Gear
Metrology
Gear Terminology
Involute profile
• An involute is the curve traced by a point on
a straight line (or roller) as it rolls without
slipping over a circle (called the base circle)
• An involute is the curve traced by the end
of a taut string unwound from a base circle.
• In involute gears, the line of action
(common normal at the contact point) is
always tangent to the base circles of
both gears
• The involute function is mathematically
expressed as a function of pressure angle.
inv α=tanα−α
ERRORS IN GEARS
Gear blank runout errors
• Occur due to inaccuracies during preliminary machining of the gear blank
(casting/forging).
• Radial runout → the outside diameter (OD) is not concentric with the gear axis.
• Axial (face) runout → the gear face is not perfectly perpendicular to the axis, causing
side wobble.
Gear tooth profile errors
• Deviation of actual tooth shape from ideal involute.
• Causes extra friction or backlash in meshing.
Gear tooth errors
• Tooth thickness error (wrong tooth size at pitch circle).
• Tooth alignment error (locus of tooth not ideal).
Pitch errors
• Single pitch error → wrong spacing between two adjacent teeth.
• Accumulated pitch error → total deviation over several teeth.
• Very critical for machine tool accuracy.
Lead errors
• Deviation of actual tooth advance from ideal.
• Results in poor tooth contact and power loss.
Parkinson Gear Tester
• The test gear is mounted on a sliding
carriage and meshed with a standard
master gear fixed on a mandrel.
• The gears are rotated manually by a
handle/handwheel attached to the
mandrel of the test gear.
• The centre distance is adjusted to the
nominal value using the vernier scale
and locked.
• The sliding carriage is spring-loaded, so
it moves slightly to follow the gear’s
irregularities.
• A dial indicator records radial
deviations as the test gear rotates
through one revolution.
• The recorded deviations indicate
composite errors (runout, pitch
error, and profile variation).
Advantages of Parkinson testing
• Functional: tests gear under real meshing conditions.
• Fast and practical for production/inspection—gives quick go/no-go info on overall gear quality.
• Sensitive to the defects that actually matter in service (noise, vibration, uneven load sharing).
Limitations
• Composite result: it does not directly separate pitch error, profile error, tooth thickness, and runout. You get a
combined signal — further tests/analysis needed to decompose it.
• Depends on master gear: if master gear is imperfect, your reading includes master error (must know/correct
for it).
• Not a substitute for full profile measurement when detailed geometry (involute deviation, lead slope) is
required. For that you need a gear measuring machine or CMM.
Measuring Thickness
a. Chordal thickness method
• The pitch circle is imaginary — it cannot be
seen or touched on a real gear.
So, we can’t measure the arc AB (tooth
thickness) directly with instruments.
• Imagine drawing a chord (a straight line)
across that arc of the pitch circle.
That straight line connecting the two tooth
flanks at the level of the pitch circle
is what we can physically measure using
instruments.
• The tooth thickness is generally measured at pitch
circle.
• Since the gear tooth thickness varies from the tip to
the base circle of the tooth, the instrument must be
capable of measuring the tooth thickness at a
specified position on the tooth.
• The gear tooth Vernier has two Vernier scales. The
vertical Vernier scale is used to set the depth (d)
along the pitch circle from the top surface of the
tooth at which the width (w) has to be measured.
While the horizontal Vernier scale is used to measure
the width (w) of the teeth.
Errors:
Compare with tolerances/specification: check
against allowed tolerance. If outside tolerance,
mark gear as reject / rework.
Fig: Gear tooth vernier callipers
b. Constant Chord method
•Imagine a gear meshing with a rack (a gear with
infinite radius).
•The rack’s teeth are straight and inclined at the
pressure angle.
•The line of action (where forces are transmitted) is
also inclined at this pressure angle.
•When the gear tooth contacts the rack tooth, it
always touches at two fixed points on the gear
tooth, regardless of how many teeth the gear has.
•If you join these two points, you get a straight line
across the tooth → this is the constant chord.
•Since this contact happens at fixed points A and
B, the line joining them (AB) is called the
constant chord.
