GEAR

Gears are toothed members which transmit power / motion

between two shafts by meshing without any slip. Hence, gear
drives are also called positive drives. In any pair of gears, the
smaller one is called pinion and the larger one is called gear
immaterial of which is driving the other. When pinion is the
driver, it results in step down drive in which the output speed
decreases and the torque increases. On the other hand, when
the gear is the driver, it results in step up drive in which the
output speed increases and the torque decreases.
 CLASSIFICATION OF GEARS
Gears are classified
according to the
shape of the
tooth pair and
disposition into
spur, helical,
double helical,
straight bevel,
spiral bevel and
hypoid bevel,
worm and spiral Fig. (a) Spur gear, (b) helical gear,
(c) Double helical gear or
gears and this is herringbone gear, (d) Internal gear
shown in Fig. , (e) Rack and pinion, (f) Straight
bevel gear, (g) Spiral bevel gear, (h)
Hypoid bevel gear , (i) worm gear
and (j) Spiral gear
 Description
Sl. Gear Description
No. Type
1. Spur Spur gears have their teeth parallel to the axis and are used for transmitting
power between two parallel shafts. They are simple in construction, easy to
manufacture and cost less. They have highest efficiency and excellent precision
rating. They are used in high speed and high load application in all types of
trains and a wide range of velocity ratios. Hence, they find wide applications
right from clocks, household gadgets, motor cycles, automobiles, and railways to
aircrafts.
2. Helical Helical gears are used for parallel shaft drives. They have teeth inclined to the
axis. Hence for the same width, their teeth are longer than spur gears and have
higher load carrying capacity. Their contact ratio is higher than spur gears and
they operate smoother and quieter than spur gears. Their precision rating is
good. They are recommended for very high speeds and loads. Thus, these gears
find wide applications in automotive gearboxes. Their efficiency is slightly lower
than spur gears. The helix angle also introduces axial thrust on the shaft.
Sl. Gear Description
No. Type
3. Double Double helical or Herringbone gears used for transmitting power between two
Helical parallel shafts. They have opposing helical teeth with or without a gap
Gear or depending on the manufacturing method adopted. Two axial thrusts oppose
Herringb each other and nullify. Hence the shaft is free from any axial force. Though
one their load capacity is very high, manufacturing difficulty makes them costlier
Gear than single helical gear. Their applications are limited to high capacity
reduction drives like that of cement mills and crushers.
4. Internal Internal gears are used for transmitting power between two parallel shafts. In
Gear these gears, annular wheels are having teeth on the inner periphery. This
makes the drive very compact . In these drives, the meshing pinion and
annular gear are running in the same direction. Their precision rating is fair.
They are useful for high load and high speed application with high reduction
ratio. Applications of these gears can be seen in planetary gear drives of
automobile automatic transmissions, reduction gearboxes of cement mills,
step-up drives of wind mills. They are not recommended for precision meshes
because of design, fabrication, and inspection limitations. They should only be
used when internal feature is necessary. However, today precision machining
capability has led to their usage even in position devices like antenna drives.
5. Rack Rack is a segment of a gear of infinite diameter. The tooth can be spur or
and helical. This type of gearing is used for converting rotary motion into
Pinion translatory motion or visa versa.
Sl. Gear Description
No. Type
6. Straight Straight bevel gears are used for transmitting power between intersecting
Bevel shafts. They can operate under high speeds and high loads. Their precision
Gear rating is fair to good. They are suitable for 1:1 and higher velocity ratios and
for right-angle meshes to any other angles. Their good choice is for right angle
drive of particularly low ratios. However, complicated both form and
fabrication limits achievement of precision. They should be located at one of
the less critical meshes of the train. Wide application of the straight bevel
drives is in automotive differentials, right angle drives of blenders and
conveyors.
7. Spiral Spiral bevel gears are also used for transmitting power between intersecting
Bevel shafts. Because of the spiral tooth, the contact length is more and contact
Gear ratio is more. They operate smoother than straight bevel gears and have
higher load capacity. But, their efficiency is slightly lower than straight bevel
gear.
8. Hypoid These gears are also used for right angle drive in which the axes do not
Bevel intersect. This permits the lowering of the pinion axis which is an added
Gear advantage in automobile in avoiding hump inside the automobile drive line
power transmission. However, the non – intersection introduces a
considerable amount of sliding and the drive requires good lubrication to
reduce the friction and wear. Their efficiency is lower than other two types of
bevel gears. These gears are widely used in current day automobile drive line
power transmission.
Sl. Gear Description
No. Type
9. Worm Worm and worm gear pair consists of a worm, which is very similar to a screw
Gear and a worm gear, which is a helical gear. They are used in right-angle skew
shafts. In these gears, the engagement occurs without any shock. The sliding
action prevalent in the system while resulting in quieter operation produces
considerable frictional heat. High reduction ratios 8 to 400 are possible.
