MACHINE ELEMENTS IN

MECHANICAL DESIGN
Chapter 9:
Spur Gears Design

1
The AGMA has developed a set of allowable bending stress numbers, called St which
are compared to computed bending stress levels in the tooth to rate the acceptability
of a design.

The AGMA has developed a set of allowable contact stress numbers, called Sac which are
compared to computed contact stress levels in the tooth to rate the acceptability of a design
 – Bending stress

Wt Pd
st  Ko K s Km K B Kv
FJ
where Ko = overload factor for bending strength
Ks = size factor for bending strength
Km = load distribution factor for bending strength
KB = rim thickness factor
Kv = dynamic factor for bending strength
J = geometry factor  Selection of gear material based on
bending stress
 Necessary to keep bending stress <
allowable stress.
 Valid only if temperature < 121.1°C,

 107 cycles of tooth loading,

 Reliability of 99%
 safety factor of 1.00.
3
4
5
6
 Stress-Cycle Factor YN

Shigley’s Mechanical
Engineering Design
12
14
17
19
24
 Stress-Cycle Factor YN

Shigley’s Mechanical
Engineering Design
32
35
36
37
42
43
44
45
 Quick review:

Bending Stress No:

Required
Allowable Bending
Stress No:

Contact Stress No:

Required
Allowable Contact
Stress No:
47
49
62
63
 Stress-Cycle Factor YN

Shigley’s Mechanical
Engineering Design
70
 4. Design of Spur Gears
• Overall objectives:
– Be compact and small
– Operate smoothly and quietly
– Long life
– Low cost
– Easy to manufacture
– Be compatible with other elements in the
machines.

81
• General guideline:
– Identify input speed of pinion and the
desired output.
– Choose the type of material.
– Specify the overload factor.
– Specify a trial value for the diametral pitch.
– Specify face width
– Compute/ specify the factors needed to
determine the bending stress and contact
stress.
– Iterate design process to seek for more
optimal designs.
82
 Lecture Steps:
1. Quick review, gear geometry (Chapter 8)
2. Transmitted loads (overhead)

3. Review bending stress, bending stress number,

St, allowable bending stress number, Sat and
adjusted allowable bending stress number, S’at.
4. Review contact stress number, Sc, allowable
contact stress number, Sac and adjusted
allowable contact stress number S’ac.
5. Overview gear design steps.
6. Example(s) gear design!! handout
 Quick review:

Bending Stress No:

Required
Allowable Bending
Stress No:

Contact Stress No:

Required
Allowable Contact
Stress No:
 Steps for Gear Drive Design:
1. From design requirements, identify speed of pinion, nP,
desired output speed of gear, nG, and power to be
transmitted, P.
2. Choose type of material for the gears (steel, cast iron,
bronze, etc.)
3. Determine overload factor, Ko, using table 9-5
4. Calculated Pdes = KoP and calculate a trial value for the
diametral pitch, Pd (for steel use Figure 9-27). Note
diametral pitch must be a standard size (see Table 8-2).
– Note, as Pd decreases, tooth size increases thus bringing down
St and Sc. But….. As Pd increases, # teeth increases and gear
train runs smoother and quiter and the drive gets smaller as
well!
 Steps for Gear Drive Design:
6. Specify Np and NG to meet VR requirement. Calculate center
distance, D, OD to make sure there aren’t any interference issues.
7. Specify face width using recommended range: 8/Pd < F < 16/Pd.
– Remember, increasing face width reduces St and Sc but consider
alignment factor. Face width is normally less than 2X Dp.
7. Compute transmitted load, Wt, pitch line speed, vt, quality
number, Qv, and other factors required for calculating bending
stress and contact stress.
8. Calculate St and required Sat. Does material in 2 meet Sat #? No
– then select new material or define new geometry (step 4). If
yes, continue to 9.
9. Calculate Sc and required Sac. Does material in 2 meet Sac? No –
then select new material to meet Sac and Sat or define new
geometry (step 4). If yes, continue to 10.
10. Summarize design
Problem # 9.61
A gear pair is to be a part of the drive for a milling machine requiring 20 hp with
the pinion speed at 550 rpm and the gear speed to be between 180 and 190 rpm.

Given: Find:
Driven = Milling Machine Compact Gear Design
Power = 20 hp
Pinion Speed = 550 rpm
Output Speed = 180 -190 rpm ≈ 185 rpm
Continuous Use = 30,000 hours
Solution:

Design Power:
Assume: Light Shock Driver and Moderate Shock Driven
Ko = 1.75 (Table 9-5, page 389)

PDesign = (Ko)(PInput)
= (1.75)(20hp)
= 35hp
Trial Size
Pick Sizes

Pd = 5 T/in
Dp = 4.80 in
DG = 14.2 in
Np = 24 teeth
NG = 71 teeth

Check physical size!!

Center Distance

Pitch Line Speed

Tangential Load

Note: Use Input Power Here as Ko is applied Later!

