Chapter 4

Gears and gearing

Major topics in this chapter Simple gear trains Compounded gear trains Epicyclic gear trains Objectives To be able to distinguish the different types of gears. To be able to determine the speed ratios of simple and compounded gear trains. To be able to determine the speed ratios of simple and compounded epicyclic gear trains.

4.0 Introduction
Gears are a machine element that is used to transmit rotary motion and transfer power between machinery shafts. As the shaft rotates, the gears (which pass through the centre of the shafts) also rotates. Gears of different sizes and arrangement can be used to increase/decrease the rate of rotation, change the direction of the axis of rotation, and convert rotary motion to linear motion. Some of the advantages (compared to pulleys and belt systems) and/or features of gears are as follow; Operates without slip, Has a large operating range (in both speeds and torques), Able to transmit motion between parallel, intersecting and skewed shafts, Have a potentially long life. In this chapter, we begin by looking into the different types of gears and their classications. Next, we attempt to understand the meshing process of two gears and how the involute prole meets the condition for correct gearing. Finally, we expand on our basic understanding of speed ratios and analyse gears trains (both simple and epicyclic) and hence determine their relevant speed ratio. Gears can be classied according to the orientation of the shafts axes, i.e., parallel, intersecting and skewed (neither parallel nor intersecting). 112

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Parallel shafts
The meshing gears that are mounted on parallel shafts are known as spur gears. When two spur gears of different sizes mesh together, the larger gear is called a wheel while the smaller gear is called a pinion. For spur gears, the teeth lies in parallel to the shaft axes. Figure 6.1 shows a pair of spur gear and a rack & pinion gear set. Note that the rack and pinion gear system is used to convert rotary motion into linear motion. While the rack is still considered a gear, it is clear that the axis of rotation of the rack would lie at innity.

Figure 4.1 Picture of a pair of spur gear (shown on the left) and a rack & pinion (shown on the right) [http://www.mech.uwa.edu.au/DANotes/gears]

The contact made between the a pair of spur gear can either be internal or external (See gure 6.2). With the external arrangement, the pinion is located next to the spur gear. Hence the rotation of the two shafts are opposite in direction. In contrast to the external arrangement, the pinion must lie inside the wheel to make internal contact. As a result, the rotation of the two shafts (in the internal arrangement) would be in the same direction.

Figure 4.2 Contact between the gears shown on the left is internal while for those gears shown on the right, the contact is external. [http://www.engineering.com]

In addition to spur gear, helical gear is also classied under the parallel shafts orientation. However, in contrast to spur gear, the teeth are not parallel to the shaft axes. Instead, they lie along helices about the axes. The difference in meshing of the helical gears over spur gears is the former form a gradual contact across the teeth while for the latter, contact is over the entire teeth. This results is a smaller impact loading when helical gear is used. The benets of a helical gear over a spur gear are as follow; less noisy, can withstand a larger load, and have a longer life.

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Figure 4.3 Picture of a pair of double helical gear [Courtesy of http://www.mech.uwa.edu.au/DANotes/gears]

Intersecting shafts
Bevel gears are used when the axes of the two shafts intersects at a particlar angle. While they can also be designed to work at other angles too, most bevel gears operate with the the shafts axes at 90 apart. Bevel gears have teeth cut on a cone instead of a cylinder blank. An example of two bevel gears is shown in gure 6.4.

Figure 4.4 An example of a straight bevel gear pair. [Photo courtesy of Emerson Power Transmission Group]

Similar to spur gears, straight bevel gears too have a large impact loading because the entire teeth maintain contact at all times. A large impact loading results in noisy gears and a small range of torque. Hence, when it is necessary to transmit motion quietly through a right angle at high velocities, spiral bevel gears can be used. Similar to helical gears, spiral bevel gears have teeth cut in a helix form on the surface of a cone. As a result, spiral bevel gears are less noisy and have a longer life when compared to straight bevel gears. A practical application of spiral

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bevel gears is the rear axle gearbox of motor vehicles. An example of a pair of spiral bevel gear is shown below in gure 6.5.

