ELEMENTS OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING MECHANICAL DEPT, SJEC

MACHINE TOOL OPERATIONS

Machine tool operations are carried out to remove excess material from the work piece. All
the conventional metal removal operation involves forcing a cutting tool into the excess
material on the work surface. The workpiece and cutting tools are held firmly in the machine
tool with its mounting and operational accessories. The power is supplied to tool and/or
workpiece to provide relative motion between them and also force is exerted by cutting tool.
These action results in removal of excess material from work piece in the form of chips.

The operation of removing extra material is known as “machining”.

Machine Tool:

The process of machining is carried out with the help of rigidly fixed machine which
provides power to work piece or cutting tool or both. Machine performs following functions:

i. Machine tool rigidly supports the work piece and cutting tool.
ii. It provides relative motion between the work piece and cutting tool.
iii. It provides range of cutting speeds and depth of cut in each operation.

The forms of surface produced in a machine tool depend upon the movement of surface and
cutting tool and geometry of the cutting tool. In case cutting tool moves linearly and work
piece is stationary or vice versa, a plane flat surface is obtained. If the cutting tool is
stationary and work piece is rotating then cylindrical surfaces are obtained.

Types of Machine Tools:

Various types of machine tools are developed to meet different types of shapes, sizes and
surface finished requirements of the work piece. They can be broadly classified into three
major categories:

1. General purpose machine tools

2. Production machine tools
3. Special purpose machine tools

General purpose machine tools: These machine tools are used to provide various shapes and
sizes of the work piece. These machine tools perform large number of operations to provide
required typed of the work piece. One of the machine tools named as LATHE can perform
the operations such as turning, knurling, tapering, threading job on the work piece. Similarly,

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a milling machine is normally used to provide plain surface, slots, grooves, gears, helical
operations. The general purpose machine tools are normally used in general purpose machine
shops, fabrication shop, repair shop or smaller quantity production.

Production Machine Tools: These tools are designed to increase the rate of production of
products. These machine tools may not carry out variety of shape of work piece, but can
perform operations very fast to provide specific type of the job. They increase the rate of
production significantly high which reduces the manufacturing cost and also reduces
variations in dimension of work piece. These machines have features like multicutting tools
mounting which provides several operations on a work piece without changing its orientation
or fixed in specific way.

Special Purpose Machine Tools: These machines are designed to perform specific operation,
may be one or two types. These operations on special purpose machine tools can be
performed quickly and used for producing large number of jobs in less time. In this category,
machines include camshaft grinder, gear tooth grinder, gear generators etc. These operations
may be carried out on general purpose machine, but will take longer time and production cost
will increase significantly.

Cutting Tools:

There are several categories of cutting tools available used to work on different type of
machine tools. They are broadly classified as single point, double point or multi point cutting
tools. This classification is based on the number of cutting edges on the tools are used for
machining job. For example, tools are used on lathe, planner or shaper have a single cutting
edge. Tools used in drilling machine have two cutting edges. Grinding operations have
abrasive grains, which behaves like a multipoint cutting tool.

Tool material should have the property of high hardness and wear resistance, good toughness
and low friction, high thermal conductivity and obviously low cost. They are made of
materials like carbon tool steels, high speed steels, carbides, ceramics and even very hard
material such as diamond.

Lathe and Lathe Operations:

Lathe is the oldest form of machine tool which is most commonly used in a workshop. The
workpiece in a lathe is held with a suitable fixture and rotated at the specified speed. If the
single point cutting tool is removing the material parallel to the axes of rotation then
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cylindrical surface is obtained. In case tool is moved perpendicular to the axis of rotation of
the workpiece, then flat face is produced.

Construction of Lathe:

Bed:It is the foundation part of the lathe and supports all its other parts. Its top surface is
machined to provide guide ways for carriage.

Carriage: It supports the tool. It is composed of 5 main parts saddle, compound rest, tool
post and apron.

