Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Gears What are they?

Gears are wheels with teeth. Gears mesh together and make things turn. Gears are used
to transfer motion or power from one moving part to another.

Gears The Purpose

Gears are generally used for one of four different reasons:

To reverse the direction of rotation
To increase or decrease the speed of rotation
To move rotational motion to a different axis
To keep the rotation of two axis synchronized
Sports cars go fast (have speed) but cannot pull any weight. Big trucks can pull heavy
loads (have power), but cannot go fast. Gears cause this. Gears increase or decrease the
power or speed, but you cannot generally speaking.

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Advantages of Gear Technology

The advantages of gear technology over other
transmission means are:

Gear technology gives positive drives and

constancy of speed ratio without any slippage

In Gear technology, the drive is very compact

due to short centre distances in such drives.

Gear technology has high efficiency, service,

and simple operation.

Gear technology drives are capable of driving loads subjected to shock at speeds up to
20 m/s

Maintenance of gear technology drives is inexpensive and if properly lubricated and

operated, gear drives have the longest service life compared to other drives.

Gear technology can be used where precise timing is desired.

Gear technology can drive much heavier loads than other drives.

Gear drives can be used for a wide range of transmitted power

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Types of Gears
Spur gears are gears in the same plane that move opposite of each other because they
are meshed together. Gear A is called the driver because this is turned by a motor. As
gear A turns it meshes with gear B and it begins to turn as well. Gear B is called the
driven gear.

Spur Gear
The circle marked in red shows the outer limit of the teeth whilst the green circles are
known as the pitch circles. The pitch circle of a gear is very important as it is used by
engineers to determine the shape of the teeth and the ratio between gears (ratios will
be explained later).
The pitch of a gear is the distance between any point on one tooth and the same point
on the next tooth.
The root is the bottom part of a gear wheel.

The pitch point is the point where gear teeth actually make contact with each other as
they rotate.

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Bevel Gear
Bevel gears can be used to change the direction of drive in a gear system by 90 degrees.
A good example is seen as the main mechanism for a hand drill. As the handle of the
drill is turned in a vertical direction, the bevel gears change the rotation of the chuck to
a horizontal rotation.

Two important concepts in gearing are pitch surface and pitch angle. The pitch surface of a gear
is the imaginary toothless surface that you would have by averaging out the peaks and valleys of
the individual teeth. The pitch surface of an ordinary gear is the shape of a cylinder. The pitch
angle of a gear is the angle between the face of the pitch surface and the axis.
The most familiar kinds of bevel gears have pitch angles of less than 90 degrees and therefore
are cone-shaped. This type of bevel gear is called external because the gear teeth point
outward. The pitch surfaces of meshed external bevel gears are coaxial with the gear shafts; the
apexes of the two surfaces are at the point of intersection of the shaft axes.
Bevel gears that have pitch angles of greater than ninety degrees have teeth that point inward
and are called internal bevel gears.
Bevel gears that have pitch angles of exactly 90 degrees have teeth that point outward parallel
with the axis and resemble the points on a crown. That's why this type of bevel gear is called
a crown gear.
Miter gears are mating bevel gears with equal numbers of teeth and with axes at right angles.
Skew bevel gears are those for which the corresponding crown gear has teeth that are straight
andoblique.

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Rack and Pinion Gear

A rack and pinion gears system looks quite unusual. However, it is still composed of
two gears. The pinion is the normal round gear and the rack is straight or flat. The
rack has teeth cut in it and they mesh with the teeth of the pinion gear.

The pinion rotates and moves the rack in a straight line - another way of describing this
is to say rotary motion changes to linear motion.
A rack and pinion is a pair of gears which convert rotational motion into linear motion. The
circular pinionengages teeth on a flat bar the rack. Rotational motion applied to the pinion will
cause the rack to move to the side, up to the limit of its travel. For example, in a rack railway,
the rotation of a pinion mounted on alocomotive or a railcar engages a rack between the rails
and pulls a train along a steep slope.
The rack and pinion arrangement is commonly found in the steering mechanism of cars or
other wheeled, steered vehicles. This arrangement provides a lesser mechanical advantage than
other mechanisms such asrecirculating ball, but much less backlash and greater feedback, or
steering "feel". The use of a variable rack (still using a normal pinion) was invented by Arthur E
Bishop, so as to improve vehicle response and steering "feel" especially at high speeds, and that
has been fitted to many new vehicles, after he created a specialised version of a net-shape
warm press forging process to manufacture the racks to their final form, thus eliminating any
subsequent need to machine the gear teeth.

