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