- -

BACK TO BASICS ...

Curvic Coupling Design

Gleason. Works
Rochester, New York

ing a convex, or barrel-shaped tooth. The radius of the cut-

ter or the grinding wheel surface is chosen in such a way that
the teeth willeil'her mate along the full face width of the tooth
GRfND(NG WHEEl or along only a section of the face width, as desired.
The three basic types of Curvic Couplings are (I) the fixed
Curvic Coupling, (2) the Semi-Universal Coupling, and (3)
the Releasing Coupling (or dutch), The coupling provides a
positive drive along with precision centering and high load
carrying capacity.

Fixed Curvic Couplings

The fixed Curvic Coupling is a precision face spline for
/ joining two members, such as two sections of a shaft, to form
CONCAVE TEETH a single operating unit.
The fixed Curvic Coupling is used extensively in the con-
struction of built-up turbine and compressor rotors for air-

FIg, 1 - L ft. a cross-section view taken perpendicular to the axis of a con-

cave Curnc Coupling. RighI, the mating convex Cwvic Coupling. Noll' the
curved teeth,

Intwducti.on.
Curvic Couplings were first introduced in 1942 to meet the
need for permanent couplings and releasing couplings
(clutches), requiring extreme accuracy and maximum load
carrying capacity, together with a fast rate of production.
The development of the Curvic Coupling sterns directly
from the manufacture of Zerol" and spiral bevel gears
since it is made on basically similar machines and also
uses similar production methods. The Curvie Coupl-
ing can therefore lay claim to the same production
advantages and high precision associated with bevel gears.
The term "Curvic Couplings" refers to toothed ccnnection
members with the teeth spaced circumlerentially about the
face and with teeth which have a characteristic curved shape
when viewed in a place perpendicular to the coupling axis
(see Fig. 1.). This curvatureexists because the membersare
machined with at face-mill cutter or at cup-type grinding wheel.
One member is made with the outside edge of the cutter or
wheel as shown at the left of the 6gure,a_nd a concave, or
an hour glass shaped tooth is produced. The mating member Fig. 2 - A compressor rotor assembly [or an aircraft jet engine, The Fixed
Curvic Coupling is used to accu1ately position the separate interchangeable
is usuaJly cut or ground with the inside edge, thus produc- discs.

34 Gear Technoloc,y
craft and industrial gas 0: steam turbine ,engines as shown 1"\1. J- A turbine rotor assembly for a stationary gas 'turbine. Note the Fi.xed
in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. Figs. Sand 6 'show a method of joinLng Curvic CouplJ.ng teeth between 'each disc.
a turbine impeller ora. bevel gear to a shaft, Crankshafts can
be made of sepa:rate, interchangeable parts by means of a
e,oupling as shown in Fig. 7.
The Fixed Curvic Coupling is also used' today by many
major machine tool manufacturers for precision in-
dexing mechanisms as illustrated in !Figs. 8 and 9.

Semi-Universal Couplings
The Semi-Universal Coupling is also a precision
face spline loosely coupled to permit up to 20
misalignment of shafts together with axial free-
dom. The teeth of one member usually have
a curved profile to keepthe load localized
in the middle of the tooth and to 'transmit
more nearly uniform motion.
Fig. 101 Illustrates an application of semi.-
universal couplings and shows the typical tooth
shape.

Re:Jeasing Couplings (Clutches)1

The Releasing Couplings are designed and made so
that the proper 'tooth contact is maintained while the dutch
engages and disengages. ]n the larger sizes, a helical surface
is used to accomplish this. On small clutches, this action is

approximated by a special locallzed tooth bearing. The two

members of a. shift or overload clutch are usually held
in position by spring pressure. By adjusting the amount
of pressure, the amount of torque which can be
transmitted without disengagement of the dutch
can be controlled. Shift clutches are used today
in a wide variety of applications iincluding
aircraft,. automotive, farm equipment and
power tools,
The app]ica'Hon shown in Fig. 11 can be
produced by cutting or grinding, depending
on accuracy required.

Design f;eatures
The basic geometry of th Curvic Coupling
has been given in Fig. 1. The grinding wheel
sweeps across the fa.ce of th coupling con'tacting
one side of one tooth and the opposite side of another
tooth in a single engagement. During one complete
revolution of the work, the machining of the Curvic
Coupling is completed,
The radius of the grinding wheel, th number of teeth, and
the diameter of the Curvie Coupling are all interdependent
as shown in fig. 12.