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Worm Gear
The arrangement of gears seen is called a worm and wormwheel. The worm, which in this
example is brown in color, only has one tooth but it is like a screw thread. The wormwheel,
colored yellow, is like a normal gear wheel or spur gear. The worm always drives the worm
wheel round, it is never the opposite way round as the system tends to lock and jam.
A worm is used to reduce speed. For each complete turn of the worm shaft the gear shaft
advances only one tooth of the gear.

In this case, with a twelve tooth gear, the speed is reduced by a factor of twelve. Also, the axis of
rotation is turned by 90 degrees. Unlike ordinary gears, the motion is not reversible, a worm can
drive a gear to reduce speed but a gear cannot drive a worm to increase it.
As the speed is reduced the power to the drive increases correspondingly. Worm gears are a
compact, efficient means of substantially decreasing speed and increasing power. Ideal for use
with small electric motors.

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Gear System
Compound gears are used in engines,
workshop machines and in many other
mechanical devices. In the diagram, gear A is
actually two gears attached to each other and
they rotate around the same centre.
Sometimes compound gears are used so that
the final gear in a gear train rotates at the
correct speed.
This is a good example of a gear train. A gear
train is usually made up of two or more gears.
The driver in this example is gear A. If a motor turns gear A in an anticlockwise
direction.
Which direction does gear B turn ?
Which direction does gear C turn ?
Does gear C revolve faster or slower than gear A ? - explain your answer.
SLOWER SMALLER GEAR TURNS A LARGER GEAR
So far you have learned about driver gears, driven gears and gear trains. An idler
gear is another important gear. In the example opposite gear A turns in an
anticlockwise direction and also gear C turns in an anticlockwise direction. The idler
gear is used so that the rotation of the two important gears is the same.

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Gear Ratio (Velocity Ratio)

The gear ratio is the relationship between the numbers of teeth on two gears that are meshed
or two sprockets connected with a common roller chain, or the circumferences of
two pulleys connected with a drive belt.
In the picture to the right, the smaller gear (known as the pinion) has 13 teeth, while the
second, larger gear (known as the idler gear) has 21 teeth. The gear ratio is therefore 21/13,
1.62/1, or 1.62:1.
Gear Ratio (GR) = (Number of teeth on Gear or driven)/(Number of teeth on Pinion or driver).
The ratio means that the pinion gear must make 1.62 revolutions to turn the idler gear 1
revolution. It also means that for every one revolution of the pinion, the idler gear has made
1/1.62, or 0.62, revolutions. In practical terms, the idler gear turns more slowly.
Suppose the largest gear in the picture has 42 teeth, the gear ratio between the second and
third gear is thus 42/21, or 2:1, and hence the total gear ratio is 1.62x2=~3.23. For every 3.23
revolutions of the smallest gear, the largest gear turns one revolution,or for every one
revolution of the smallest gear, the largest gear turns 0.31 (1/3.23) revolution, a
total reduction of about 1:3.23 (Gear Reduction Ratio (GRR) = 1/Gear Ratio (GR)).
Since the intermediate (idler) gear contacts directly both the smaller and the larger gear it can
be removed from the calculation, also giving a ratio of 42/13 = 3.23.
Since the number of teeth is also proportional to the circumference of the gear wheel (the
bigger the wheel the more teeth it has) the gear ratio can also be expressed as
the relationship between the circumferences of both wheels (where d is the diameter of the
smaller wheel and D is the diameter of the larger wheel):
Since the diameter is equal to twice the radius;
In other words, the gear ratio is proportional to ratio of the gear diameters and inversely
proportional to the ratio of gear speeds.
Belts can have teeth in them also and be coupled to gear-like pulleys. Special gears called
sprockets can be coupled together with chains, as on bicycles and some motorcycles. Again,
exact accounting of teeth and revolutions can be applied with these machines.
A belt with teeth, called the timing belt, is used in some internal combustion engines to exactly
synchronize the movement of the camshaft with that of the crankshaft, so that the valves open
and close at the top of each cylinder at exactly the right time relative to the movement of
each piston. From the time the car is driven off the lot, to the time the belt needs replacing
thousands of kilometers later, it synchronizes the two shafts exactly. A chain, called
a timing chain, is used on some automobiles for this purpose, while in others, the camshaft and
crankshaft are coupled directly together through meshed gears. But whichever form of drive is
employed, on four-stroke engines the crankshaft/camshaft gear ratio is always 2:1, which means
that for every two revolutions of the crankshaft the camshaft will rotate through one

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

revolution.(In case of 4 stroke engines the valve cycle is repeated after every two rotations of
the flywheel.)
Automobile drivetrains generally have two or more areas where gearing is used: one in
the transmission, which contains a number of different sets of gearing that can be changed to
allow a wide range of vehicle speeds, and another at the differential, which contains one
additional set of gearing that provides further mechanical advantage at the wheels. These
components might be separate and connected by a driveshaft, or they might be combined into
one unit called a transaxle.
A 2004 Chevrolet Corvette C5 Z06 with a six-speed manual transmission has the following gear
ratios in the transmission:
Gear