Saddle: It is sliding along the guide ways to provide the movement of the tool in a direction
parallel to the direction of work piece axis.

Cross slide: It is placed above the saddle and can be moved by hand wheel or by power feed.

Compound rest: It is mounted on cross slide. It is used to move the tool at an angle to the
lathe axis.

Tool post: It is mounted on top of compound rest. It is used to hold the tool using tool holder.

Apron: It is a part used to house the carriage through gears and clutches.

Head Stock:It is located at the left side of the Lathe. It contains driving mechanism of the
spindle. A stepped cone pulley is used in head stock to accommodate different speeds. Also
headstock is used to support one end of the work piece.

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Feed box:It is fitted directly below the head stock. It contains a number of different types of
gears to change the speed.

Tail Stock:It is located at the right side of the Lathe. It is mounted on the base with adjusting
screws. The important function of tail stock are to support the free end of the work piece also
to hold cutting tools for performing certain machining operations like drilling, boring etc.

Feed rod: It is a long shaft which supports the movement of the carriage throughout the lathe
length.

Lead Screw:It is a long threaded shaft. It is used when threads have to be cut. It is used to
move the carriage during thread cutting operation.

Chuck:It is the element to hold the work piece.

Operations performed on Lathe:

The lathe is the most versatile general-purpose machine tool. It is capable to perform a large
variety of operations.

Following are a few operations that can be performed on a lathe:

1. Plain Turning:

It is an operation of removing excess material from the surface of the cylindrical work
piece. In this operation the work is held either in the chuck or between centers and the
longitudinal feed is given to the tool either by hand or power. This operation is done
to reduce the diameter of work piece.
2. Step Turning:
In this type of operation various steps of different diameters in the work piece are
produced. It is carried out in the similar way as plain turning.

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3. Facing:
Facing is an operation of machining the ends of a work piece to produce a flat surface
square with the axis. It is also used to cut the work to the required length. The
operation involves feeding the tool perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the work
piece. A properly ground facing tool is mounted in the tool post. A regular turning
tool may also be used for facing a large work piece. The cutting edge should be set at
the same height as the center of the work piece.
4. Knurling:

It is an operation of embossing a diamond shaped pattern on the surface of a work

piece. The purpose of knurling is to provide an effective gripping surface on a work
piece to prevent it from slipping when operated by hand. The operation is performed
by a special knurling tool which consists of one set of hardened steel rollers in a
holder with the teeth cut on their surface in a definite pattern. The tool is held rigidly
on the tool post and the rollers are pressed against the revolving work piece to
squeeze the metal against the multiple cutting edges, producing depressions in a
regular pattern on the surface of the work piece.
5. Thread Cutting:
Threading is an operation of cutting helical grooves on the external cylindrical surface
of the work piece. In this operation the work is held in a chuck or between centers and

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the threading tool is fed longitudinally to the revolving work. The longitudinal feed is
equal in the pitch of the thread to be cut.

6. Drilling:

The operation of producing a circular hole by removing metal by rotating the cutting
edges of a drill is known as drilling. But on lathe dill is static and only feed motion is
given through the movement of tail stock and rotating motion is given to the job.
Drilled hole will be slightly oversized than the drill used due to the non alignment of
the drill and vibration of the spindle. In the lathe, the drill bit is held in tail stock in
place of dead centre and moved in forward direction applying pressure at the end of
the rotating job. Drill moves up the length of the hole required as shown in the figure
above.
7. Taper Turning:
A taper may be defined as a uniform increase or decrease in diameter of a piece of
work measured along its length.

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Taper angle is given by

D−d
tan  =
2L
D − d 
i.e.  = tan −1  
 2L 

Where
D = Large diameter of taper
d = Small diameter of taper
L = Length of tapered part
 = Half of taper angle

i. By Swivelling the Compound Rest:

It is the best method as it doesn’t affect the centering of the job. In this method of
taper turning the work piece is rotated on the lathe axis and the tool is fed at an angle
to the axis of rotation of the work piece. The tool mounted on the compound rest is
attached to the circular base, graduated in degrees which may be swiveled and
clamped at a desired angle.