November/December 1986 35
 Fig. 6-Curvic Couplings are used Itoenable separate manufacture of bevel
gear and long shaft.

:Fig.4-A stationary gas turbine rotor showing the through bolts used for
clamping the F.~ed Curvic Coupling members together ...

Fig. 7-A secnon of a crankshaft showing the Fixed Curvi.c Coupling.

Crankpins, crankwebs and [oumals were made separately for ease of manufac-
tureand handling.

The basic relationship is as follows:

n, = number of half pitches included between two
engagements of grinding wheel.
N = number of teeth in Curvic Coupling.
r =radius of grinding wheel,
A = mean radius of Cu_rvic Coupling,
th R_90oXnx
en /.1- N
and r =A tan f3.
The radius of the grinding wheel can be changed by chang-
Fig. 5 - A Fixed Curvic Coupling used in assembling a turbine impeller and
ing nx as wen as by changing N and A. The diameter of the
shaft. grinding wheels used varies between nomina1 values of 6'

36 Gear Technology
 Fig. a, and 9 - The precision accuracy of Fixed Curvic Couplings permits the precise
indexing and repeatability required on this horizontal turret lathe
(Fig. 8) and vertical turret lathe (Fig. 9).

and 21'. The maximum Curvic Coupling diameter produced coupling, it is usually necessary that the blank design con-
is 50' and the smallest diameter is 0.375. tai.n no projections beyond the root line of the teeth. For
Curvic Coupling teeth can be produced with a wide range proper clearance, the nearest projection should be at least 1/32
of pressure angles to suit the application. below the root line.
A view of ground Fixed Curvic Coupling teeth at the out- In designing a Fixed Curvic Coupling it is essential to con-
side diameter is shown in Fig. 13. The chamfer on the top sider the method of bolting or clamping the two members.
of the teeth is automatically ground as the tooth slot is being The tension in the bolt or bolts must be sufficient to keep
ground. The chamfer permits a larger fillet radius to be used, the coupling teeth in full engagement under all conditions of
thus strengthening the 'teeth. Also shown is the characteristic operation . Furthermore, the bolts must have clearance
gable bottom which eliminates any possibility of forming a throughout their entire length so that centering is accom-
stress-raising step in the root of the tooth ..Fig. 14 shows the plished only by the Fixed Curvic Coupling teeth.
tooth configuration of a typical Curvic Coupling. In selecting the required coupling size, three items deter-
As can be seen in Figs. 1and 12, the space between two mine the load which the coupling teeth will carry. The teeth
adjacent Curvic teeth is ground at two different locations on must (1) be strong enough so they will not shear, (2) have
the wheel to obtain the proper taper of the tooth toward the sufficient surface area to prevent pitting, galling, and fret-
wupIing center. The grinding wheel then must be wide ting corrosion, and (3) be supported by adequate material
enough to cover at least half of the tooth space width at the to withstand tension across the root of the tooth space.
outside diameter and still be narrow enough to pass through The shear strength is dependent upon the cross-sectional
the space at the inside. area. of an the teeth . Since there is no backlash in a Fixed
To do this ,the inside diameter of the coupling must be Curvic Coupling.the teeth are in intimate contact so that half
equal to, or greater than, 75% of the outside diameter. of the metal is ordinarily removed in both members,
Another design feature of Fixed Curvic Couplings permits regardless of the number of teeth. or their depth. With this
localization of the tooth contact area, The tooth contact for condition, the torque load is carried over a shear area ap-
most applications should be centrally located and the length proximately half as large as in a one-piece hollow shaft.
of contact should be approximately 50% of the face width The allowable surface loading will depend on the contact
when checked with the mating control coupling under light area of the coupling teeth. Standard tooth proportions are
pressure. The type of application and method of bolting deter- used to maintain a constant area for a given coupling diameter
mine the tooth bearing length which should be used. Under regardless of the number of teeth. This area. is sufficient to
pressure of the bolting load the tooth bearing area will in- carry a load corresponding to the safe load in shear, and the
crease, thus insuring a uniform distribution of contact over proportions are varied only in special cases.
the entire tooth surface. The third factor affecting the load carrying ability of the
Because the grinding wheel sweeps across the face of the coupling is related to the bolt tension. Tension in the bolt

38 Gear Techno'iogy
 disengaged only while standing still, use the Craph 1. Graphs.
Hg..lO-A Cwvic Coupling ,oFthe semi-universal 'type is employi al both 2 and 3 aile based on the use ,of case-hardening steel at 60 1

ends of this int'l!nnediale drive wft. Rockwell "C".