Efficiency of these gears is low anywhere from 90% to 40 %. Higher speed
ratio gears are non-reversible. Their precision rating is fair to good. They need
good lubrication for heat dissipation and for improving the efficiency. The
drives are very compact. Worm gearing finds wide application in material
handling and transportation machinery, machine tools, automobiles etc.
10. Spiral Spiral gears are also known as crossed helical gears. They have high helix angle
Gear and transmit power between two non-intersecting non-parallel shafts. They
have initially point contact under the conditions of considerable sliding
velocities finally gears will have line contact. Hence, they are used for light
load and low speed application such as instruments, sewing machine etc. Their
precision rating is poor.
 SUMMARY AND EVALUATION OF GEAR TYPES
Type Features and Applications Comments Regarding Precision
Precision Rating
Spur Parallel Shafting. Applicable to all Simplest tooth elements offering
High speeds and types of trains maximum precision. First choice,
loads highest and a wide recommended for all the gear meshes,
efficiency . Precision range of velocity except where very high speeds and loads
Rating is excellent . ratios. or special features of other types, such
as right angle drive, cannot be avoided.
Helical Parallel Shafting. Most applicable Equivalent quality to spurs, except for
Very high speeds and to high speeds complication of helix angle.
loads. Efficiency and loads; also Recommended for all high-speed and
slightly less than used whenever high-load meshes. Axial thrust
spur mesh. Precision spurs are used. component must be accommodated.
Rating is good
Crossed Skewed shafting. Relatively low To be avoided for precision meshes.
Helical Point contact. High velocity ratio; Point contact limits capacity and
sliding Low speeds low speeds and precision. Suitable for right angle drives,
Light loads Precision light loads only. if light load. A less expensive substitute
Rating is poor Any angle skew for bevel gears. Good lubrication
shafts. essential because of point of contact and
high sliding action.
 Type Features and Applications Comments Regarding Precision
Precision Rating
Internal Parallel shafts. High Internal drives Not recommended for precision
spur speeds. High loads. requiring high speeds meshes because of design, fabrication,
Precision Rating is and high loads; offers and inspection limitations. Should
fair low sliding and high only be used when internal feature is
stress loading; good for necessary.
high capacity, long life.
Used in planetary gears
to produce large
reduction ratios.
Bevel Intersecting shafts, Suitable for 1:1 and Good choice for right angle drive,
High speeds, High higher velocity particularly low ratios. However
loads. Precision ratios and for right- complicated both form and fabrication
Rating is fair to angle meshes (and limits achievement of precision.
Good other angles) Should be located at one of the less
critical meshes of the train.
 Type Features and Applications Comments Regarding Precision
Precision Rating
Worm Right-angle skew High velocity ratio Worm can be made to high precision,
Mesh shafts, High Angular meshes but worm gear has inherent
velocity ratio, High High loads limitations. To be considered for
speeds and loads, average precision
Low efficiency, meshes, but can be of high precision
Most designs non- with care. Best choice for combination
reversible. high velocity ratio and right-angle
Precision rating is drive. High sliding requires excellent
fair to Good lubrication.
Specials Intersecting and Special cases To be avoided as precision meshes.
- Face, skew shafts. Significant non-conjugate action with
Spiroid, Modest speeds and departure from nominal center
Helicon, loads. Precision distance and shaft angles. Fabrication
Beveloid Rating is fair to needs special equipment and
Good inspection is limited.
Terminology for Spur Gears
Pitch Circle— Theoretical circle upon which all
gear calculations are usually based. Pitch circles
of mating gears are tangent to one another
Addendum— The amount of tooth that protrudes
above the pitch circle (from top land to pitch circle)
Dedendum— The amount of tooth below the pitch
circle to the bottom land
Whole Depth— addendum + dedendum
Pitch point — The point of tangency of the pitch
circles of a pair of mating gears.
Common tangent — The line tangent to the pitch
circle at the pitch point.
Line of action — A line normal to a pair of mating
tooth profiles at their point of contact.
Module m — Pitch diameter divided by number of
teeth. The pitch diameter is usually specified in
inches or millimeters.
Fillet — The small radius that connects the profile
of a tooth to the root circle.
Pinion — The smaller of any pair of mating gears.
The larger of the pair is called simply the gear.
Clearance Circle— A circle that is tangent to
the addendum circle of the mating gear.
Clearance— the amount by which the
dedendum in a given gear exceeds the
addendum of a mating gear
Backlash— The amount by which the width
of a tooth space exceeds the thickness of
the engaging tooth, measured on the pitch
circle
Face of a tooth—That part of the tooth
surface lying outside the pitch surface.
Flank of a tooth—The part of the tooth
surface lying inside the pitch surface.
Circular thickness (also called the tooth
thickness)— The thickness of the tooth
measured on the pitch circle. It is the length
of an arc and not the length of a straight line.
Tooth space— The distance between
adjacent teeth measured on the pitch circle.
Circular Pitch— a distance measured on the pitch circle form a point on tooth to a
corresponding point on an adjacent tooth; it is equal to the sum of the tooth
thickness and the width of space.

