TYPES OF GEARS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

What is a Gear?

When there’s a gear problem everything can come to stop because of this it’s important for you to
understand how gears work in order to keep them working in their associated equipment
operating.
Gear can be defined as a toothed wheel that can be engaged in another toothed wheel in order
to transmit energy that gives the change of speed and direction of motion. It is widely used in
mechanical devices. The teeth of the gear are generally carved on wheels, cylinders, or cones.

Many devices that we use in our day-to-day life have their own working principle. The tooth and
wheel of gear are working parts of all types of gears. The different types of gears are used to
complete the transfer of energy in different ways and in different directions.

A gear is a component within a transmission device that transmits the rotational force to another
gear or device. Gear is different from a pulley in that a gear is a round wheel that has teeth that
mesh with other gear teeth. Allowing the force to be fully transferred without slippage.

Depending on their construction and arrangement, geared devices can transmit forces at different
speeds, torques, or in a different direction, from the power source.

The most common situation is for a gear to mesh with another gear. To overcome the problem of
slippage as in belt drives, gears are used which produce a positive drive with uniform angular
velocity.

Classification of Gears

The gears are classified according to their application, which is listed below:

1. According to the axis of the shaft

 Parallel gears
 Perpendicular axis gears
 Intersecting gears
 Non-intersecting gears
2. According to the velocity
 Low-velocity gears
 Medium velocity gears
 High-velocity gears
3. Based on the type of gearing
 External gear
 Internal gear
 Rack and pinion gear
4. Based on the position of teeth on the gear surface
 Straight teeth gear
 Inclined teeth gear
 Curved teeth gear

Gears or toothed wheels may be classified according to the axes of the two shafts between which
the motion is transmitted.
The types of gears are to be determined based on the application in which they are to be used.

#1 Parallel Axis Gears

In this type of gearing, the axis of both the gears tends to be Parallel to each other. The types of
gears that come under this system is gears are:

1. Spur Gears
2. Helical Gears
3. Double Helical or Herringbone Gears.
Application of Parallel Axis Gears

Some typical application areas of spur and helical are automobile gearboxes, industrial gearboxes,
etc. Some of the application areas of herringbone gears are in the gearboxes used for steel rolling
mills, etc.

#2 Perpendicular Axis Gears

In this type of gearing the axis of the gears tend to be perpendicular to each other. There are two
in this type of gearing too. they are:

1. Non-intersection perpendicular axis

2. Intersection perpendicular axis gear

#1 Non-intersection Perpendicular Axis

In this type, the two perpendicular axes of the gearing do not intersect each other. The two types
of gearing that fall into this category are Worm Gear and hypoid Gear.

Some typical applications of the worm gears are in the passenger lifts used in the buildings.
Another typical application of the Hypoid gear is in the rear axle of buses, lorries, and heavy
vehicles.

#2 Intersection Perpendicular Axis Gear

In this type, the perpendicular axis of the gears tends to intersect at a certain point. The types of
gear that fall under are the straight Bevel Gear, spiral bevel Gears, and Gears. some typical
application of straight bevel gear is the differential mechanism in the automobile.

Types of Gears According to the velocity

The following types of gear can be categorised based on velocity:

#1 Low Velocity Gears

Low velocity gear is defined as any gear with a velocity of fewer than 3 m/s.

#2 Medium Velocity Gear

Medium velocity gear is defined as having a velocity of between 3 and 15 m/s.

#3 High Velocity Gear

High velocity gear is defined as gear that has a velocity greater than 15 m/s.
Types of Gears Based on the Type of Gearing

According to the type of gearing, the following are the different types of gears:

1. External gears
2. Internal gears
3. Rack and pinion gears

With the use of the slotting machine, both external and internal gears are cut. Furthermore, milling
cutters can be used to create these gears on milling machines. These machines operate on CNC
machining and are all fully automated today.

Types of Gears Based on the Position of Teeth on the Gear Surface

Based on the position of the teeth located on the gear surface, the following are different types of
gear:

#1 Straight Teeth Gears

The teeth on this type of gear are straight, like spur gear.

#2 Inclined Teeth Gears

Similar to helical gear or herringbone gear, this type of gear has inclined teeth on its surface.

#3 Curved Teeth Gears

The teeth on this type of gear are curved like spiral bevel gears.