The maximum torque value during operation should be
used in the above determination. ]I, however, there is a peak
st3J'ting torque or other peak overload torque which occur
very infrequently during the life of the unit and does not ex-
ceed 5 seconds durarion at any one tim this peak value
should be divided in half and compared with the maximum
opera'tLn-8torque. The higher o.f these two values should be
used to d.eterminecoupling size.

FiB. ll-.A shjfl dutch for a trod application. The 'tops of the teeth have
gl>.flefaled belica\ surfaC!\!S.

forces the coupling members together causing a wedging ef-

.fed between the mating teeth. This wedging dfect creates a
tensile stress!n. the blank under the tooth space. An increased
amount of backLng material, will decrease this stress within
limits.

Design Proeedwe
After considering the type of Curv:ic Coupling required to
meet the needs of a given application, it is possible to deter-
mine the approximate SW! which is necessary to transmit a
specified load.
For initial size determination on fixed Curvi.c Couplings
either Graph 1 or the following formUla can be used:

T wbere D = coupling diameter, (inches)

D,..- ~ -uno T -'torque' (Ib'-inches)

Thisassumes that the face length is .125 times the coupl-

ing diameter or .875", whichever Is smaller, and a material
with an Ultimate strength of 150,000 P.S.l. is employed.
Graph 2; applies to Serai-Universal CUMC Coupling~ and
Graph 3 covers shift and everload clutches which engage or
disengage under load. For a shift clutch which is engaged or CIRCLE A-13 ON READER R,EPLYCARD

November/December 1986, 39
 Curvic Coupling Design
Having chosen the ininal size of the Curvic coupling, it
is necessary to determine the number of teeth and the face
width. Pressure angle and whole depth will be considered in
later sections. When using standard tooth proportions, the
surface contact area of the Curvic teeth will remain constant
for a given coupling diameter, regardless of the number of
t,eeth. Also, the shear area remains substantially constant for
a given coupling diameter, regardless of the number of teeth.
Couplings are usually designed with a diametral pitch rang-
ing from 3 to 8. Graph 4 shows a recommended range for
diametral pitch in relation to outside diameter. This curve
is intended only asa guide, and the designer may depart from
it if special requirements exist. Diametral pitch is taken at
the outside diameter and, therefore, the number of teeth
equals the diametral pitch multiplied by the outside diameter
of the coupling.
The face width of the Curvic coupling is the radial distance
between the outside and inside radii of the coupling. It is
almostdireetly proportional to the stress when the outside
diameter is held constant. Often, the configuration of the
assembly or weight considerations will dictate the face width
to be used. The face width is generally .125 of the outside
diameter of the coupling in order to produce the Curvic
coupling with proper tooth taper.

Curvic: DesiWl
The initial. Curvic Coupling dimensions which have been
chosen in the preceding section should now be cheeked us-
ing the stress formulas for this particular type of coupling,
It is first necessary, however, to list the standard tooth pro-
portions for Fixed Curvic Couplings. Fig. IS shows a cross-
section view of the teethat the outside diameter and is the
standard fonn for a Fixed Curvic Layout. It shows the sym-
bols used for the various tooth dimensions. Standard depth
proportions are recommended for all heav:ily loaded applica-
Fig. 14- The Itooth configuration of the Fixed Curvic Coupling is dearly
tions, The 70% of standard tooth proportionsare usuaUy shown on this marine radar part.
satisfactory where less surface 'contact area is acceptable for
the lighter loads.

Fig. ]J - Fixed Curvk Coupling teeth viewed at the outside diameter, Note
the gable bottom.