Face Width
Assumptions:
Design Decisions
More precision, higher quality number!
Quality Number, Qv = 6 (Table 9-2, Page 378)
Steel Pinion
Cp = 2300 (Table 9-9, Page 400)
Steel Gear

Softer material, more relative

deformation, therefore contact area
increases and stress decreases
Geometry Factors

Pinion: JP = .36
Gear: JG = .415
Figure 9-17,
Page 387
Geometry Factors Cont…

Page 402

I = .108
Load Distribution Factor
Equation 9-16, Page 390; Equation is solved on next slide
Page
Load Distribution Factor Cont…

Size Factor Page 389

ks = 1.0 since Pd ≥ 5
Rim Thickness Factor
Page

For this problem, specify a solid gear blank KB = 1.00

KB = 1.00 for mB = 1.2 or larger
 Rim-Thickness Factor KB
• Accounts for bending of rim on a gear that is not
solid

Fig. 14–16
Shigley’s Mechanical
Engineering Design
Rim Thickness Factor Cont…

We are assuming a solid gear blank for this problem, but if not then use:
Min Rim Thickness = (1.2)(.45 in) = .54 in

Min back-up ratio

Safety Factor
SF = 1.25 (Mid-Range)

Hardness Ratio
CH =1.00 for early trials until materials have been specified. Then adjust CH if significant
differences exist in the hardness of the pinion and the gear.

Reliability Page 396

KR = 1.5 (for 1 in 10,000 failures)
Dynamic Factor Kv
Page 393
Dynamic Factor Cont… Kv

Qv comes from Figure 9-21

Kv can be calculated like in above equations or taken from Figure 9-21.

Equations are more accurate.
Design Life
Ncp = (60)(L)(n)(q)
L = 30,000 hours from Table 9-7
n = 550 rpm
q = 1 contacts

Ncp = (60)(30,000 hours)(550 rpm)(1 contact) = 9.9x108 cycles

NcG = (60)(30,000 hours)( 185.92 rpm)(1 contact) = 3.34656x108 cycles

 Stress-Cycle Factor YN

Fig. 14–14
Shigley’s Mechanical
Engineering Design
Stress Cycle Factors

Page 395
Stress Cycle Factors Cont…

Page 403
Bending Stress Numbers
Pinion:

Gear:
Required Bending Stress Allowable:
Contact Stress Number
Required Contact Stress Allowable:
Pinion:

Gear:
Hardness Numbers BENDING (Grade 1)
Page 379

Pinion Bending
Satp = 34,324.5 psi = HB 270

Gear Bending
These stresses are OK
SatG = 28,741.9 psi = HB 215
Go to appendix A3 or A4 and spec out material that meets this hardness requirement! Example AISI 1040,
Temper at 900 F
Summary of Problem

Contact stresses are too High. Must iterate until stress are low enough until
a usable material can be found.

NOTE: Contact Stress generally controls. If material cannot be found for bending,
contact stress is too high!

Iterate! Decrease Pd and increase F

Excel is a GREAT tool to use for these Iterations.

This problem solved after third iteration using Excel
 Guidelines for Adjustments in
Successive Iterations.
1. Decreasing the numerical value of the diametral pitch results in larger teeth and
generally lower stresses. Also, the lower value of the pitch usually means a
larger face width, which decreases stress and increases surface durability.
2. Increase the diameter of the pinion decreases the transmitted load, generally
lowers the stresses and improves surface durability.
3. Increase the face width lowers the stress and improves surface durability but less
impact than either the pitch or pitch diameter.
4. Gears with more and smaller teeth tend to run more smoothly and quietly than
gears with fewer and larger teeth.
5. Standard values of diametral pitch should be used for ease of manufacture and
lower cost (See table 8-2).
6. Use high alloy steels with high surface hardness – results in the most compact
system but the cost is higher.
7. Use gears with high quality number, Qv – adds cost but lowers load distribution
factor, Km.
8. The number of teeth in the pinion should be as small as possible to make the
system compact. But the possibility of interference is greater with fewer teeth.
Check Table 8-6 to ensure no interference will occur.
 AGMA Strengths
• AGMA uses allowable stress numbers rather than strengths.
• We will refer to them as strengths for consistency within the
textbook.
• The gear strength values are only for use with the AGMA stress
values, and should not be compared with other true material
strengths.
• Representative values of typically available bending strengths are
given in Table 14–3 for steel gears and Table 14–4 for iron and
bronze gears.
• Figs. 14–2, 14–3, and 14–4 are used as indicated in the tables.
• Tables assume repeatedly applied loads at 107 cycles and 0.99
reliability.