So, the constant chord is basically the
straight line across the gear tooth where it
contacts the rack along the pressure line
• In gear measurement, chordal thickness and chordal addendum depend on the
number of teeth of the gear. So, for different gears, we’d need separate calculations,
which is time-consuming.
• The constant chord method avoids this issue. Here, we measure a constant chord
length that remains the same for all gears (of the same module), regardless of the
number of teeth
c. Base tangent method
Principle:
Based on the involute profile of gear teeth.
Measures the distance between tangent points
on opposite tooth flanks, spanning over a known
number of teeth (N).
Procedure:
• Mount the gear securely on a mandrel or fixture.
• Place span micrometer anvils on opposite flanks of
W=N m cosϕ(tanϕ−ϕ+πS/N−π/2N) the gear teeth.
Where: • Measure the base tangent length (Wₘ) over N
•W = Base tangent length teeth.
• Calculate the theoretical value (Wₜ) using gear
•N = Total number of teeth on the gear
•m = Module geometry.
•ϕ = Pressure angle (in radians) • Compare Wₘ and Wₜ — difference shows tooth
•S = Number of teeth spanned thickness or spacing error.
From this measured span, we can determine or check:
• Tooth thickness — indirectly obtained from the measured span.
• Pitch circle diameter (PCD) — since the span formula depends on PCD (), it
can be used to verify whether the manufactured gear has the correct effective
diameter.
• Tooth spacing accuracy — by taking several span measurements around
the gear and comparing them, you can detect pitch errors or eccentricity.
• Involute form consistency — if the involute is not correct, the measured
span will vary between different tooth sets.
Consider a straight generator (edge) ABC being rolled
back and forth along a base circle (Fig. 15.19). Its ends
thus sweep out opposed involutes A₂A₁ and C₂C₁
respectively. Thus the measurements made across these
opposed involutes by span gauging will be constant (i.e.
AC = A₁C₁ = A₂C₂ = A₀C₀) and equal to the arc length of
the base circle between the origins of involutes.
Advantages of Base Tangent Method
• High Accuracy: Measures over several teeth, reducing random or local errors.
• Insensitive to Local Defects: Minor burrs, nicks, or wear on a single tooth do not affect
results.
• No Need for Precise Depth Setting: Unlike the chordal method, no adjustment to the
addendum circle is required.
• Ideal for Production and Inspection: Useful for checking gear batches against a master
gear.
• Works Well for Small Modules: Accurate even for fine-pitch or precision gears.
Limitations of Base Tangent Method
• Not Suitable for Gears with Few Teeth: The tangent point becomes hard to define for
small tooth numbers.
• Requires High Measurement Skill: Correct alignment of the tangent micrometer is
essential.
• Cannot Measure Single-Tooth Errors: It only gives an average result across several
teeth.
• Limited Use for Helical Gears: Primarily suitable for spur gears due to simple geometry.
Feature Chordal Thickness Method Constant Chord Method Base Tangent Method
Measures the constant chord thickness at a Measures the span (base tangent) across a
Measures the chordal thickness of
Basic Principle fixed depth below the top of the teeth for all certain number of teeth resting on their involute
a tooth at the pitch circle.
gears. flanks.
Span Micrometer or Base Tangent Measuring
Instrument Used Gear Tooth Vernier Caliper Gear Tooth Vernier Caliper
Device
Fixed circle below addendum circle (constant
Reference Circle Pitch Circle Base Circle
depth)
Direct measurement of single tooth Direct measurement of single tooth thickness Indirect measurement across several teeth
Measurement Type
thickness. at constant depth. (composite dimension).
Tooth span (used to find effective tooth
What It Measures Single tooth thickness. Single tooth thickness at constant depth.
thickness and pitch accuracy).
Moderate (depends on tooth Higher than chordal thickness (depth constant Highest (measures along involute flanks, closer
Accuracy
position and skill). reduces variation). to actual working condition).
Gears with varying number of teeth, where
Application Simple inspection of small gears. Precision gear inspection and analytical testing.
constant depth is preferred.
Tooth thickness, pitch error, runout, and profile
Errors Detected Tooth thickness error. Tooth thickness error.
error.