INTRODUCTION TO MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (BESCK204D) DR.

KEERTHI KUMAR N

Module-3

Chapter 2

Belt drives
Belt drives are one of the common methods generally employed whenever power or rotary motion is to
be transmitted between two parallel shafts.

Open Belt Drive

 This type of belt drive shown in fig. is employed when the two parallel shafts have to rotate in
the same direction.
 When the shafts are placed far apart, the lower side of the belt should be the tight side and the
upper side must be the slack side.
 This is because, when the upper side becomes the slack side, it will sag due to its own weight
and thus increases the arc of contact which in turn increases the capacity of the drive.

Crossed Belt Drive

 This type of belt drive shown in fig. is employed when two parallel shafts have to rotate in the
opposite direction.
 At the junction where the belt crosses, it rubs against itself and wears off.
 To avoid excessive wear the shaft must be placed at a maximum distance from each other and
operated at very low speeds.

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 INTRODUCTION TO MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (BESCK204D) DR. KEERTHI KUMAR N

Definitions
Slip: It is defined as the difference between the tensions in the tight and slack sides of the belt is equal
to the force of friction.
Creep: In the belt drive, the straight portions of the belt will be alternately subjected to higher and lower
tensions. The slack side of the belt, having the lower tension T2 as soon as it enters the driven pulley,
will be subjected to a gradual increasing tension from T2 to T1.
Velocity ratio: It is defined as the ratio of the speed of the driving pulley to the speed of the driven
pulley.
Velocity ratio=𝑁1/𝑁2

Topics on Pulleys, Kindly refer another File.

Gear drives

Introduction
Gear drives find a very prominent place in mechanical power transmission.

Gear drives are preferred when considerable power has to be transmitted over a short centre distance
positively with a constant velocity ratio.

Types of Gears
There are various types of gears to suit various applications. They differ in the shape of the gear wheel
like cylindrical or conical or elliptical, the orientation of their axes and the angle at which the teeth mesh,
Gear drives transmit power between the shafts when their axes are: 1) parallel or 2) intersecting or 3)
neither parallel nor intersecting. The different types of Gears used in these cases are:
1. Spur Gears - For parallel axes shafts

2. Helical Gears - For both parallel and Non-parallel and Non-intersecting Axes shafts

3. Bevel Gears – For Intersecting Axes shafts

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 INTRODUCTION TO MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (BESCK204D) DR. KEERTHI KUMAR N

4. Worm Gears – For Non-Parallel and Non-co-planar Axes shafts.

5. Rack and pinion – For converting Rotary motion into linear motion.

1. Spur Gears:
 When the axes of the driving and driven shafts are parallel and co-planar as shown in Fig. 1. and
the teeth of the gear wheels are parallel to the axes, the gears are called Spur Gears.
 Teeth of the spur gears are cut on the circumference of the cylindrical discs.
 The contact between the mating gears will be along a line, hence spur gears can transmit higher
power.
 Because of the instantaneous line contact when the teeth mesh, noise will be very high.
 They are widely used in machine tools, automobile gear boxes and in all general cases of power
transmission where gear drives are preferred.

Fig.1. Spur Gear

2. Helical Gears:
 Helical gears are similar to the spur gears except that the teeth are cut in the form of the helix
around the gears as shown in Fig. 2.
 Helical gears are used for transmitting power between two parallel shafts and also between non-
parallel, non-intersecting shafts.
 The curvilinear tooth contact is progressive, i.e., it extends diagonally across the meshing teeth
starting first at one end of a pair of engaging teeth, then, a little further along and so on,
progressively to the end of the particular tooth.
 Helical gears are preferred to spur gears when smooth and quite running at higher speeds are
necessary.
 The main disadvantages of the helical gears are that it produces and thrusts on the driving and
driven shafts.

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 INTRODUCTION TO MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (BESCK204D) DR. KEERTHI KUMAR N

 Generally they are used in automobile power transmission.

Fig. 2. Helical Gear

3. Bevel gears
 When the axis of the two shafts are inclined to one another, and interest when produced, bevel
gears shown in Fig. 4.
 Teeth of the bevel gears are cut on the conical surfaces.
 The most common examples of power transmission by bevel gears are those in which the axes
of two shafts are at right angles to each other.
 When two bevel gears have their axes at right angles and are of equal sizes, they are called miter
gears.

Fig. 3. Bevel gear

4. Worm and Worm Wheel:

 Worm gears are used to transmit power between the driving and driven shafts having their axes
at right angles and non-coplanar as shown in fig. 4.
 A worm drive consists of a worm (essentially a screw) which may have one or more number of
helical threads of trapezoidal shape cut on it and a worm wheel ---a gear wheel with the tooth
profile consisting of a small segment of a helix which engages with the worm.
 Worm gears are suitable for transmission of power when a high velocity ratio as high as 60:1 is
required.
 They are generally employed in machine tools, like lathe, milling, drilling machines etc. to get
large speed reduction.

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 INTRODUCTION TO MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (BESCK204D) DR. KEERTHI KUMAR N

 Another important characteristic of the worm and worm wheel drive is that it offers itself locking
facility between the driven and the driving units when the direction of the drive is reversed.

Fig. 4. Worm and worm wheel

5.Rack and Pinion

 When a rotary motion is to be converted into a linear motion, rack and pinion arrangement is
used.
 Rack is a rectangular bar with a series of straight teeth cut on it as shown in fig.5.
 Theoretically rack is considered to be a spur gear of infinite diameter.
 Rack and pinion arrangement finds their application in machine tools, such as, lathe, drilling,
planning machines, and on some steep rail tracks.
 Where the teeth of the locomotive wheel mesh with a rack embedded in the ground, offering the
locomotive improved traction.

Fig. 5. Rack and Penion

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 INTRODUCTION TO MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (BESCK204D) DR. KEERTHI KUMAR N

Difference between Gear and Belt Drive

Gear drive Belt drive
Requires less space compared to belt drive.
Requires more space compared to gear drive.

Low friction loss compared to belt drive,

High friction loss compared to gear drive, therefore
therefore higher transmission and more
lower transmission and less efficiency.
efficiency.
Requires high inspection and maintenance, but
Requires less maintenance, but maintenance
maintenance cost is relatively cheaper and
cost is relatively dearer and cumbersome.
convenient.
Much greater life expectancy than belt drives. Low life expectancy than gear drives.
Complicated equipment design, as tolerances Easy, flexible equipment design, as tolerances are
are very much important. not important.
No isolation from shock and Isolation from shock and vibration between driver
vibration between driver and driven system. and driven system.
Requires regular lubrication. Requires relatively less or no lubrication.
Noisy in operation. Very quiet in operation.

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