

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 Gears and shafts
• The number of shafts including the spindle will be equal
to the number of stages plus one
• The number of gears required would be equal to the
total sum of the steps multiplied by two.
• For instance, for Zn = 12 = 2 × 2 × 3 or 2 × 3 × 2 or 3
× 2 × 2, the number of stages is 3 and the total number
of steps is 2 + 2 + 3 = 7.
• Number of shafts = 4
• Number of gears = 14

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Gear Layout and Ray Diagram for SGB

(a) Ray diagram (RD) and (b) gear layout for a 12 SGB.

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Types of Ray Diagram for SGB

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 Example
Draw schematically an economic and feasible gear
layout and the corresponding Ray diagram for the
speed gear box of a lathe having 18 spindle speeds
in GP with common ratio of 1.25 (≅ 21/3).

67
Chapters 1-8 Chapters 11-16

68
 Feed gearbox with sliding gears

Accordingly, gears Z2, Z4, Z6, and Z8 are keyed to the drive shaft and mesh, respectively, with
gears Z1, Z3, Z5, and Z7, which are mounted freely on the driven key shaft. The sliding key
engages any gear on the driven shaft. The engaged gear transmits the motion to the driven
shaft while the rest of the gears remain idle. 69
 Norton gear mechanism

These gearboxes provide an arithmetic series of feed steps that is suitable for cutting
threads and so are widely used in engine lathe feed gearboxes

70
Meander drive mechanism

Feed rate is
obtained at
the output
shaft in a GP

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 Meander drive mechanism

Gearing systems of Meander drive for multiplication of number of speeds.

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Kinematic system of typical central lathe

73
Machining Metric Threads in Metric Lathe

Kinematic diagram of FGB: Gear layout for cutting metric threads in metric
lathe: (a) Exploded diagram; (b) block diagram. 74
 Mechanisms Used in Machine Tool
Kinematic Systems
The feed gearing system has three parts:
Gear quadrant (Ugi) (by using four gears having number of
teeth, 40, 30 and 40, 20)
Norton gear (UNi) and
Meander (UMi)
Generally, the overall gearing ratio Ui is determined from

where pwi is the pitch (or lead) of the thread to be cut

and ps is the pitch (or lead) of the lead screw. For
instance,
75
 Example
When pwi = 16 mm and ps = 6 mm, Ns = speed of
lead screw, Nw = speed of job

76
Standard metric and BSW threads

Standard metric and BSW threads 77

 Example
Determine the values of the transmission ratios of
the gear quadrant (Ug), norton gear (UN) and the
meander drive (UM) that will be required for
cutting a screw thread of pitch 10 mm in a centre
lathe having feed gear system for cutting all the
standard metric threads and lead screw of pitch 6
mm.

78
Machining BSW Threads in British Lathe

Gear layout for cutting BSW threads in British lathe (lead screw – 6 TPI &
TPI of product is 16). Gearing arrangement like 30/20 × 40/20 79
Machining BSW Threads in British Lathe

80
Standard metric and BSW threads

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Block diagram of feed gearing
system

Block diagram of feed gearing system for cutting (a) metric threads in
metric lathe and (b) BSW threads in British lathe.

82
Feed Gearing Layout for Cutting British Threads and Metric
Threads

(a) Gear layout for cutting all metric and British threads in a metric lathe. (b) Block 83
diagram of the FGB of metric lathe capable to cut both metric and British threads.
 Feed Gearing Layout for Cutting British
Threads and Metric Threads
1. For cutting metric threads, rotation will be transmitted from the
spindle to the leadscrew via the common Meander drive through
the route:
Clutch C1 → Right side gear quadrant → Norton → Tumbler →
Clutch C2 (rightward)
whereas, the route for cutting the British threads will be
Clutch C1 → Left side gear quadrant → Tumbler →Norton →
Clutch C2 (leftward)
2. For cutting metric threads, according to the present gearing
diagram, clutch C1 is to be moved to right and the clutch C2 also to
the right, and for cutting British threads both clutches (C1 and C2)
are to be moved towards left.
3. There should be 10 gears of teeth, 32 to 60, in the Norton gear
cone.
4. There should be 5 steps in the Meander drive from 1:1 to 1:16. 84
 Example
For cutting 16 TPI thread in a metric lathe of ps =
6 mm (say), the overall gearing ratio will be

85
 Differential mechanisms
These are basically mechanical devices designed and used
to produce an output motion from multiple simultaneous
input motions.
The input and output motions (speed) of such differential
mechanisms are related as
No = (1− e)Na + eNi
where No is the single output speed (rpm), Ni is the input
speed, Na is the arm speed (another input) and e is the
transmission ratio between the input gear and the output
gear, given by

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 Differential mechanisms

Principle of differential mechanism and their two common configurations. 87

(a) Symbol, (b) epicyclic gear train, (c) four bevel gears.
 Example
If, in a differential mechanism shown in Figure, the
values of Ni = 10 rpm and No = 100 rpm, then
what will be arm speed (Na)?

Solutions: Na = 40 rpm

88