GABLE BonoM

40, Gear Techno'log-y

 c =clearance
Ct = chamfer height
ht= whole depth
a =addendum
b =dedendum
A pressure angle of .30 has been found to be most prac-
tical for most Fixed Curvic Couplings and is the standard.
This pressure angle is the best compromise between a low
pressure angle, with its corresponding light separating force,
and a high pressure angle with its gr'eater strength, Also, the
axial and radIal runout of the Curviccoupling can be held
more accurately at higher pressure angles, such as 300, since
the tooth spacing accuracy is constant for all pressure angles,
and the axial component ofa given spacing error decreases
as pressure angle increases.
If special design conditions require i't, the pressure angle
for a Fixed Curvic Coupling can be as low as 100 or as high
as 400 The strength formulas given are applied to pressure
angles between 200 and 40. For lower pressure angles, in-
crease the calculated stress up to 25%.
For pressure angles 20 and lower, 'the amount of clearance'
should be doubled.
The fillet. radius, the tooth thickness and the height of the
gable bottom (see Figs. 13 and. 15) are calculated on the
worksheets for machine settings.
A calculation for shear stress and for surface stress should

DEBU'RR,S GEAR'S
FAST

Standard Tooth Alternate Tooth

Proportions Proportions

N/D N/D
800 ..616
Pd Pd
c .100
Pd
.Q9()
.070
Pd
.063
* SET-UPS
TAKE
Pd SECONDS
*
Pd

The final values shou1d be rounded to the next higher even INTERNAL-EXTERNAl.
thousandth. SPUR & HElI'CAL GEARS
Pd = diametral pitch at the outside diameter. TO 20 INCHES DIAMETER
h -c
a =_t_ 11707 McBean Drive, EI Monte, CA 91732
2 1818) 442-2898
b =ht-a
D=coupling outside diameter CIRCLE A-28, ON READER REPLY CARD

November /Deeem/:)er 1,98641

 FIXED CURVlC COUPLING
__ . TEETH
__ PRESSURE ANGLE

CONVEX TEETH
(MATE CONCAVE)

VIEW AT OUTSIDE

fig, 1'5 - Fixed Curvic Coupling.

be made according to the following formulas:

tinuous operation at higher stresses is likely to. result in tooth
Shear stress ss= Tl_ breakage or surface distresson the Curvic teeth.
1!'A F The allowable limits listed above are based on the use of
T steel with an ultimate tensile strength of 150,00 psi. minimum
Surface stress sc=-"';;"'-
AfN ho at operating temperatures. For steel with a lower ultimate
T = torque, lbs, inches strength and for other materials such as aluminum, titanium,
where
D-F and various heat-resistant alloys, the allowable limits should
A=mean radius ofcoupling, inches=--
2 be altered in direct proportions to the ultimate strength values
at operating temperature,
F= face-width, inches
A pair of Fixed Curvic Couplings must be tightly clamped
N= number of teeth together in assembly so that the teeth are in actual contact
ho = contact depth, inches = (ht - C- 2ct) under all conditions of operation. This damping action is
usually provided by a single through bolt or multiple bolts.
However, other means such as a special damp can be used
The recommended allowable limit for shear stress is 15,000 provided the above condition is met. It is importaru that the
psi. when there is combined torsion and bending. The recom- clamping arrangement and clamping force be carefuUy
mended allowable limit for shear stress is 30,000 psi. when chosen, The bolt or bolts should have clearance throughout
there is pure torsion and no bending. The recommended their entire length so that centering is accomplished only by
allowable limit for surface stress is 40,000 psi. for all applica- the Fixed Curvic Coupling teeth.
tions. These limits are suitable for continue us operation. The damping force should be at least one and one-half to
Higher stresses may be permissible for very short periods two times the sum of all the separating forces acting on the
which occur only infrequently during the .Iifeof the unit. Con- Curviccoupling teeth. These separating forces usually .incluae

42 Gear Technology
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CIRCLE 14.9 ON REA'OER ,REPLY CARD

 moment occurs only at one point on the periphery of the Cur-
vic coupling. The value of separating force drops off on either
side of this point in proportion to the distance from the
neutral axis. It is assumed that the coupling represents the
CURVIC SHIFT CLUTCH cross-section of a beam with the neutralaxfs at the axis of
_ TEETH the eoupllag. The neutral axis may actually be nearer the
0- PRESSVRE ANGLE
coupling periphery, but the above choice gives a higher
separating Fotee and, thus, a more conservative design ap-
proach. After the clamping force is chosen to' meet these con-
ditions, the resulting surface stress on the Curvic coupling
teeth should be calculated according to the following formula:

S ={_1 Fc + T)I
tI: \NFh" 2 ran f./J A
where src=equivalent surface stress, drive side, psi
N= number of teeth
F=face width. inches
CONVEX TEETH
IMATE CONCAVE)
ho = contact depth, inches
Fo=clamping force, Ibs.
T = torque, lbs. inches
cp = pressure angle
A = mean radius of coupling. inches
This calculated surface equivalent stress should not exceed
the compressive yield strength at the operating temperature
of the material being used.
As with any design consideration. it is important that 'the
VIEW AT OUTSIDE
calculated clamping force be applied to the actual assembly.
Where multiple bolts are used. they should all be elongated
by the same amount within 1%. T a assist the shop in main-
taining these values. it is helpful. for the designer to provide
a convenient means for measuring or ga:gingthe final bolt
lengths at assembly. The use of a hollow bolt facilitates
Fig. 16 - Curvic Shift Clutch,
assembly by allowing a heating eleme.nt to be inserted to
elongate the bolt a p:redeterminedamount. The nut is then
(1) the separating. force produced by the action of the torque
tightened by hand and, after cooling, the required amount
on the Curvic teelh. '(2) the separating force produced by any
of tension is obtained.
bending moment on the assembly, and (3}other separating
When the bolts must pass throughthe region of the CUJ-
forces, such as those produced by gas pressure, thrust loads,
victeeth, i.t is possible to use a split-face Curvic, This type
or other external operating characteristics.
of coupling has an inner and outer row of teeth separated
The separating force produced by torque is found as
by a groove for the bolt holes. The same stress formulas are
follows, neglecting the effect of friction:
used, with the sum of the two sections of face width inserted
T ,. .J. for the face width value.
F- t=- A.-.an'l'
R.otor Design
where FI = separating force caused by torque
Turbine and compressor rotors make up the largest pro-
T =torque
portions of Fixed Curvic Coupling applications at present,
A =rnean radius 0. couplillg Typical construction with multiple damping bolts is shown
c/)= pressure angle in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. GeneraJ]y. mul.tiple damping bolts are
perferred for rotors where the coupling outside diameter is
The maximum separating force produced by a bending mo- greater than 10 inches. Satisfactory rotors have been built
ment acti:ng:on the coupling. assembly is witha. single through bolt . but this requires a heavier sec-
tion in the end member to transfer the damping force from
F = SDM the region of the bolt to the region of the Curvi.c coupling.
2 (D_F)2
Also'. a single bolt tends to be affected by bending moments
where M = bending moment, inch Ibs .. on the rotor, whereas multiple bolts simply adjust to changes
in the preload as the assembly rotates.
This maximum separadng force produced by a bending Any suitable material can be used EoI' turbineand com-

44 Gear Technology
pressor rotors since the Curvic Coupling Grinders can be pro- metallic sealing strip tan be inserted in this groove and the
vided with the optimum automatic grinding ,cycle for the members mated to form a seal. It is important that the seal-
material chosen. To date, all varieties of heat-resistant alloys, ing strip be flexible enough so tha.t no centering action will.
stainless steel, alloy steel, stellite, alcminum. aluminum take place to oppose the centeringaction ,of th Curvic
bronze, and titanium have been ground satisfadori]y. coupling.
The use of ~e materials in mating Clll'Vic ,ooupling rotor The number of Curvic teelh should be made an even multi-
discs creates a,condition where the two couplings, tend to ex- ple of the number of damping bolts to make it possible Ito,
p.and at different rates as the temperature increases. The stan- assemble the parts of several different mesh points. The usual
dard Curv:ic tooth with an average amount of lengthwise cur- practice for rotor assembly is to first balance the wdividual
vature has been found to provide sufiicien't l.ockingacHon discs and 'to' mark 'the heavy point on each disc. At assembly,
for most applications to date. the heavy points are placed 180 apart on each suoceeding
II a special design requirement makes it necessary te per- disc to obt:aifl the best assembled balance.
mit relative movement, the Curvic ,ooupHng can be designed for best control of runout at the periphery of the disc, the
with teeth which have a "half-barrel" shape. disc diameter before blading should not exceed 2.5 times the
This removes the radial restrcaining force and permits one Curvic coupling outside diameter.
member to expand with respect to the other. Since the ex-
pansion maintains the same 'tooth angle, regardless ,of Design Example - Rotors
diameter, the centering action of the Curvic coupling remains Suppose it is required to. design a Curviccoupling for an
unchanged, It should be noted, however, that the clamping aircraft compressor rotor Ito transmit a maximum torque of
force exerts a very strong fractional forne whi.ch tends to resist 340,000 lbs, inches. The design mnfigur,aHon requires that
rei alive movement, regardless of the teeth shape. the Curvic coupling outside diameter should be fTom 10.5"
Many aircraft rotor designs are composed of extremely to 11" with a face width of 0.375". (The use of ,the formula
light.-weight sections which require additional locking action
in the Curvic teeth. to resist the effect of centrifugal force. ,D---.
~..T
Here. a smaller diameter grinding wheel can be used to pro-
'.l~no
vide more lengthwise curvature on the teeth. Some designs indicates that a much smaller coupling could be used to ,carry
have separate light-weight spacers between the ruses and these the load but other design facters have determined. th size.)
spacers are supported against centrifugal fOIOt!only through The material selected has ill yield strength of 100,000' psi.
the Curvte coupling teeth, A variation of the "half-barrel" at operating temperature and an ultimate strength of 150,000
shaped tooth is used in such cases Itoprovide extra resistance psi.
to this ,centrifugal force which is always acting in the same We calculate th stresses for a 10.875" '0.0. and a .37511
relative direction. YVhenlhe amount 'of the relative centrifugal face width,and a pressure angle of 30. From. Graph 4 we
force is kn.own,lhe included angle made by lines Itangent to find that th suggested diamet:ral. pitch range for this diameter
the two sides of a t,ooth can be determined to provide the is from 4..9 to 5.6. We will choose 54 teeth for this example.
maximum locking action, while keeping the separating force
produced by this action within safe limits. N 54
A turbine or compressor rotor which requires a 'series of
Pd - 0 "'"10.875 - 4.97