Diametral Pitch— is the ratio of the number of teeth on the gear to the pitch
diameter, the module is the reciprocal of the diametral pitch

The circular pitch, therefore, equals the pitch circumference divided by the number of
teeth. The diametral pitch is, by definition, the number of teeth divided by the pitch
diameter. That is,

and , Hence

where
p = circular pitch
P = diametral pitch
N = number of teeth
D = pitch diameter
Velocity ratio — The ratio of the
number of revolutions of the driving (or
input) gear to the number of revolutions
of the driven (or output) gear, in a unit of
time.
Path of contact — The path traced by
the contact point of a pair of tooth
profiles.
Pressure angle — The angle between
the common normal at the point of tooth
contact and the common tangent to the
pitch circles. It is also the angle between
the line of action and the common
tangent.
Base circle — An imaginary circle used
in involute gearing to generate the
involutes that form the tooth profiles.
 FUNDAMENTAL LAW OF GEARING
Figure shows two mating gear teeth, in
which Tooth profile 1 drives tooth profile 2
by acting at the instantaneous contact
point K. N1N2 is the common normal of the
two profiles. N1 is the foot of the
perpendicular from O1 to N1N2 , N2 is the
foot of the perpendicular from O2 to N1N2.
Although the two profiles have different
velocities V1 and V2 at point K, their
velocities along N1N2 are equal in both
magnitude and direction. Otherwise the
two tooth profiles would separate from
each other. Therefore, we have
We notice that the intersection of the tangency N1N2 and the line of center O1O2 is point
P, and

Thus, the relationship between the angular velocities of the driving gear to the driven
gear, or velocity ratio, of a pair of mating teeth is

Point P is very important to the velocity ratio, and it is called the pitch point. Pitch point
divides the line between the line of centers and its position decides the velocity ratio of
the two teeth. The above expression is the fundamental law of gear-tooth action.