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ii. By setting Over the Tailstock Centre

This method is used for small taper only. It is based upon the principle of shifting the
axis of rotation of the work piece at an angle to the axis and feeding the tool parallel
to the lathe axis. The angle at which the axis rotation of work piece is shifted is equal
to half angle of taper. This is done when the body of the tailstock is made to slide on
its base towards or away from the operator by a set over screw.

iii. By Taper Turning Attachment:

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A taper turning attachment is used to cut both internal and external tapers. The taper
turning attachment as shown in fig consists of a bracket which will be connected to
the rear side of the lathe bed. A guide bar which can be swiveled in the horizontal
plane and locked in position is mounted over the bracket. A guide block pivoted to a
draw-link will slide in the longitudinal slot in the guide bar. The draw-link is
connected firmly to the cross slide. The tool is mounted on the tool post slide. The
cross slide is allowed to move freely on its ways by loosening the cross feed screw
and the engaging nut.

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MILLING AND MILLING OPERATIONS

Milling machine is a machine tool in which metal is removed by means of a revolving cutter
with many teeth, each tooth having a cutting edge which removes metal from a work piece.

In a milling machine the work is supported by various methods on the work table and may be
fed to the cutter longitudinally, transversely or vertically. In the milling process, the work
piece is normally fed into a rotating cutting tool known as milling cutter. Equally spaced
peripheral teeth on the cutter come in contact with the work piece intermittently and machine
the work piece. Milling machines are used to produce parts having flat as well as curved
shapes. Intricate shapes which cannot be produced on the other machine tools can be made on
the milling machines.

Principle of milling
Generally there are two types of milling processes

1. Up milling or Conventional milling

2. Down milling or Climb milling

Up Milling:

In up milling process the work piece is fed opposite to the cutters tangential velocity. Each
tooth of the cutter starts the cut with zero depth of cut, which gradually increases and reaches
the maximum value as the tooth leaves the cut. The chip thickness at the start is zero
increases to maximum at the end of the cut.

When making deep cuts such as in heavy slotting operations, the cutter tends to pull the work
piece out of the vice since the cutting force is directed upward at an angle. Chips may

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accumulate at the cutting zone and may be carried over with the cutter thus spoiling the
surface finish.

Down Milling:

In down milling process the work piece is fed in the same direction as that of the cutters
tangential velocity. The cutter enters the top of the work piece and removes the chip that gets
progressively thinner as the cutter tooth rotates.

The cutting force tends to hold the work against the machine table permitting lower clamping
forces. This process produces better finish and dimensional accuracy. Chips are disposed off
conveniently.

Horizontal Milling Machine:

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The main parts of a horizontal milling machine are briefly described below.

Base: It is a heavy casting on which column and other parts are mounted. It may be bolted to
the floor strongly.

Column: There are guideways on the front face of the column on which the knee slides. It
houses power transmission units such as gears, belt drives and pulleys to give rotary motion
to the arbor. The drive mechanisms are also used to give automatic feed to the handle and
table.

Knee: It supports the saddle, table, work piece and other clamping devices. It moves on
guideways of the column. It resists the deflection caused by the cutting forces on the work
piece.

Saddle: It is mounted on the knee and can be moved by a hand wheel or by power. The
direction of travel of the saddle is restricted towards or away from the column face.

Table: It is mounted on the saddle and can be moved by a hand wheel or by power. Its top
surface is machined accurately to hold the work piece and other holding devices. It moves
perpendicular to the direction of saddle movement.

Arbor: Its one end is attached to the column and the other end is supported by an over arm. It
holds and drives different types of milling cutters.

Spindle: It gets power from gears, belt drives to drive the motor. It has provision to add or
remove milling cutters onto the arbor.