Types of Gears

Following are the important types of gears:

#1 Spur Gear

The spur gear is the most common and simplest type of gear. It
is generally used for the transmission of rotary motion between
parallel shafts. The spur gear is the best option for gears except
when speed, loads, and ratios direct towards other options.

They have straight teeth and are mounted on parallel shafts.

Their general form is a cylinder or disk. The teeth project
radially, and with these “straight-cut gears”. When two spur
gears of different sizes mesh together, the larger gear is called
a wheel, and the smaller gear is called a pinion.

In a simple gear train of two spur gears, the input motion and force are applied to the driver gear.
The driver gear rotates the driven gear without slipping.
#2 Helical Gear
Helical gears offer a refinement over spur gears. The teeth of
a helical gear are not parallel to the axis of rotation but are set
at a helix angle. Helical gears can be meshed in a parallel or
crossed orientation.

Along with parallel helical gear, each pair of teeth first contacts
one point on the one side of the gear wheel. A moving curve of
contact increases gradually against the teeth’ face to a
maximum then comes back until the teeth reach contact at one
point on the opposite side.

Because of the angled teeth of helical gear, they reduce the noise and stress in the gears, most of
the gears in your car are helical. The use of helical gears is indicated when the application
involves high speeds, large power transmissions, or where no noise is important.

#3 Double Helical Gear

A double helical gear is a type of helical gear that has right and
left-hand teeth on a single gear. It consists of two faces of
helical gears placed next to each other and separating them
from each other. This type of gear is very similar to
herringbone gear in appearance.

Double-helical gears will eliminate thrust load and allow for more significant tooth overlap and
smooth operation. In addition, it provides an additional shear area on the gears which is necessary
for further high-torque transmission. Like helical gears, these gears are commonly used in
enclosed gear drives.

#4 Bevel Gear
Bevel gears have teeth cut on a cone instead of a cylinder blank.
they are used in pairs to transmit rotary motion and torque where the
bevel gear shaft are at right angles (90 degrees) to each other.
When two bevel gear has their axes at right angles and is equal
sizes, they are called miter gears.

The bevel gear transmits power between two intersecting shafts at

any angle or non-intersecting shaft. they are classified as straight
and spiral tooth bevel and hypoid gears. These are gears cut from
conical blanks and connect intersecting shaft axes.
The connecting shaft is generally at 90°and sometimes one shaft drives a bevel gear which is
mounted through the shaft resulting in two output shafts. The point of intersection of the shaft is
called the apex and the teeth of the two gears converge at the apex.

Bevel gears come in two categories:

 Straight Teeth Bevel Gear: A straight teeth bevel gear has tapers both in tooth thickness
and length.
 Spiral Teeth Bevel Gear: Spiral teeth bevel gears have diagonally arranged teeth. Spiral
bevel gears are more powerful and less noisy than straight bevel gears. Alternatively, they
are known as skew bevel gear.
#5 Spiral Bevel Gear

These are curved tooth-lined bevel gears. These are considered

superior to straight bevel gears in efficiency, strength, vibration,
and noise due to the high contact ratio but are challenging to
produce.

Since it has curved teeth, they cause a thrusting force in the axial
direction. The zero turning angle in a spiral bevel gear is called
zero bevel gear. These gears are known for high-torque and high-
speed applications and require little maintenance.

#6 Screw Gear

Screw gears are a pair of same-arm helical gears with a turning

angle of 45° on a non-parallel shaft. Also known as crossed
helical gears, they are mostly used in motion transmission
between non-transfer shafts.

Since the tooth contact is a single point, their load-carrying

capacity is low, and they are not suitable for large power
transmissions. These gears require lubrication when power is
transmitted through sliding tooth surfaces. Screw gears are
typically employed for offset shafts.

#7 Mitre Gear

It is a particular bevel gear designed to operate in pairs with the same number of teeth, diameter
pitches, and 1:1 ratio. These are used to change the direction of power transmission without
changing the speed. These are available in straight miter and spiral miter gears.

Thrust bearings are essentially used with spiral miter gears because they generate thrust force in
an axial direction. In addition to the standard miter gear with a 90° angle shaft, a miter gear with
any other shaft angle is called an angular miter gear.

#8 Worm Gear

The arrangement of gears shown in the image is called

a worm and worm wheel. The two elements are called the
worm screw and worm wheel.