The fundamental law of gear-tooth action may now also be stated as follow :
The common normal to the tooth profiles at the point of contact must always pass
through a fixed point (the pitch point) on the line of centers (to get a constant velocity
ratio).
 Conjugate Profiles
To obtain the expected velocity ratio of two tooth profiles, the normal line of their profiles
must pass through the corresponding pitch point, which is decided by the velocity ratio.
The two profiles which satisfy this requirement are called conjugate profiles. Sometimes,
we simply termed the tooth profiles which satisfy the fundamental law of gear-tooth
action the conjugate profiles.

Although many tooth shapes are possible for which a mating tooth could be designed to
satisfy the fundamental law, only two are in general use: the cycloidal and involute
profiles. The involute has important advantages -- it is easy to manufacture and the
center distance between a pair of involute gears can be varied without changing the
velocity ratio. Thus close tolerances between shaft locations are not required when
using the involute profile. The most commonly used conjugate tooth curve is the involute
curve.
 Generation of the Involute Curve
We use the word involute because the contour of gear teeth curves inward.

The curve most commonly used for gear-tooth profiles

is the involute of a circle. This involute curve is the path
traced by a point on a line as the line rolls without
slipping on the circumference of a circle. It may also be
defined as a path traced by the end of a string which is
originally wrapped on a circle when the string is Involute curve
unwrapped from the circle. The circle from which the
involute is derived is called the base circle.
In Figure, let line MN roll in the counter-
clockwise direction on the circumference of a
circle without slipping. When the line has
reached the position M'N', its original point of
tangent A has reached the position K, having
traced the involute curve AK during the
motion. As the motion continues, the point A
will trace the involute curve AKC.
 Properties of Involute Curves
1. The distance BK is equal to the arc AB, because link MN rolls without slipping on
the circle.
2. For any instant, the instantaneous center of the motion of the line is its point of
tangent with the circle.

Note: We have not defined the term instantaneous center previously. The
instantaneous center or instant center is defined in two ways:

A. When two bodies have planar relative motion, the instant center is a point on one
body about which the other rotates at the instant considered.
B. When two bodies have planar relative motion, the instant center is the point at
which the bodies are relatively at rest at the instant considered.

3. The normal at any point of an involute is tangent to the base circle. Because of
the property (2) of the involute curve, the motion of the point that is tracing the
involute is perpendicular to the line at any instant, and hence the curve traced
will also be perpendicular to the line at any instant.
4. There is no involute circle within the base circle
 Problems
A pinion with 32 teeth and diametral pitch
meshes with a gear having 65 teeth.
Calculate:
1.The centre distance
2.The thickness of the gear tooth

Solution:

P = N/d = NP / dP = Ng / dg
P = 8; NP = 32
Hence, dP = 4
Ng = 8.125
Centre Distance, c = ( dP + dg )/2 = 6.0625
pP = π; P = 8, Hence p = 0.3927
Tooth thickness, t = p/2; t = 0.1963
In a drive, a velocity ratio of 2.5 with a centre distance of 70 mm is desired.
(a) Determine the pitch diameter of the gears with 20o full depth involute teeth;
(b) Is there any interference in the system? If so, how will you avoid it?
(c) Determine the contact ratio,
(d) Find the dedendum, addendum, root diameters and the tip clearance,
(e) If the centre distance is increased by 1.5%, what will be the new pressure
angle?
Given Data: i = 2.5; C = 70 mm; φ = 20o; It is an involute full depth tooth system
; To be found: m = ?; Z1 = ? ; d1 = ?; Interference exists or not ?; Z2 = ?; d2 = ?;
CR = ?
We know that,
C (centre distance) = (r1 +r2) = 0.5 m ( Z1 + Z2) = 0.5 m (Z1 + i Z1) = 70 mm

