Internal Ring Gears Design and Considerations

TOOTH BRIAN DENGEL
GENER AL MANAGER  KHK-USA

TIPS
Internal ring gears – design and considerations
When using internal ring gears, you can develop
a gear system with a high reduction ratio in a
compact space — but there are considerations
regarding the reduction ratio, interference
possibilities, and design window dimensions.
W hen one is under a great deal of stress, they have a choice to either
internalize the stress or to express it. Some express it through
exercise, some drown their sorrows at the neighborhood pub, and
some choose to berate others. In gearing, there are situations when
internalizing the gear mesh is desirable. For these applications, we
specify ring gears.
Internal gears, ring gears, and internal ring gears are interchange-
able terms for the same type of gear. These gears are composed of a
cylindrical shape having teeth inside a circular ring. The gear teeth
of an internal gear typically mesh with the teeth of a spur gear.
Spur gears have a convex-shaped tooth profile and internal gears
Figure 1: The meshing of internal gear and external gear.
have reentrant shaped tooth profile; this characteristic is opposite
of internal gears. The formulas for calculating the dimensions of
internal gears and their interferences are quite different than those
of other gearing.
Figure 1 presents the mesh of an internal gear and external gear.
Of vital importance are the working pitch diameters (dw) and work-
ing pressure angle ( w). They can be derived from center distance (a)
and equations detailed below.
Figure 2: Involute interference.
Equation 1
Table 1 shows the formulas for calculating the geometry of a pro- Equation 2
file shifted internal gear and a non-shifted external gear. In this type
of gear system, it is common for one or both members to be profile
shifted in order to overcome the various interference fits. Equation 3
If the center distance (a) is known, then x1 and x2 can be obtained
from the inverse calculations of items 4 thru 8 of Table 1. These Equation 2 is true only if the tip diameter of the internal gear is
inverse formulas are detailed in Table 2. bigger than the base circle:
There are three different types of interference can occur with
Equation 4
internal gears: involute interference, trochoid interference, and trim-
ming interference. For a standard internal gear, where α = 20°, Equation 4 is valid
1. Involute interference (Figure 2) occurs when the distance only if the number of teeth is z2 > 34.
between the dedendum of the external gear and the addendum of 2. Trochoid interference refers to an interference occurring at the
the internal gear is too narrow and the gears cannot mesh properly. addendum of the external gear and at the dedendum of the internal
It is prevalent when the number of teeth of the external gear is small. gear during recess tooth action. This interference is due to the dis-
Involute interference can be avoided by observing the following cited tance between the teeth being too shallow. It tends to happen when
conditions: the difference between the numbers of teeth of the two gears is small.
28 gearsolutions.com
Table 1: The calculations of a profile shifted internal gear and external gear where the module of the gears is 3, the number of teeth on the spur gear is 16, the number of
teeth on the internal gear is 24, and the internal gear is profile shifted.
Table 2: The calculations of the profile shift of an internal gear and external gear when the center distance is known.
December 2019 29
The formulas for calculating the dimensions of internal gears and their
interferences are quite different than those of other gearing.
Equation 5 presents the condition for avoiding trochoidal interference.

Figure 3: Trochoid
interference.
Equation 5
Equation 6
where αa1 is the pressure angle of the spur gear tooth tip:
Equation 7
In the meshing of an external gear and a standard internal gear

where the pressure angle α = 20°, trochoid interference is avoided if
the difference of the number of teeth, z2 – z1, is larger than 9. (Figure 3)
3. Trimming interference occurs in the radial direction in that
it prevents the pulling of the gears apart. Thus, the mesh must be
assembled by sliding the gears together with an axial motion. It tends Table 3: The limit to prevent an internal gear from trimming interference.
to happen when the numbers of teeth of the two gears are very close.
Equation 8 indicates how to prevent this type of interference.
Figure 4: Trimming
Equation 8 interference.
Equation 9
This type of interference can occur in the process of cutting an

internal gear with a pinion cutter. Should that happen, there is dan-
ger of breaking the tooling.
Table 3 shows the limit for the pinion cutter to prevent trimming
interference when cutting a standard internal gear, with pressure
angle α0 = 20°, and no profile shift, i.e., x0 = 0.
There will be an involute interference between the internal gear
and the pinion cutter if the number of teeth of the pinion cutter
ranges from 15 to 22 (z0 = 15 to 22) .
Table 4 shows the limit for a profile shifted pinion cutter to pre-
vent trimming interference while cutting a standard internal gear.
The correction (x0) is the magnitude of shift, which was assumed to
be: x0 = 0.0075 z0 + 0.05.
There will be an involute interference between the internal gear
and the pinion cutter if the number of teeth of the pinion cutter
ranges from 15 to 19 (z0 = 15 to 19).
When using internal ring gears, you can develop a gear system Table 4: The limit to prevent an internal gear from trimming interference.
with a high reduction ratio in a compact space. However, there are
many considerations regarding the reduction ratio, interference possibilities, and design window dimensions.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Brian Dengel is general manager of KHK-USA, which is based in Mineola, New York. Go online to www.khkgears.us
30 gearsolutions.com

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TOOTH BRIAN DENGEL

GENER AL MANAGER  KHK-USA

Figure 2: Involute interference.

Equation 5 presents the condition for avoiding trochoidal interference.

In the meshing of an external gear and a standard internal gear

This type of interference can occur in the process of cutting an

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