Gear

fundamentals
 Rolling Cylinders
• Gear analysis is based on rolling cylinders
• External gears rotate in opposite directions
• Internal gears rotate in same direction
 Gear Types
• Internal and external gears
• Two gears together are called a gearset
 Involute Tooth Shape
• Shape of the gear tooth
is the involute curve.
• Shape you get by
unwrapping a string
from around a circle
• Allows the fundamental
law of gearing to be
followed even if center
distance is not
maintained
Meshing Action
 Contact Geometry
• Pressure angle (): angle between force and motion
 Fundamental Law of Gearing
• The common normal of the tooth profiles, at all
contact points within the mesh, must always pass
through a fixed point on the line of centers, called
the pitch point
 Backlash
• Backlash – the clearance between mating teeth
measured at the pitch circle
• Whenever torque changes sign, teeth will move
from one side of contact to another
• Can cause an error in position
• Backlash increases with increase in center
distance
• Can have anti-backlash gears (two gears, back
to back)
 Gear Tooth Nomenclature
• Circular Pitch, pc=d/N
• Diametral Pitch (in 1/inch), pd=N/d=/pc
• Module (in mm), m=d/N
 Interference and Undercutting
• Interference – If there are too few pinion teeth, then
the gear cannot turn
• Undercutting – part of the pinion tooth is removed
in the manufacturing process
For no
undercutting
 Min #
(deg) teeth
14.5 32
20 18
25 12
 Gear Types
• Spur Gears
• Helical Gears (open or crossed)
• Herringbone Gears
• Worm Gears
• Rack and Pinion
• Bevel Gears
 Spur Gears
• Straight teeth
• Noisy since all of the
tooth contacts at one
time
• Low Cost
• High efficiency (98-
99%)
 Helical Gears
• Slanted teeth to smooth contact
• Axis can be parallel or crossed
• Has a thrust force
• Efficiency of 96-98% for parallel
and 50-90% for crossed
Crossed Helical Gears
 Herringbone Gears
• Eliminate the thrust force
• 95% efficient
• Very expensive
 Rack and Pinion
• Generates linear motion
• Teeth are straight (one way to cut a involute form)
 Worm Gears
• Worm gear has one or two teeth
• High gear ratio
• Impossible to back drive
• 40-85%
efficient
 Bevel Gears
• Based on rolling cones
• Need to share a common
tip
 Other Gear Types
• Noncircular gears – give a
different velocity ratio at
different angles
• Synchronous belts and
sprockets – like pulleys
(98% efficient)
GEAR-TEETH TERMS
MESHING OF GEAR TEETH
WORKING DRAWING OF A SPUR GEAR
BEVEL GEAR
NOMENCLATURE
WORKING DRAWING
OF A BEVEL GEAR
BEVEL GEAR ASSEMBLY
WORM GEARS AND WORMS
WORKING DRAWING OF A WORM AND WORM GEAR
 Simple Gear Trains
N 2 N3 N 4 N5
ωout  ωin
N3 N 4 N5 N6
N2
 ωin
N6
• Maximum gear ratio of 1:10 based on
size constraints
• Gear ratios cancel each other out
• Useful for changing direction
• Could change direction with belt
 Compound Gear Trains
• More than 1 gear on a shaft
  N 2   N 4 
• Allows for larger ωout    ωin
gear train ratios  N 3  N 5 
 Compound Train Design
ωin  N 2  N 4 
2 ωin     ωout
 N 3  N 5  2
 N2 
If N2=N4 and N3=N5 ωin    ωout
3 4  N3 
2
ωin  N 3 
Reduction ratio
ωout  
ωout  N 2 
5
Will be used to determine the no. of
stages given a reduction ratio
2 stages
 Compound Train Design
• Design train with gear ratio of 180:1
• Two stages have ratio 180  13.4164
too large
 N3  3
• Three stages has ratio 180  5.646
3
   180  5.646
 N2 
• At 14 teeth
Pinion Teeth * ratio Gear teeth
actual ratio is
3 12 5.646 67.7546
 79 
   179.6789
 14  13 5.646 73.4008
• OK for power
14 5.646 79.0470
transmission;
not for phasing
15 5.646 84.6932
16 5.646 90.3395
Compound Train Design: Exact RR
• Factor desired ratio:
180=22x32x5
• Want to keep each ratio
about the same (i.e.
6x6x5)
• 14x6=84
• 14x5=70
• Total ratio
2 We could have used:
 70  84  180=2x90=2x2x45=2x2x5x9=4x5x9
    180 or 4.5x6x(20/3) etc.
 14  14 
Manual Transmission
Manual Synchromesh Transmission
Based on reverted compound gears
 Reverted Compound
Train
• Input and output shafts
are aligned
• For reverted gear trains:
R2+R3=R4+R5
Commercial three stage
D2+D3=D4+D5 reverted compound train
N2+N3=N4+N5
• Gear ratio is
ωout N 2 N 4

ωin N3 N5
Design a reverted compound gear train
for a gear ratio of 18:1
 N 3  N 5 
18=3x6 N3=6N2, N5=3N4     18
N2+N3=N4+N5=constant  N 2  N 4 
 N3   N5 
N2+6N2=N4+3N4=C
 6  N 3
7N2=4N4=C  N2   4
 Take C=28, then N2=4, N4=7
 This is too small for a
gear! Choose
C=28x4=112 (say)
• N2=16, N3=96,
• N =28, N =84
 Planetary or Epicyclic Gears
• Conventional gearset has one DOF
• If you remove the ground at gear 3, it has two DOF
• It is difficult to access 3
Planetary Gearset Planetary Gearset
with Fixed Ring with Fixed Arm
 Planetary Gearset with Ring Gear
Output
• Two inputs (sun and arm) and one output (ring)
all on concentric shafts
 Example
Given:
Sun gear N2=40 teeth
Planet gear N3=20 teeth
Ring gear N4=80 teeth
arm=200 rpm clockwise
sun=100 rpm clockwise

Required:
Ring gear velocity ring
Gear Materials

Common Gear Materials. Gears can be made of

all sorts of materials, including many types
of steel, brass, bronze, cast
iron, ductile iron, aluminum, powderedmetals,
and plastics. Steel is the most common material
overall