A gear that has one tooth is called a worm wheel. The tooth in
the form of a screw thread is called a worm screw. The worm
wheel is a helical gear with teeth inclined so that they can
engage with the thread-like worm.

This wheel transmits torque and rotary motion through a right angle. The worm can easily turn the
gear, but the gear cannot turn the worm. This is because the angle on the worm is so shallow that
the gear tries to spin it. Worm mechanisms are very quiet running.

It is used to transmit power between the driving shaft having their axes at right angles and non-
coplanar as shown in Fig. Worm gears are used in machine tools when large gear reductions are
needed.
It is common for worm gears to have reductions of 20:1, and even up to 300:1 or greater. This
feature is useful for machines such as conveyor systems, in which the locking feature can act as
a brake for the conveyor when the motor is not turning.

#9 Internal Gear

In this type of gear, the inner gear has teeth cut on the inside of the
cylinder and paired with the outer gear. Internal gears are mainly
used for planetary gear drives and gear-type shaft couplings.

There is a disadvantage with this gear, which is the uneven number

of internal and external gears due to trimming problems and
interference such as the trochoid and involute. The internal and
external gears in the mesh have the exact rotational directions
while they are opposite when the two external gears are in the
mesh.

#10 External Gears

An external gear is a gear that has its teeth made outside of a cylinder or cone. When a pair of
external gears mesh, the rotational direction of the external gears is reversed. External gears (spur
gears) are always used in conjunction with internal gears.

#11 Rack and Pinion Gear

A rack and pinion is a pair of gears that convert rotational motion

into linear motion and vice versa. A circular gear called “the pinion”
engages teeth on a linear “gear” bar called “the rack”.

Rotational motion applied to the pinion will cause the rack to move to
the side, up to the limit of its travel. The diameter of the gear
determines the speed that the rack moves as the pinion turns.

A rack and pinion are commonly found in the steering mechanism of cars or other wheeled,
steered vehicles. In a rack railway, the rotation of a pinion mounted on a locomotive or a railcar
engages a rack between the rails and pulls a train along a steep slope, machine tools such
as lathe machine, drilling machine, and planning machine.

#12 Herringbone Gear

Herringbone gears are similar to double-helical gears but do not
have a gap separating the two helical faces. From above, each
helical groove of this gear resembles the letter V, and several
together form a herringbone pattern (fish bones like herring).

Despite helical gears, these gears do not generate an additional

axial load. These are typically smaller than the double-helical
gear and ideally suited for high shock and vibration applications.
These types of gears are not used very often due to their
manufacturing difficulties and high cost.
#13 Hypoid Gear

Hypoid gear looks like spiral bevel gear in some respects.

For example, hypoid gears are shaped like spiral bevel
gears, and high points are used on cross-axis shafts like
bevel gear sets are.

But unlike bevel gear sets the shafts of hypoid gears do

not line up with each other they’re offset. This offset allows
hypoid pinions to have as few as five teeth in a high ratio
gear set while the various types of bevel gears typically
don’t have less than 10 teeth in pinion.

The smaller number of teeth on a hypoid pinion means that larger ratios can be obtained with a
hypoid gear set than with a bevel gear set of the same dimensions.

#14 Sprocket

It is a wheel with a profiled design whose teeth mesh with a chain, track, or other material that has
holes or indentations. Any wheel with radial projections that engage a chain passing over it is
referred to as a sprocket.

Unlike gears, sprockets are never meshing directly together, and unlike pulleys, sprockets have
teeth while pulleys are smooth, except for timing pulleys with toothed belts. Chains or belts are
driven by sprockets. In conveyor systems, they are often employed.

#15 Epicyclic Gear

It is made up of two gears that are mounted so that the centers of both gears rotate around one
another. In other words, one or more gear axes move in epicyclic gearing. Mechanical differentials
and sun and planet gearing are two examples of epicyclic gears.

#16 Involute Splines

Splined shafts are hubs that often serve as connectors in a variety of applications. Its primary
function is to join motors and gear reducers. They can be applied to transmissions as well. While
involute gears and spur gears are similar, involute gears have different pressure angles.

#17 Straight Sides Splines

The purpose of straight-side splines is often the same as that of involute splines, except that
instead of involute teeth, straight-side splines use straight-side teeth.

Types of Gear Trains

A gear train is a mechanical system formed by mounting gears on a frame. As mentioned above,
when two or more gears mesh together to transmit power from one shaft to another such
arrangement is called a gear set or a gear train.