different Curvic coupling diameters to fit a tapering rotor eon- "h =, .616 _ .,616 _ .124~
figuration can oJt~n be made so 'that three or four diameters I - Pd 4.97
can be 'taken from the same basic c,oupling development. In *c= .~70_ .070 ,_ .014 H

this way. fewer developments are required with a J!esulting - Pd 4.97

saving in machineset~up time and tooling. In the case of the .. _ .063 ,... ..063... 014"
split-face coupling, these Curvic coupling teeth must have Cf Pd 4.97 .-
special calculetions for balanced tooth area ..
A ... D;f = 10.875 -.375 ,= 5.25
\!Vhen coolmg air is required to betransmitted to the in- 2
terior of a rotor, i't is usuaDy possible to provide extra
clearance at the mots of the Curvic ,coupling teeth. By using 'ho = (n,-c-2c;r) - .124i- .0-t4-2(.014) - .082
the addendum and chamfer values found from the altemate
tooth proportions and the whole depth value from the stan-
s'5 = TNF
T - == w X (:~~ .375 "'" 10,470. psi.
da~d tooth proportions, a practical amount of additional. T 340,'000
clearance can. be determined. For face widths below the max- Sc = AFNL.I' - .,." 39.000 psi.
- ~''o 5.25 X .375 X 54 X .082
i:mum limit, it is often pra.ctica]to exceed the standard depth
1 (. Fe
to obtain. more clearance area. The removal of 'teeth from s~' --
NFho 2 tan tf;
+-AT)
a Curvlc co.upling to provide coolingair passage should be
avoided .if possible. 1 (., 150 000 340. 000)
In the opposite case, where the Curvic teeth must be corn-
= 54 X .375 X .082 .2 X .57735 + .5.25 ,I
pletely sealed to. prevent the passage ,of air, it is possible to =.602 (129,900+64,800')-.602 (194,700)-117,200 psi
machine a. narrow circular groove in the face of both members
before the Curv:ic teeth are ground. At assembly, a fledble