Figure 4.5 An example of a spiral bevel gear pair. [Photo courtesy of Emerson Power Transmission Group]

Skewed shafts
When the shafts are neither parallel nor intersecting, the shafts are said to be skewed. For such situations, the two types of gears are as follow; i. Spiral gears (rarely used as the range of torque is small), and ii Worm and Wheel (most common). Worm and wheel gear system is usually used when a large reduction in speed is required. Another interesting feature of the worm and wheel gear system is that while the worm can easily turn the gear, the gear cannot turn the worm. This is because the angle on the worm is so shallow that when the gear tries to spin it, the friction between the gear and the worm holds the worm in place. This feature is called self locking and is useful for machines such as conveyor systems, whereby the self locking feature can act as a brake for the conveyor when the motor is not turning.

Figure 4.6 Picture of a worm & wheel gear system [Photo courtesy of http://www.engineering.com]

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4.1 Speed (or gear) ratio

Let us consider two circular disks (as shown in gure 6.1) that are rolling about each other. If one disk is rotated, friction will cause the other disk to rotate too. From insight, it is clear that the rotation of the disks is opposite in direction.

Figure 4.7 Two disks in rotation.

The velocity at the point of contact, v, is identical for both disks. The expression for v is as follow; v = 1 r1 = 2 r2 , 1 r2 = . 2 r1

(4.1)

Equation 6.1 states the speed ratio of the two disks as a function of the relative size of the two disks. Note also that the above ratio has a negative sign to indicate that the direction of the two disks is opposing one another. In practice, smooth discs are rarely used to transmit power. This is because the discs tend to slip, and hence cant be used to transmit large amount of torque. We can turn the circular disks into gears by adding teeth into the disks.

Constant velocity gear ratio

In order for any gear system to maintain a constant velocity gear ratio, the tooth prole must obey the Fundamental Law of Gearing as stated below; For a pair of gears to transmit a constant angular velocity ratio, the shape of their contacting proles must be such that the common normal passes through a xed point on the line of centres The fundamental law of gearing can be shown schematically as follow in Figure 4.8.

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Figure 4.8 Schematic of two gears with the common normal line drawn.

Note that the xed point on the line joining the centres of the two gears is known as the pitch point. As it is the point dividing the line joining the two centres of the gears, its position would determine the gear (or speed) ratio of the gearing system. The dashed circular lines found in Figures 4.8 and 4.9 are known as the pitch circle. The pressure angle is dened as the angle between the common normal at the point of contact and the common tangent to the pitch circles.

Figure 4.9 Schematic of two gears with the common normal line drawn.

4.2 The involute

The two tooth proles that meet the condition of correct gearing are the cycloidal and involute proles. The involute prole has advantages of 1. being easy to manufacture, and 2. does not require close tolerance between shaft locations. Figure 4.10 shows how an involute prole is created. The path AK generated as line MN rolls about the circle (without slipping) is the involute. Alternatvely, it is also the path generated as a cord unwinds from the circumference of a circle. The involute has the property that any point on the involute, the normal will always be tangential to the base circle. Therefore, the involute meets the condition for correct gearing.

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Figure 4.10 Diagram of an involute.

4.3 Gear ratios

When the position of the various gears are xed in space, it is simple matter to calculate the overall gear ratio. For this course, the gear ratio is dened as follow: Input speed Gear ratio = Output speed The gear ratio in terms of pitch circle diameter, D, is as follow;
1 2 D2 = D 1

(4.2)

(4.3)

If two gears are to mesh, the teeth must be of the same size on each gear. Therefore, the number of teeth then must be proportional to the circumference (and hence the diameter too). Three different methods are used to dene tooth size. They are as follow; Module Module = Diameter Number of teeth

D1 D2 = . N1 N2 Diametral Pitch of teeth Diametral pitch = Number Diameter N1 N2 = . D1 D2 Circular Pitch Circumference Circular pitch = Number of teeth There are some simple relationships between these three ratios: 1 , Diametral pitch Circular pitch = Module, Diametral picth = . Circular pitch Module =

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4.4 Simple gear trains

A gear train usually implies that the number of gears that are meshing consists of two gears or more. If every shaft has only one gear each, the gear train is called a simple gear train. The diagram shown below is a simple gear train system. Find the speed ratio.