Sometimes two or more gears are made to mesh with each other to transmit power from one shaft
to another such a combination is called the “gear train of the wheel”.

Also, each gear is generally attached to a shaft often gears that are meshed together will be of
different sizes, in this case, the smaller gear is referred to as the pinion, and the larger one is
simply referred to as the gear.
Following are the different types of gear trains:

#1 Simple Gear Trains

In these types of gear trains, the distance between the two wheels is great the motion from one
wheel to another is transmitted by providing one or more intermediate wheels as shown in the
figure.

When the number of intermediate wheels is

odd, the motion of the driver and follower is as
shown in the figure. If the number of
intermediate wheels is even the motion of the
follower will be in the opposite direction of the
driver as shown in the figure.

#2 Compound Gear Train

In a compound gear train, each intermediate

shaft has two wheels fixed to it. These wheels
have the same speed. One wheel gears with the
drier and the other wheel gears with the follower
attached to the next shaft.

#3 Reverted Gear Trains

When the axes of the first and last wheels are co-axial
the train is known as a “reverted gear train” as shown
in Fig. Since the motion of the first and last wheel is
alike, therefore a compound wheel is provided. Since
the distance between the centers of the shaft, 1 and 2
as well as 3 and 4 is the same.

#4 Epicyclic Gear Train

In an epicyclic gear train, the axes of the shaft, over which the
gears are mounted, move relative to a fixed axis. A simple
epicyclic or planetary gear train is shown in the figure.

Here wheel A and arm C have a common axis at O1 about which

they can rotate. Wheel B meshes with wheel A and has its axis
on the arm at O2, about which wheel B can rotate. If wheel A is
fixed and the arm is rotated, the train becomes an “epicyclic gear
train”.
WHAT IS GEAR CUTTING? TYPES, ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES
What is Gear Cutting?

Gear cutting is the process of machining or creating gears. Toothed gears are essential elements
in mechanical power transmission, and their accurate production necessitated the development of
intelligent tools and processes.

Gears may be manufactured by casting, stamping, machining, or by powder metallurgical

processes. Out of all such processes, the most common and accurate method of production of
gears is by hobbling, broaching, milling, and grinding.

Gears are generally made of metal, plastic, and wood. Although gear cutting is necessary, many
metal and plastic gears are made without cutting, such as die-casting or injection molding, while
some of them require subsequent machining.

The various methods of producing by machining operations are explained below. So Let’s discuss
them one by one.

Gear Cutting Processes

Following are the various gear cutting processes that are used for making gears:

1. Gear Broaching

The most common method of making gears is by broaching which involves cutting out shapes.
This usually happens when you move a broach cutting tool through an object. As you move the
broach across the object, the tooth size slowly increases to cut the gear of the desired size.

Broaching is an ideal process for making internal gears and splines. A specific broaching tool
should be used for each part to ensure the desired output. One benefit of using rotary broaching to
make gears is that it can be performed on any CNC lathe, milling, machining center, or other
turning machines.

2. Gear Hobbing
Hobbing is a quick and handy process used for gear manufacturing. A gear hobbing machine uses
a helical cutting tool or hob that is used to cut teeth into blanks. The speed of this process makes it
ideal for large production but works best for medium to high.

This is usually done on a CNC gear hobbing machine, in which a gear blank and the hob are
continuously rotated until all gear teeth are cut into the blank. Hobbing highlights for gears are
straight, helical, bevel, face, crown, worm, and chamfering. It is the most precise and accurate
process of manufacturing gears.

3. Gear Milling

In this process, the gear cutting is done by using a form cutter on a milling machine. This cutter
moves axially to produce gear teeth at the precise length and depth. After cutting a tooth, the
cutter is removed to allow the gear blank to rotate to the next position. When the blank is rotated
again, the form cutter cuts the next tooth, and this process continues for all teeth that have been
cut into the blank.

Usually, this process is slow, which makes it a less production process. This process is used
where a small number of gears are to be manufactured and where not much precision is
demanded.

4. Gear Grinding
Another process of manufacturing gears is gear grinding. Gear grinding is used to remove surface
material through friction on the gear blank. This is done by rubbing a rough surface against a piece
of metal at high speed to remove material that is not needed in the gear.