Vertical Milling Machine:

In vertical milling machine the position of the spindle head is vertical and the axis of the
spindle is perpendicular to the work table. In this machine both the base and column are
integral castings. The spindle head can be moved up and down over the guideways. The
vertical milling machine may have fixed head, swiveling head or slidableswiveling head
spindle. The saddle is mounted on a knee which can be moved up and down over the
guideways provided on the column face. The saddle can be moved horizontally either by
hand or by power over the knee guideways. The work table mounted on the saddle can be
moved longitudinally over the guideways provided on the top of the saddle. In this machine,
the work piece can be moved both in the vertical plane and on the horizontal plane. The

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machine is used to machine grooves, slots and flat surfaces using end mill and face mill
cutters.

Milling Operations:

1. Plane Milling:

Plain milling is used to machine flat and horizontal surfaces. Here plain milling cutter
is used, which is held in the arbor and rotated. The table is moved upwards to give the
required depth of cut.

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2. End Milling:

It is an operation of producing narrow slots, grooves and keyways using an end mill
cutter. The mill tool may be attached to the vertical spindle for milling the slot. Depth
of cut is given by raising the machine table.
3. Slot Milling:
In this milling operation, first a plain slot is cut on the work piece by a side and face
milling cutter. Then the T-slot cutter is fed from the end of the work piece.

4. Gang Milling:

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Gang milling is the name given to a milling operation which involves the use of a
combination of more than two cutters, mounted on a common arbor for milling a
number of flat horizontal and vertical surfaces of a work piece simultaneously. This
method saves much of machining time and is widely used in repetitive work. The
cutting speed of a gang of cutters is calculated from the cutter of the largest diameter.

5. Angular Milling:

Angular milling is the milling operation used to mill flat surfaces that are neither
parallel nor perpendicular to the milling cutter axis. Angular surfaces like dovetail
grooves, chamfers and serrations are done through this operation.

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6. Form Milling:

Form milling is a milling process used to machine special forms/ contours consisting
of curves and/or straight lines by using a special “form mill cutter” which are shaped
exactly to the contour that is to be form milled.

7. Straddle Milling:

Straddle milling is a milling operation that is used to machine two or more parallel
vertical surfaces at a single time by mounting two side milling cutters on the same
standard milling arbour separated by a calculated spacing.

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DRILLING AND DRILLING OPERATIONS

Drilling is a metal cutting process carried out by a rotating cutting tool to make circular holes
in solid materials. The tool which makes the hole is called a drill. It is generally called as
twist drill, since it has a sharp twisted edges formed around a cylindrical tool provided with a
helical groove along its length to allow the cut material to escape through it. The sharp edges
of the conical surfaces ground at the lower end of the rotating twist drill cuts the material by
peeling it circularly layer by layer when forced against a workpiece. The removed material
chips get curled and escapes through the helical groove provided in the drill. A liquid coolant
is generally used while drilling to remove the heat of friction and obtain a better finish for the
hole.

Drilling Machine

A power operated machine tool, which holds the drill in its spindle rotating at high speeds
and when manually actuated to move linearly simultaneously against the workpiece produces
a hole, is called drilling machine.

Bench Drilling Machine

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Bench drilling machines are light duty drilling machines widely used in small workshops.
They are usually placed on workbenches, hence the name. This type of drilling machines is
also called sensitive drilling machines because of its accurate and well-balanced spindle,
which enable the operator to sense or feel the cutting action and apply the required pressure
while drilling. Generally, holes of sizes upto 15 mm are drilled in these machines.

It consists of a vertical main column mounted over a base. The vertical column carries a
moving head housing in it a speed gear box and spindle feeding mechanism, and a job
mounting table, called worktable which can also be raised or lowered. An electric motor is
mounted on top end of the vertical column on its rear side. The power is transmitted to the
main spindle through the stepped cone pulley drives and gearing systems. A drill chuck for
small size drills is fitted in the spindle at its lower end. For bigger sizes the drill itself will be
fitted directly in the spindle. The workpiece will be mounted on the worktable and is clamped
to it.