i.e., m x Z1 = 40
Possible solutions for standard modules as can be seen from the List:
Solution1 :
m = 2mm, Z1 = 20, Z2 = i. Z1 = 2.5 x 20 = 50
d1 = m Z1 = 2 x 20 = 40 mm
d2 =i d1 = 2.5 x 40 = 100 mm
STANDARD MODULES IN mm:
0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.25 1.5 1.75 2.0 2.25 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5
6.0 6.5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 33 36 39 42 45 50
Further increase is in terms of 5 mm
Minimum number of teeth that can engage with the gear of 50 teeth without
interference is given by,
z12 + 2z1z2= (4k(z2+k))/sin 2 φ
For full depth gears, k = 1. Substituting the values Z2 = 50, φ = 20o
in the above equation,
z12 + 2z1(50)= (4*1*(50+1))/sin 2 20

z12 + 100z1 – 1744 = 0

i.e., Z1min = 15 is the minimum permissible number of teeth without interference.
Since from the above it is seen that, Z1 > Z1min no interference will occur.
Fig: Path of Contact
Contact ratio, CR:
Referring to fig in the earlier slide, the path of contact:
La = u a + ur

Substituting the values,

Now CR can be calculated with the formulae below,

For full depth tooth, the various values calculated are as shown below:

Addendum: a = 1m = 1x2 = 2mm

Dedendum: b = 1.25m = 1.25x2 = 2.5 mm

Clearance: c = 0.25 m = 0.25x2 = 0.5 mm

Pinion root circle diameter: dr1 = d1- 2b = 40 – 2x2.5 = 35 mm

Pinion addendum diameter: da1 = d1+ 2a = 40 + 2x2 = 44 mm

Gear root circle diameter: dr2 = d2- 2b = 100 – 2x2.5 = 95 mm

Gear addendum diameter: da2 = d2+ 2a = 100 + 2x2 = 104 mm

Solution 2: In case m = 2.5
As shown earlier for m = 2.5 mm, Z1 = 16, Z2 = i x Z1 = 40,
d1 = m Z1 = 2.5x16=40 mm,
d2 = m Z2 = 2.5 x 40 =100 mm
Similarly
Minimum number of teeth that can engage the gear of 40 teeth without interference
is : z12 + 2z1(40)= (4*1*(40+1))/sin 2 20

z12 + 80z1 – 1402 = 0

i.e., Z1min = 15 is the minimum permissible number of teeth without interference. Since
from the above it is seen that, Z1 > Z1min no interference will occur.
Similarly, Contact ratio, CR can be found 1.607
Addendum : a =1m = 1x2.5 =2.5mm
Dedendum : b =1.25m =1.25x2.5 = 3.125 mm
Clearance: c = 0.25 m = 0.25x2.5 = 0.625 mm
Pinion root circle diameter: dr1= d1- 2b = 40 – 2x3.125 = 33.75 mm
Pinion addendum diameter: da1= d1+ 2a = 40+2x2.5 = 45 mm
Gear root circle diameter: dr2= d2- 2b = 100 – 2x3.125 = 93.75 mm
Pinion addendum diameter: da2= d2+ 2a = 100 + 2x2.5 = 105 mm
New Pressure angle Ø when the centre distance C is increased by 1.5% is given by:
Ø = cos-1( r1 cos20o / r1 1.015) = 22.21o
GEAR TRAIN
 GEAR TRAINS
Gear are used to transmit rotary motion and torque from
one shaft to another. A gear train is any collection of two
or more meshing gears.

Simple Gear Train

A gear train is a simple gear train if each shaft carries only
one gear and axis of each gear is connected to the fixed
link by revolute joints.
Simplest gear trains are formed with 2 gears only.
NOTATION and TERMINOLOGY
COMPOUND SIMPLE GEAR TRAIN
Planetary (Epicyclic) Gear Trains (PGT)
*A gear train is called PGT if the link on which gears
are pivoted also rotate. In this case there are one
or more gears whose axis also rotate.
*If there are more than one arm in a planetary gear
train, than it is called a compound planetary gear
train
*Planetary gear trains are also used in transmission
and differentials of cars and in various machine
where a high speed ratio between input and
output speeds is required within a small space.