November/Decembelr 1986 45
 Semi-Universal Curvic Couplings diameter, another trial should he made with a different pro-
Having chosen the Curvic coupling diameter from Graph file radius or cutter diameter. .
2 or formula and the number of teeth, the tooth loads on A typical Semi-Universal Curvic coupling tooth applica-
this type of coupling should be checked according to the tion is shown in Fig. 10. Suitable arrangements must be made
following formula; for lubricating the assembled unit. Anenclosed design can
be packed with grease or pressure lubricated.
F _l
3- ZAF Shift and Overload Clutches
where F3 = tooth loading, lbs, per 1 inch face, The number of tooth shapes whjch can be designed for shift
and overload clutches is practically unlimited, and it will only
A =rnean radius of coupling, inches.
be possible to outline the basic design procedure.
iF =face width, inches, In general, shift clutches can be considered in three
categories: (1) clutches having 0 or negative pressure angles,
For satisfactory operations, "F)" should not exceed 2500
(2) clutches having 10 or positive pressure angles and (3)
lbs, per I" face width when the coupling teeth are made of saw-tooth clutches.
case-hardened steel with a minimum hardness of 60 Rockwell
Overload clutches fall primarily in the second category,
with pressure angles usually in the range of 30 or 4S0 ,and
Successful operation of the semi-universal Curvic coupl-
some overload clutches are in the form of saw-tooth clutches.
ing is largely dependent on the profile curvature which is in-
Special chamfers and helical. surfaces can be added tothe teeth
troduced on the convex member. The pressure angle is always of these three basic types.
0 at the pitch plane. When properly designed, this curvature
The layout form. for a Curvic shift dutch with 0 pressure
keeps the tooth contact safely positioned within the bound-
angle is shown in Fig. 16. A typical dutch of this type is
aries of the tooth surface, It also increases the number of teeth
shown in Fig. 11. This type of shift clutch produces no axial
in contact at any instant. The load calculation, however, is
thrust and, in Fact, requires a substantial force to disengage
based on having two teeth in contact. Angular misalignment
it when operating under load in order to overcome the effect
must not exceed 2. Parallel offset of the shafts is limited to
of friction. If vibration exists during operation and if there
one-half the amount of backlash.
are slight errors in concentricity and parallelism when the
To determine the required profile curvature on the con-
members are assembled, there exists a tendency for the dutch
vex member, calculate the value of .6.Sp which is the bear-
to slowly work out of engagement during operation. To over-
ing shift above or below center on the two diametrically op-
come this possibility, a dutch with a slight negative pressure
posite teeth in contact.
angle is often employed, usually from 2 to 5 negative, and
.6.S = A s~n j,~ this creates a thrust force working to keep the coupling
. p ism eo members engaged.
To facilitate disengagement of the clutch members, as well
where .dE = angular misalignment
as engagement, a pressure angle of 1.0 is often used .. Ex-
A = mean radius of coupling perience has shown that the separating force with a 10
tan28= ~ pressure angle is approximately equal to the force of friction
o Rp
so that only a light load on the shifter mechanism is needed
Rp = profile radius of cutter
(continued on page 48)