Radial Drilling Machine

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A radial drilling machine is used to perform the drilling operations on the workpieces which
are too heavy and also may be too large to mount them on the work table of the vertical
spindle drilling machine. It consists of a heavy base and a vertical column with a long
horizontal arm extending from it and can be rapidly raised, lowered and swung in the
horizontal plane about the main column to any desired location. The drilling head can move
to and fro along the arm and can be swivelled only in the universal radial drilling machines,
to drill holes at an angle. The combination of motions of the radial arm and drilling head
offers a great deal of flexibility in moving the drill to any position. The main advantage of the
radial drilling machine is that the drilling can be carried out on heavy work pieces in any
position without moving them.

Drilling Operations

1. Boring

Boring is done on a drilling machine to increase the size of an already drilled hole. When a
suitable size drill is not available, initially a hole is drilled to the nearest size and using a
single point cutting tool, the size of the hole is increased.

2. Counter Boring

Counterboring is to increase the size of a hole at one end only through a small depth. The
counterboring forms a larger sized recess or a shoulder to the existing hole. The cutting tool
will have a small cylindrical projection known as pilot to guide the tool while counterboring.
ne diameter of the pilot will always be equal to the diameter of the previously drilled hole.
Interchangeable pilots of different diameters are also used for counterboring holes of different

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diameters. The speeds for counterboring must be two-thirds of the drilling speed the
corresponding size of the drilled hole.

3. Counter Sinking

Countersinking is the operation of making the end of a hole into a conical shape. It is done
using a countersinking tool shown in figure. The countersinking process may also be
employed for deburring the holes.

4. Reaming

Reaming is the process of smoothing the surface of the drilled holes with a reamer. A reamer
is similar to the twist drill but has straight flutes. After drilling the hole to a slightly smaller
size, the reamer is mounted in place of twist drill and with the speed reduced to half of that of
the drilling, reaming is done in the same way as drilling. It removes only a small amount of
material and produces a smooth finish on the drilled surfaces.

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5. Spot Facing

Spot facing is a finishing operation to produce a flat round surface usually around a drilled
hole, to give a good bearing surface for the proper seating of a bolt head or a nut. The spot
that is faced may be a circular raised pad on a casting or merely the surface around a bolt
hole.

6. Tapping

Tapping is the process of cutting internal threads with a thread cutting tool called tap. A tap is
a fluted threaded tool used for cutting internal threads. Before tapping, a hole which is
slightly smaller than the size of the tap is drilled. For cutting the threads, the tap is fitted ln_
the tapping attachment which in turn is mounted in the drilling machine spindle, and the
threads are cut in the same way as drilling.

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GEAR DRIVES

Transmission Systems:

The rotational motion can be transmitted from one mechanical element to other with the help
of certain systems known as transmission systems or drives. These systems may be employed
to drive a device directly by a prime mover or transmit the rotational motion to the various
parts of a machine within itself. The one that drives is called driving system and the other
which is driven is called driven system.

Transmission systems are classified depending on:

i. Distance between them

ii. Speed
iii. Power

Based on power, they are further classified as:

i. Belt drives
ii. Rope drives
iii. Chain drives
iv. Gear drives

Gear drives are preferred when considerable power has to be transmitted over a short centre
distance positively with a constant velocity ratio.

Gear:

Gear is a toothed cylindrical wheel used for transmission of mechanical power from one
rotating shaft to another. The major advantage of gear drives is that, it is possible to transmit
power between shafts whose axes are parallel, inclined or nonintersecting. The gear drives
are used where moderate or large amount of power must be transmitted at a constant velocity
ratio. The two mating gears always rotate in opposite directions in a gear drive.