In this process, the small pieces are removed at a time without affecting the overall material.
According to the technology used, gear grinding requires proper fabrication of the gear teeth from
the gear blank. The gear grinding commonly used in industry consists of two basic technologies,
that is, form grinding and generating grinding.

5. Gear Shaping

This is the oldest method of gear making, in which gear cutting is mounting a gear blank in the
shaper. The tool used in this method is shaped into a tooth profile to cut. The other is the pinion-
shaped cutter used in the gear shaper machine. It is used when the cutter looks like a gear cuts a
gear blank.

The axis of rotation of the cutter and blank should be parallel to each other. This process is
suitable for low and high production. The gear shaping method is mainly used in gear cutting to
produce low-quality gears such as spur gears, splines, and clutch teeth.

6. Templet Gear Cutting

This process involves the production of a gear tooth profile by a single point cutting tool which is
reciprocated and made to follow a guide path by a temple whose profile corresponds to the shape
of the gear tooth bring cut.

After one tooth is finished, the blank is indexed in the usual manner. The temple method is
employed for producing very large spur gear teeth and for cutting accurate bevel gears.
7. Gear Finishing

Gear finishing is the process that uses a rigid rolling die with a very precise tooth profile of the
gear to finish. The gear to be finished is in the middle of two dies and all three are reoriented about
their axis.

Now, the pressure is applied by both rolling dies on top of the gear to be finished. This process is
done to smooth out their engagement surfaces and allow them to perform better over a longer
period of time. It is an effective and noiseless operation at high speed. Grinding, lapping, honing,
shaving, and burning processes are the traditional gear finishing processes.

GEAR TERMINOLOGY

Following are the gear terminology and gear terms used in the description of gears:

1. Pitch circle

Pitch circle is the imaginary circle that rolls without slipping with a pitch circle of a mating gear.

2. Pitch Circle Diameter

The pitch circle diameter is the diameter of the pitch circle. It is also known as pitch diameter.

3. Pressure angle

Pressure angle is the angle between the common normal at the point of tooth contact and the
common tangent to the pitch circle. The usual pressure angles are 14½° and 20°.
4. Pitch point

It is a common point of contact between two pitch circles.

5. Pitch surface

It is the surface of the imaginary rolling cylinder that the toothed gear may be considered to
replace.

6. Addendum

The addendum is the radial distance of a tooth from the pitch circle to the top of the tooth.

7. Dedendum

Dedendum is the circle drawn through the bottom of the teeth. It is also called “root circle”.

8. Addendum circle

It is the circle drawn through the top of the teeth and it is concentric with the pitch circle.

9. Dedendum circle

It is the circle drawn through the bottom of the tooth. It is also called “root circle”.

10. Base Circle

The base circle of involute gear is the circle from which involute tooth profiles are determined.

11. Circular pitch

The circular pitch is the distance measured on the circumference of the pitch circle from a point of
one tooth to the corresponding point on the next tooth. It is denoted by Pc.

Pc = πd/T

 D = diameter of the circle

 T = No. of teeth on the wheel

12. Diametral Pitch

It is the ratio of a number of teeth to the pitch circle diameter. It is indicated by Pd.

Pd = T/d = π/Pc

Pc = πd/T

Where,

 T= No. of teeth,
 d= Pitch circle diameter.
13. Module

The ratio between the pitch diameter and the number of teeth is known as the module. It is
represented by m. m= d/T.

14. Clearance

Clearance is the difference between the dedendum of one gear and the addendum of the mating
gear.

15. Total Depth

Total depth is the radial distance between the addendum and the dedendum of a gear. It is equal
to the sum of addendum and dedendum.

16. Working Depth

It is the radial distance from the addendum circle to the clearance circle. It is equal to the sum of
the addendum of the two meshing gears.

17. Tooth thickness

Tooth thickness is the width of the tooth measured along the pitch circle.

18. Tooth space

Tooth space is the width of space between the two adjacent teeth measured along the pitch circle.

19. Face of the tooth

It is the surface of the tooth above the pitch surface.

20. Flank of the tooth

The flank of the tooth is the surface of the tooth below the pitch surface.

21. Top land

The top land is the surface of the top of the tooth.

22. Face width

Face width is the width of the gear tooth measured parallel to its axis.

23. Profile

It is the curve formed by the face and flank of the tooth.

24. Backlash

Backlash is the difference between the thickness of a tooth and the width of a tooth space on
which it meshes.