It must be remembered that Ll.Sprepresents the shift of the

center of the tooth contact and should not be permitted to P;AOFITS ARE ,BEING MADE
travel to the edge of the tooth ..The height of profile contact
. by advertrsinq In GEAR TECHNOLOGY.
can be found as follows:
The Journal of Gear Manutacturinq's classified
advertising section. Advertise your specialty
Open time on special or unusual machines
From these calculations, the addendum is obtained as Unique capabilities
follows:
Machine quality
a =6.S.p+~+C,+.015'" Help wanted
Subcontract work
The clearance at the roots of the teeth must be at least as
large as the fillet radius plus the axial component produced
Your ad reaches
by the angular misalignment plus the amount of axial freedom
over 5.000 potential customers.
required in the coupling. The entire tooth design must be ex- Call GEAR TECHNOLOGY for details.
ecuted by trial. As a first assumption, choose a profile radius (312) 437-6604
equal to the cutter radius. If the required tooth depth is greater
than 1.25 times the circular tooth thickness at the outside CIRCLE A-30 ON IREADER REPlV CAIRO
 KiNEMATIC ANALYSIS OF ROBOTICS , ,.
(continued from page 13) 'S 1\"
"'!'L="2
.&.
tan ..... Afc
Re:erences
1. A~lEN, R. R., "Multipart Models for the Kinema.ticand where .lSI. = bearing shift lengthwise on the tooth
Dynamic Analysis of Gear Power Transmission," ASME lour-
nal of Mechanical Design, Vol. 1m, No.2, Apr. 1979, pp. h, = contaet depth
258-267.
Q = pressure angle
2. ANONYMOUS, 'Bevel 'Gears Make Robot's W.rist' More flex-
ible," Machine Design, VoL 54, No. IB, Aug. 12,1982, p. 50,. 1'. = cutter radius,
3. BUCHSBAUM, E., and FREUDENSTEIN, F., "Synthesis of
Kinematic Structure of Geared Kinematic Chains and Other
A= mean radius or coupling
Mechanisms," J. Mechanisms and Machine Theory, Vol. 5, This calculated amount of bearing shift should be com-
1970, pp. 357-392.
pared with the available face width as foUows:
4. DAY, C. P., AKEEL, H. A., and GUTKOWSKI, L. J.,
"Kinematic Design and Analysis of Coupled Planetary Bevel-
Gear Trains," ASME Journal of Mechanisms, Transmissions, aSL=F-~~ ~~~o
and Automation in Design, Vol. 105, No .. 3, Sept.. 1983, pp.
4141-445. where F = face wid th
5. DIMENTBERG, F. M., "Determination of the Positions of The shift dutch diarrreter which has been determined in
Spatial Mechardsms," (Russian), Izdat. Akad. Nauk, Moscow,
a previous section should be' checked according to the for-
1950.
mu1a below. This applies to case-hardened teeth which shift
o. FREUDENSTElN, F., "An Application of Boolean Algebra to under load and the calculated stress should notex.ceed.lS0,OOO
the Motion of Epicyclic Drives," ASME Journal of Engineering
for Industry, Vol. 93, 1971, pp. 176-182. psi. maximum at operating temperatures.
7. FREUDENSTEJN, F., and YANG, A. T., "Kinematics and O.9T
Statics of a Coupled Epicyclic Spux-Gear Train," J. Mechanisms sC=AFh
o
,and Machine Theory, Vol. 7, 1'972,. pp. 263-275,
S. MERRITT, H. E., Gear Trains, Pitman and Sons, london, where s, = surface stress, psi.
1947, T=torque, Ibs .. inches
9. POLDER, 1. W., A Network Theory of Variable Ep.icydic Gear A = mean radius of dutch, inches
Trains, Eindhoven, Greve' Offset, 1969 ..
F = face Width, inches
10. YANG, A. T., and FREUDENSTElN, F., "Mechanics of
Epicyclic Bevel-Gear Trains," ASME lournal of Engil1een'ng for he = contact depth
Industry, VoL 95, 1973, pp, 497-502.
For clutches which shift under stationary no-load condi-
The authDrs are grateful/a tire General Motors Research LAbartltaries far
tions, 'the surface stress should not exceed 40,000 psi. for case-
the support of this resegrc/r through a grant to Columbia University, hardened steel, as given by the foUowing formula:
This article was pre1.lious/ypresenled at the ASME Design Engineering T
7:echnical Conference, Odober 1984. Paper No. 84-Dllt-22'. SC AFN he
The standard tooth proportions given man earlier section
are suggested for mitial use m designing shift and overload
CURVIC COUPLING DESIGN .... clutches.
(continued from page 46)
to keep the clutch teeth in engagement or Ito move them out
of engagement ..Higher pressure angles are often used for shift

clutches to obtain a proportionately wider space between the MIRROR fiNISHING OF TOOTH SURFACES ...
top lands of teeth for easy engagement. (co11t.i11ue.dfrom page 2'6)
The tooth contact 'of non-generated dutch teeth with
positive pressure angle will move very quickly to the edge
of the tooth at the heel as the clutch is disengaged under load .. 8. OPITZ, H.,. and GDHRING, K., "High Speed Grinding",
To obtain proper toothcontact at all depths of engagement, Armals of CIRP, Vol. 16, 1968, p. 61-73.
a generated heheal surface should be used . For the great ma- 9. ISHIBASHJ, A., 'The Cheractertstic of Circular-Are-Toothed
jority of small clutches which shih under load, however, it Cylindrical Gears", Bull. Japan Soc. Mech ..Engrs., Vol. 9', No.
is entirely satisfactory to design both membersw:ith identical 33,Feb. 1966, p. 200-208.
convex teeth. When both members are convex. the localized
tooth contact remains safely positioned on the surface of the
T1w authors expTl!SS their thanks to EmeritusPro/s. A. WaJruti and T. Ueno,
teeth at all depths of engagement thus approximating the ac- Kyushu University. for their encourtllement Tlle-y .QTealsa indebted to the
tion of a helical surface. staff of the Macnil'le Shop of the Faculty of Scimce/md Engineering, Sap
Since this localized tooth contact travels from toe to heel University, for making the gear grinder .used in this investigion,
as the teeth are disengaged, the amount of this bearing shift This lirticle WQS previously presented during the November, 198t.1ASME
Technical Conference, Paper no, B4-DT-1SJ,
should be calculated.

4B: Gear leclmolDg