If the two gears have the same number of teeth, both of them rotates at the same speed and
the turning effort, ie., torque applied change only the direction but not magnitude. If the
meshing gears have different number of teeth, both the magnitude of the torque and speeds
are changed. A small gear that drives a larger one will increase the torque and reduce the

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speed of the driven gear. The opposite arrangement ie., a larger gear driving a smaller gear
will decrease the torque and increase its speed.

Types of Gears:

There are various types of gears to suit various applications. They differ in the shape of the
gear wheel like, cylindrical or conical or elliptical, the orientation of their axes and the angle
at which the teeth mesh. The different types of gears used in these cases are:

1. Spur Gears
2. Helical Gears
3. Spiral Gears
4. Bevel Gears
5. Elliptical Gears
6. Worm Gears
7. Rack and Pinion

1. Spur Gears:

When the axes of the drivng and driven shafts are parallel and coplanar and the teeth of the
gear wheels are parallel to the axes, the gears are called spur gears.

Teeth of the spur gears are cut on the circumference of the cylindrical discs. The contact
between the mating gears will be along a line, hence spur gears can transmit higher power.
Because of the instantaneous line contact when the teeth mesh, noise will be very high. They
are widely used in machine tools, automobile gear boxes and in all general cases of power
transmission where gear drives are preferred.

2. Helical Gears:

Helical gears are similar to spur gears except that the teeth are cut in the form of the helix
around the gear. Helical gears are used for transmitting power between two parallel shafts
and also between non parallel, non intersecting shafts. The curvilinear tooth contact is
progressive, ie., it extends diagonally across the meshing teeth starting first at one end of pair
of engaging teeth, then, a little further along and so on, progressively to the end of the
particular tooth. By this time, the next pair of teeth will be in contact so that engagement is
continuous. Helical gears are preferred to spur gears when smooth and quiet running at higher
speeds are necessary. Generally they are used in automobile power transmission.

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3. Spiral Gears:

Spiral gears are used to connect only two non parallel, non intersecting shafts. They differ
from helical gears in the fact that there is a point contact in spiral gears whereas a curvilinear
contact exists in helical gear drives. Because of the point contact the spiral gears are more
suitable for transmitting less power.

4. Bevel Gears:

Bevel gears have teeth cut on a cone instead of a cylinder blank. They are used in pairs to
transmit rotary motion and torque when the bevel gear shafts are at right angles to each other.
When two bevel gears have their axes at right angles and are of equal sizes, they are called
mitre gears. Bevel gears transmit power between two intersecting shafts at any angle or non
intersecting shafts.

5. Elliptical Gears:

Two equal sized elliptical gears meshing with each other are often used to obtain varying rate
of speed in each revolution of the driven shaft required in some machines such as flying
shears, printing presses, packaging machines and in quick return mechanisms of machine tool
etc. the elliptical gears are mounted on the driving and driven shafts with their centres
coinciding with one of the focus centre of the ellipse. In each of the revolution of the driven
shafts, there are four different rates of speeds, two maximum and equal, two minimum and
equal, when the meshing takes place at the ends of the major and minor axes respectively.
The driven shafts rotates with variable speed in every revolution because the gear on the
driving shaft while revolving one half of a revolution will engage with only a small portion of
the circumference of the driven gear, while during the other half of its revolution, the driving
gear will engage with a great deal more than one-half of the total number teeth of the driven
gear.

6. Worm and Worm Wheel:

Worm gears are used to transmit power between the driving and driven shafts having their
axes at right angles and non coplanar. A worm drive consists of a worm which may have one
or more number of helical threads of trapezoidal shape cut on it and a worm wheel is a gear
wheel with tooth profile consisting of a small segment of a helix which engages with the
worm. Worm gears are suitable for transmission of power when a high velocity ratio as high

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as 60:1 is required. They are generally employed in machine tools like lathe, milling, drilling
etc to get large speed reduction.