1 1 2 3 4 = ( )( )( )( ) 5 2 3 4 5 D2 D3 D4 D5 = ( )( )( )( ) D1 D2 D3 D4 N3 N4 N5 N5 N2 = ( )( )( )( ) = N1 N2 N3 N4 N1 It is clear that the speed ratio depends on: 1. Number of teeth in the rst and last gears only, and 2. Number of gears in the train ( affects the sign) Another example of a simple gear train is shown in the diagram below;

Find the gear ratio. 1 1 2 3 4 = ( )( )( )( ) 5 2 3 4 5 N2 N3 N4 N5 N5 = ( )( )( )(+ ) = N1 N2 N3 N4 N1

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4.5 Compound gear trains

In contrast to a simple gear train, there may be more that one gear per shaft in a compound gear train. This implies that the multiple gears would also be rotating in the same direction, and have the same magnitude too. An example of a compound gear train

Note that gears 2 and 3 are compounded, i.e., rigidly connected together, and therefore they would rotate at the same speed.To calculate the speed ratio, we rst have to note the path of motion, i.e., 1 2 3 4

Speed ratio =

1 , 4 1 2 3 = 2 3 4 N2 N4 = ( )(1)( ) N1 N3

Unlike the simple gear train, a compound gear train involves each of the gears in the speed ratio.

4.6 Epicyclic gear trains

Epicyclic gear trains are characterised by the fact that the centre line of some gears are not xed in space. These gears are called planet gears. The centre lines move in a circular path about the central axis of the gear train. Epicyclic gears have signicant advantages over xed-axes gear trains; The arrangement is compact, i.e., not bulky. The gears are constantly in mesh.

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The load is shared between several gears. Reverse is available without the need for an additional shaft. Load can be applied gradually. Several gear ratios can be obtained. Side view of a simple epicyclic gear train (simplied)

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Frontal view of a simple epicyclic gear train (simplied)

From the two diagrams above, it is clear that similar to the ring, the arm is also rotating about the central axis. Note that there are three shafts that may act as input or output for the gear train. Shaft attached to the sun gear, Shaft attached to the arm, and Shaft attachd to the ring. Since there are three shafts involved, it is necessary to dene the motion of one of them in order to calculate the ratio of the other two. For example, the ring gear may be held stationary, and therefore, the ratio of the speed of the sun to the speed of the arm can be calculated. First, we would have to nd the relationship of the gears in terms of the number of teeth. Use geometry to establish the relations between the gears in terms of size.

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Note that the teeth must be of the same size in order for the gears to mesh, i.e., the module is identical for all the gears. Therefore, we can subtituting the module equations into the geometrical relationship and hence nd an expression in terms of the number of teeth;

Now that we have found the relationship between the gears in terms of teeth number, what about the gear train relationship? It is clear that the normal relationships for gear ratios and teeth numbers do not apply. This is because the centre lines of the planets are not xed in space. The former only apply when the centres are xed in space. Since it is the arm (or carrier) that is causing the centre of the planet to move in space, it is a good idea to write the angular velocities of the gears relative to the arm. Then the arm would appear to be stationary, while the angular velocities of the various gears will change and become those that are relative to the arm. The angular velocity of the gears (relative to the ground) is shown schematically below;

The angular velocity of the gears (relative to the arm) is shown schematically below;