Ratio

1st gear

2.97:1

2nd gear 2.07:1

3rd gear

1.43:1

4th gear

1.00:1

5th gear

0.84:1

6th gear

0.56:1

reverse

3.28:1

In 1st gear, the engine makes 2.97 revolutions for every revolution of the transmissions output.
In 4th gear, the gear ratio of 1:1 means that the engine and the transmissions output are
moving at the same speed. 5th and 6th gears are known as overdrive gears, in which the output
of the transmission is revolving faster than the engine.
The Corvette above has a differential ratio of 3.42:1. The ratio means that for every 3.42
revolutions of the transmissions output, the wheelsmake one revolution. The differential ratio
multiplies with the transmission ratio, so in 1st gear, the engine makes 10.16 revolutions for
every revolution of the wheels.
The cars tires can almost be thought of as a third type of gearing. The example Corvette Z06 is
equipped with 295/35-18 tires, which have a circumference of 82.1 inches. This means that for
every complete revolution of the wheel, the car travels 82.1 inches. If the Corvette had larger

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

tires, it would travel farther with each revolution of the wheel, which would be like a higher
gear. If the car had smaller tires, it would be like a lower gear.
With the gear ratios of the transmission and differential, and the size of the tires, it becomes
possible to calculate the speed of the car for a particular gear at a particular engine RPM.
For example, it is possible to determine the distance the car will travel for one revolution of the
engine by dividing the circumference of the tire by the combined gear ratio of the transmission
and differential.
It is possible to determine a cars speed from the engine speed by multiplying the circumference
of the tire by the engine speed and dividing by the combined gear ratio.

Gear

Distance per engine revolution Speed per 1000 RPM

1st gear 8.1 inches

7.7 mph / 11.3 kmph

2nd gear 11.6 inches

11.0 mph / 17.7 kmph

3rd gear 16.8 inches

15.9 mph / 24.1 kmph

4th gear 24.0 inches

22.7 mph / 35.4 kmph

5th gear 28.6 inches

27.1 mph / 43.4 kmph

6th gear 42.9 inches

40.6 mph / 64.3 kmph

Many machines use gears. A very good example is a bicycle which has gears that make it easier
to cycle, especially up hills. Bicycles normally have a large gear wheel which has a pedal attached
and a selection of gear wheels of different sizes, on the back wheel. When the pedal is revolved

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

the

chain

pulls

round

the

gear

wheels

at

the

back.

The reason bicycles are easier to cycle up a hill when the gears are changed is due to what is
called Gear Ratio (velocity ratio). Gear ratio can be worked out in the form of numbers and
examples are shown. Basically, the ratio is determined by the number of teeth on each gear
wheel, the chain is ignored and does not enter the equation.

But WHAT does this mean? It means that the DRIVEN gear makes TWO rotations for every ONE
rotation of the Driving Gear.

A gear ratio is the relationship between the number of teeth on two gears which are meshed.
This relationship is expressed mathematically. For example, if one gear with 13 teeth is driven by
a gear with 21 teeth, the gear ratio is 1/1.62, or 1:1.62. Almost all types of mechanical
machinery, such as vehicles, farm equipment, and industrial machines, use gears in some way,
and gear ratios are used to help define the machines performance.

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

The idea of a gear ratio is based on the circumference of circles. When two gears with different
circumferences are connected by teeth on the outer edge, the movement of the one is
translated into greater or lesser movement by the other. If a gear with a large circumference is
turning one that is only half as big, the smaller gear will spin twice as fast as the larger one. The
same concept works in reverse.
Gear ratios are specifically tailored by manufacturers of engines and other machinery, to
achieve a certain result. In some contexts, such as automobile transmissions, gear ratios can be
varied to adapt to the cars needs at different rates of speed. The lowest gear in a
cars transmission will have a high gear ratio, such as 2:1 or 3:1. This gives the car the ability to
easily start moving from a complete stop, such as at a traffic light. However, since the engine
has to make two or three revolutions for every revolution of the transmission, an engine cannot
make a car in low gear go very fast.
In second gear, the gear ratio is lower, meaning that the engine does not have to work as hard
to give the car additional acceleration. In the higher gears, the gear ratios get progressively
lower. These are good for moderate acceleration and reducing the number of engine
revolutions needed to keep the car at a comfortable cruising speed. The gears in a transmission,
therefore, serve to either magnify or reduce the output of an engine, based on the cars speed
at the time.
Gears can sometimes be connected by belts or in other ways, but most are connected by teeth.
This arrangement provides some distinct advantages. First, as long as none of the teeth break,
there is no slippage between the gears, which would result in a loss of efficiency. They also
make it possible to design exact gear ratios. Even if the circumferences of the gears are slightly
imperfect, the teeth make it so that these imperfections dont matter. Since they exactly
synchronize the gears, they also give them an exact gear ratio.