Shigley’s Mechanical
Engineering Design
 Surface Condition Factor Cf (ZR)
• To account for detrimental surface finish
• No values currently given by AGMA
• Use value of 1 for normal commercial gears

Shigley’s Mechanical
Engineering Design
 Size Factor Ks
• Accounts for fatigue size effect, and non-uniformity of material
properties for large sizes
• AGMA has not established size factors
• Use 1 for normal gear sizes
• Could apply fatigue size factor method from Ch. 6, where this size
factor is the reciprocal of the Marin size factor kb. Applying known
geometry information for the gear tooth,

Shigley’s Mechanical
Engineering Design
 Load-Distribution Factor Km (KH)
• Accounts for non-uniform distribution of load
across the line of contact
• Depends on mounting and face width
• Load-distribution factor is currently only defined
for
– Face width to pinion pitch diameter ratio F/d ≤ 2
– Gears mounted between bearings
– Face widths up to 40 in
– Contact across the full width of the narrowest
member
Shigley’s Mechanical
Engineering Design
 Surface Condition Factor Cf (ZR)
• To account for detrimental surface finish
• No values currently given by AGMA
• Use value of 1 for normal commercial gears

Shigley’s Mechanical
Engineering Design
 Load-Distribution Factor Km (KH)
• Accounts for non-uniform distribution of load
across the line of contact
• Depends on mounting and face width
• Load-distribution factor is currently only defined
for
– Face width to pinion pitch diameter ratio F/d ≤ 2
– Gears mounted between bearings
– Face widths up to 40 in
– Contact across the full width of the narrowest
member
Shigley’s Mechanical
Engineering Design
 Comparison of Factors of Safety
• Bending stress is linear with transmitted load.
• Contact stress is not linear with transmitted load
• To compare the factors of safety between the
different failure modes, to determine which is
critical,
– Compare SF with SH2 for linear or helical contact
– Compare SF with SH3 for spherical contact

Shigley’s Mechanical
Engineering Design
 Lecture Steps:
1. Quick review, gear geometry (Chapter 8)
2. Transmitted loads (overhead)

3. Review bending stress, bending stress number,

St, allowable bending stress number, Sat and
adjusted allowable bending stress number, S’at.
4. Review contact stress number, Sc, allowable
contact stress number, Sac and adjusted
allowable contact stress number S’ac.
5. Overview gear design steps.
6. Example(s) gear design!! handout
 Steps for Gear Drive Design:
1. From design requirements, identify speed of pinion, nP,
desired output speed of gear, nG, and power to be
transmitted, P.
2. Choose type of material for the gears (steel, cast iron,
bronze, etc.)
3. Determine overload factor, Ko, using table 9-5
4. Calculated Pdes = KoP and calculate a trial value for the
diametral pitch, Pd (for steel use Figure 9-27). Note
diametral pitch must be a standard size (see Table 8-2).
– Note, as Pd decreases, tooth size increases thus bringing down
St and Sc. But….. As Pd increases, # teeth increases and gear
train runs smoother and quiter and the drive gets smaller as
well!
 Steps for Gear Drive Design:
6. Specify Np and NG to meet VR requirement. Calculate center
distance, D, OD to make sure there aren’t any interference issues.
7. Specify face width using recommended range: 8/Pd < F < 16/Pd.
– Remember, increasing face width reduces St and Sc but consider
alignment factor. Face width is normally less than 2X Dp.
7. Compute transmitted load, Wt, pitch line speed, vt, quality
number, Qv, and other factors required for calculating bending
stress and contact stress.
8. Calculate St and required Sat. Does material in 2 meet Sat #? No
– then select new material or define new geometry (step 4). If
yes, continue to 9.
9. Calculate Sc and required Sac. Does material in 2 meet Sac? No –
then select new material to meet Sac and Sat or define new
geometry (step 4). If yes, continue to 10.
10. Summarize design
 1. Gear Manufacture
• Small gears
– frequently made from wrought plate and bar.
– Dimensions are machined to precision.

• Large gears
– Frequently fabricated from components.

144
• Gear teeth
– Machined by various methods.
– Most popular methods –
• Form milling: mainly used for large gears. A milling
cutter that has the shape of the tooth space is used.
• Shaping: usually used for internal gears. Cutter used
reciprocates on a vertical spindle.
• Hobbing: similar process to milling except that both
the workpiece and the cutter rotate in a coordinated
manner.

Milling cutter Shaping for small gears Hobbing

145
• Gear quality
– Composite variation: allowable amounts of
variations of the actual tooth form from the
actual tooth form
– Specified by AGMA as quality numbers.
– Quality numbers range from 5 to 15 with
increasing precision.
Above: Schematic diagram of a
typical gear rolling fixture

Right: Chart of gear-tooth errors

of a typical gear when run with a
specific gear in a rolling fixture.
151
– Table below shows the tolerance of
composite variation

152
• Recommended quality numbers by
AGMA.

153
 2. Materials Used
• Main consideration when selecting materials:
1. Producibility of the gear
2. Strength and pitting resistance
3. Weight
4. Appearance
5. Corrosion resistance
6. Noise
7. Cost

154
• Steel gear material:
– Through-hardened steels
– Case-hardened steels
• Flame hardened/ induction hardening
• Carburizing
• Nitriding
• Iron and bronze gear materials
– Cast irons
– Bronze
• Phosphor or tin, manganese bronze, aluminum bronze,
silicon bronze.

155