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In the above diagram, the arm has become stationary. If the arm now appears to be stationary, the angular velocities of the gears (written relative to the arm) would follow the normal relationship with respect to the number of teeth and the (relative) rotational speeds. Thus, relative to the arm, (which now appears stationary) we write - (for example for external teeth); 1 2 =
arm

N2 N1

Note: each of the rotational speeds is written relative to the arm. Let us apply the relative velocity method to a simple epicyclic gear train Assuming that the sun is the input while the ring is the output, we would have to form the quotient of the angular speed of the sun to the angular speed of the ring. Both are measured relative to the arm. Consider the path sun planet ring. The gear ratio is as follow; sun ring =
arm

sun ring

arm

First consider the left hand side of the equation. The angular speed of the sun relative to the arm is given as follow; sun arm , and the angular speed of the ring relative to the arm is given as ring arm Therefore the left hand side of the equation becomes; LHS = sun arm ring arm

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Now lets consider the right hand side of the equation. Since the arm appears to be stationary, the right hand side becomes as follow; sun ring =
arm

S P , P R NR NP = ( )(+ ) NS NP

Note that the planet and ring rotate in the same direction relative to the arm. The ring has internal teeth. Equating both sides of the equation produces
S A R A
R = N NS

(4.4)

All simple epicyclic gear trains can be solved using this equation. It is a normal equation for a simple gear train, except that the gear speeds are now written relative to the arm. Example 1

The sun in a simple epicyclic gear train has 40 teeth, and the planet has 20 teeth. The ring gear is held stationary while the sun gear rotates at 100 rpm in the clockwise direction. Find the speed of the arm. Step 1 First nd the number of teeth present in all the gears.

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Step 2 Consider the path from sun planet ring

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Step 3 Having found the number of teeth and the equation for the gear ratio, we can determine its value.

Therefore, the arm rotates in the same direction as the sun, but at 1/3 the speed of the sun. Example 2

The sun in a simple epicyclic gear train has 40 teeth, and the planet has 20 teeth. The ring gear is held stationary while the sun gear rotates at 100 rpm in the clockwise direction. Find the

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speed of the arm.

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Step 1 From geometry, we can nd the relation of the gears in terms of their diameters. We can then nd the number of teeth in the ring gear as all the gears have the same module (condition for gears to mesh).

Step 2 From example 1, we have found that the equation for the gear ratio, i.e., the ratio of the angular speed of the sun (relative to the arm) to the angular speed of the ring (again relative to the arm) is as follow; S A NR = . R A NS (4.5)

Case 1. The sun gear is made stationary, i.e., s = 0. Find the following the two gear ratios; R /A and P /A .

Case 2. Instead of the sun gear, the ring gear is made stationary, i.e., s = 0. Find S /A .

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4.7 Compound epicyclic gear train

We will consider a number of different compound epicyclic gear trains, to illustrate the method of analysis. Note that the actual approach adopted will depend in each case on the detail of the conguration. Therefore, it is important to understand the basic concepts which can be adapted to suit a particular conguration. Similar to the previous section on simple epicyclic geaer train, here we will examine the relationships that allow us to calculate the number of teeth in the various gears, and carry out some typical calculations of gear ratios. Example 1 A compound planet gear and two sun gears.

The planet gears are rigidly connected together with a shaft. The planets and shaft are free to rotate in the housing connected to the arm. Step 1. From geometry, nd the relationship of the gears in terms of diameter. Note that the distance between the centre line of the planet gears, and the centre line of the sun gears is xed.

Step 2. Since the gears have the same module, therefore, we can nd the relationship of the gears in terms of the number of teeth.

Step 3. In determining the gear ratio, we may consider either path; (S1 P1 P2 S2 ) or (S2 P2 P1 S1 )

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If we consider path (S1 P1 P2 S2 ), the gear ratio is as follow;

Example 2. Compounded planets with sun and ring.

Step 1. Use geometry to nd the equation for the gears in terms of the pitch circle diameter. Again, recall that the vertical distance between the two centre lines is xed.