7. Rack and Pinion:

When a rotary motion is to be converted into a linear motion, rack and pinion arrangement is
used. Rack is a rectangular bar with a series of straight teeth cut on it. Theoretically, rack is
considered to be a spur gear of infinite diameter. Rack and pinion arrangement, find their
application in machine tool such as lathe, drilling, planing machines and on some steep rail
tracks, where the teeth of the locomotive wheel mesh with a rack embedded in the ground,
offering the locomotive improved traction.

Velocity Ratio of Gear Drives

The velocity ratio of a gear drive is defined as the ratio of the speedo the driven gear to the
speed of the driving gear. Let d1 and d2 be the pitch circle diameters of the driving and
driven gear respectively. Let T1 and T2 be the number of teeth on the driving and driven
gears respectively. Let N1 and N2 be their speeds in revolutions per minute.

Since there is no slip between the pitch cylinders of the two gear wheels, the linear speed of
the two pitch cylinders must be equal.

Linear speed of the pitch cylinder Linear speed of the pitch cylinder
representing the driving gear = representing the driven gear

d1 N1 = d 2 N 2

N 2 d1
= ….1
N1 d 2

The circular pitch for both the meshing gears remains the same.

d1 d 2
pc = =
T1 T2

d 1 T1
= ………2
d 2 T2

From equations 1 and 2,

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N 2 d1 T1
Velocity Ratio of a Gear Drive = = =
N 1 d 2 T2

Gear Trains:

A gear train is an arrangement of number of successively meshing gear wheels through which
the power can be transmitted between the driving and the driven shafts. The gear wheels used
in a gear train may be spur, bevel or helical. The velocity ratio between the driving and the
driven shafts depends on the type of combination of gear wheels arranged in a gear train.

1. Simple Gear Train

In a simple gear train, a series of gear wheels are mounted on different shafts between the
driving and driven shafts, each shaft carrying only one gear. A is driving gear, D is the driven
gear and B and C are the intermediate gears. The intermediate gears B and C are also called
idler gears, because the velocity ratio depends only upon the number of teeth on the driving
and driven gears. The idler gears acts as the intermediate gears to establish the drive between
the driving and the driven gears, but they change the direction of rotation of rotation of the
driven gear. Even number of idler gears will rotate the driven gear in the direction opposite to
that of the driving gear. Odd number of idler gears will rotate the driven gear in the same
direction as that of the driving gear.

Let NA, NB, NC and ND be the RPM and TA, TB, TC and TD be the number of teeth of the
gears A, B, C and D respectively.

(i) A drives B
N B TA
=
N A TB
(ii) B drives C
N C TB
=
N B TC
(iii) C drives D
N D TC
=
N C TD

Velocity Ratio between the driving and driven gears is given by,

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ELEMENTS OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING MECHANICAL DEPT, SJEC

ND
Velocity Ratio =
NA

N D NC N B
=  
NC N B N A

Substituting (i), (ii) and (iii)

ND
Velocity Ratio =
NA

TC TB T A
=  
TD TC TB

N D TA
Velocity Ratio, =
N A TD

2. Compound Gear Train

In a compound gear train, the intermediate shaft carries two gears which are keyed to it.
When the velocity ratio is very high, a simple gear train becomes practically impossible
owing to the difficulty of connecting the driving and driven gears because the centre distance
is small. In such cases a compound gear train is used. A is the driving gear, D is the driven
gear, and B and C are keyed to an intermediate shaft and are called compound gears. Since B
and C are mounted on the same shaft they rotate at the same speed.

i. A drives B,

N B TA
=
N A TB

ii. Since the gears B and C are keyed to the same shaft, both of them rotate at the same
speed.
i.e., N B = NC

But, TB  TC
iii. C drives D,

N D TC
=
N C TD

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ELEMENTS OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING MECHANICAL DEPT, SJEC

ND
Velocity Ratio between the driving and driven gears =
NA

N D N D NC
 = 
N A NC N A

Substituting from (i) and (iii)

N D TC T A
Velocity Ratio, = 
N A TD TB

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