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Gear Ratio - Examples

What does this mean? For every 3 rotations of the driving gear, the driven gear makes
one rotation.

What does this mean? For every 4 rotations of the driving gear, the driven gear makes 1
rotation.

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Working out RPMs (revolutions per

minute)
In the example shown, the DRIVER gear is larger than the DRIVEN gear. The general rule
is - large to small gear means 'multiply' the velocity ratio by the rpm of the first gear.
Divide 60 teeth by 30 teeth to find the velocity ratio(1:2). Multiply this number (2) by
the rpm (120). This gives an answer of 240rpm

In the example shown, the DRIVER gear is smaller than the DRIVEN gear. The general
rule is - small to large gear means 'divide' the velocity ratio(3:1) by the rpm of the first
gear. Divide 75 teeth by 25 teeth to find the velocity ratio. divide the 60rpm by the
velocity ration (3). The answer is 20rpm.

If A revolves at 100 revs/min what is B ?

(Remember small gear to large gear decreases revs)

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Is there an easier way?

You can also multiply the two gear ratios together to get the TOTAL gear
ratio. In the above figure we see that gear C will make TWO rotations for
every one rotation of gear A. And since gear C is smaller than gear A we
multiply.

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Compound Gear Ratios

When more than one pair of gears are used together, that is called a compound gear train. The
gear ratios for each individual gear pair are multiplied together to compute the
overall compound gear ratio for the gear train.

Let's look at an example. The gearbox on the

right has two pairs of gears. The first pair of
gears has an input gear with 8 teeth and an
output gear with 40 teeth. The gear ratio of this
gear pair is 40 to 8 or, by simplifying, 5 to 1.
The second pair of gears has an 8 tooth input
gear meshed with a 24 tooth output gear. The
gear ratio of this pair is 24 to 8 or, again
simplifying, 3 to 1. Notice that the 8 tooth gear
of the second gear pair is on the same axle as
the the 40 tooth gear of the first gear pair. The
output axle from the first gear pair becomes the
input axle for the second gear pair.

Let's compute the gear ratio for the entire compound gear train. This is the ratio between
the last output axle and the first input axle. To do this, we multiply the gear ratios of the
individual gear pairs.

The total gear ratio is 15 to 1. That means the input axle must make 15 revolutions for
the output axle to make 1.
You can combine as many gear pairs as you want in a compound gear train. There is no
limit. By combining gears you can make almost any gear ratio that you want!

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Compound Gear Ratios

When faced with three gears the question can be broken down into two parts. First
work on Gears A and B. When this has been solved work on gears B and C.

The diagram shows a gear train composed of three gears. Gear A revolves at 60
revs/min in a clockwise direction.
What is the output in revolutions per minute at Gear C?
In what direction does Gear C revolve ?
GEAR A
20 teeth

GEAR B

GEAR C

60 teeth

10 teeth

This means that for every THREE revolutions of GEAR A, Gear B travels once.
Since we are going from a SMALLER gear to a LARGER gear we DIVIDE the
Rpms.

This means for every ONE rotation of gear B, gear C makes SIX rotations.

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Example
Below is a question regarding 'compound gears'. Gears C and B represent a compound
gear as they appear 'fixed' together. When drawn with a compass they have the same
centre. Two gears 'fixed' together in this way rotate together and at the same RPM.
When answering a question like this split it into two parts. Treat gears A and B as one
question AND C and D as the second part.

What is the output in revs/min at D and what is the direction of rotation if Gear A
rotates in a clockwise direction at 30 revs/min?

Considering that Gear B is smaller than Gear A we can conclude that the RPMs for gear B
is 30*3 = 90 rev/min
Since Gear B is at 90rev/min and has the SAME rotational speed as gear C
Multiply by 4 to get Gear Ds speed. Thus, Gear D moves at 90*4 = 360 rev/min

Since Gear A moves at 30rpms and Gear D is SMALLER. We multiply by 12. 30*12 = 360
rev/min

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Gear and Gear Ratios 2010

Try this one

Gear A

Gear B

Gear C

Gear D

100T

25T

50T

150T

100 rpm
If Gear A turns CCW, then gear B turns CW along with gear C as they are a compound
gear. Therefore, Gear D rotates CCW.

Driven
25 1

1: 4
Driving 100 4
100 4 400rpm gear b
Driven 150 3

3 :1
Driving 50 1
400
133.3rpm gear D
3

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