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Step 2. For teeth of the same module, we can write the expression for the number of teeth by using the the geometrical relationship.

Step 3. Lets consider the path S1 P1 P2 R2 .

The gear ratio (written relative to the arm) is as follow;

Example 3 In the compound epicyclic gear train shown, all teeth have the same module. The driving gear, A, has 14 teeth, the ring gear, C, has 100 teeth, and ring gear, E, has 98 teeth. Gear C rotates at 1 rpm anticlockwise while gear A rotates clockwise at 100 rpm. What is the speed of E?

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First nd the number of teeth in gear B.

Next, we can nd the number of teeth in gear D.

We need to calculate the output speed (E), but since our calculations will require the arm speed, we have two unknowns and only one equation! Therefore, we must rst calculate the arm speed. Lets consider path A B C (relative to the arm)

We know that the sun gear A rotates 100rpm clockwise, and the ring gear C rotates at 1 rpm anticlockwise. The gear ratio is as follow;

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Now that we have found the arm speed, we can next determine the speed of the planet gear B. There are several possibilities! Perhaps path A B (relative to the arm)?

What if we have used path C B? Would we still get the same answer as the previous path of A B?

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It is clear that the path doesnt really matter at all! Are you convinced? To nd the speed of the output, E, a possibility of the path is A B D E (as usual, relative to the arm)

Lets check our results by considering an alternative path, i.e., E D (relative to the arm).

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In case you are not totally convinced yet, lets check our results again by considering another alternative path, i.e., C B D E (relative to the arm)

Example 4

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A compound epicyclic gear train consists of two compounded planets, P1 and P2 , a sun gear, S, and two ring gears, R1 and R2 . The common carrier (arm) for the planets is free to rotate on the input shaft. All gears have the same module. Find the gear ratio given that ring Gear 1 is stationary and the number of teeth are as follows: Gear S P2 P1 R1 R2 Teeth 10 35 34 79 80

As a rst step, lets check the number of teeth in the simple epicyclic train.

Next, we check the teeth number on the other side. Note that the shafts axes are in parallel, i.e., distance between the suns and the planets centre lines must be xed.

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Having checked that the number of teeth is right, we can proceed to derive the gear ratio. If we had considered only the simple epicyclic gear train (S1 P2 R2 ), we would not be able to nd the required gear ratio (input/output). This is because we do not know the speed of the carrier (arm), C1 (which is free to rotate on the input shaft) yet. Lets consider the path S P2 P1 R1 . As usual, the path must be relative to the carrier (or arm)

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Now that we have found the arm speed (sort of), we can try to nd the output speed. Lets consider the path S P2 R2 , all relative to the arm (as usual)

Assuming that the input speed is 552 rpm, the arm speed and the output speed are as follow;

How about the speed of the planets? Which path can we use? There are a couple of options for the path, i.e., S P2 or R2 P2 or R1 P1 . However, regardless of the path, each should give

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the same result! Lets try R1 P1 (relative to the arm)

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Lets try a different path, S P2 to check our results.

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Is it possible, for a given input, to rotate the ring gear R1 at some particular speed, so that the output, R2 , is stationary? We will attempt to nd out now. Lets set the input speed at say 1000 rpm.

Since we know the rotational speeds of S and R2 , we can consider the path S P2 R2 (relative to the arm) in order to nd the arm speed.

Now that we have found the arm speed, we can consider the speed of the ring gear R1 . We would use the path as follow; S P2 P1 R1 .

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4.8 Summary on the analysis of gear trains

1. The number of teeth in the gears always has something to do with the geometry of the gear train, 2. The rotational speeds of the gears (in epicyclic gear trains) are always written relative to the arm, 3. Observe how the gear train works to get an idea on where to start the analysis, 4. In particular, look to see where there is information given or required about rotational speeds, 5. Decide on a path that makes sense, and will use the information about rotational speeds, 6. The path does not necessarily have to start at the input and go to the output.