Gear Terms and Types

Spur gears have been used since ancient times.

Modern gears are a refinement of the wheel and axle.
Gear wheels have projections called teeth that are
designed to intersect the teeth of another gear. When
gear teeth fit together or interlock in this manner they are said to be in mesh. Gears in mesh
are capable of transmitting force and motion alternately from one gear to another. The gear
transmitting the force or motion is called the drive gear and the gear connected to the drive
gear is called the driven gear.

Gears are Used to Control Power Transmission in These Ways

1. Changing the direction through which power is transmitted (i.e. parallel, right angles,
rotating, linear etc.)
2. Changing the amount of force or torque
3. Changing RPM

Gear Terms, Concepts and Definitions

INTRODUCTION:-
Spur Gears:-
Are cogged wheels whose cogs or teeth project radially and stand parallel to the axis.
Spur gear transmissions are widely used in modern industry providing, besides some other
advantages, high values of the efficiency. However, due to the increasing energy costs and
environmental requirements, the power losses become an important design factor which
should be reduced as much as possible, for which they need to be estimated as accurately as
possible in the design steps.
The friction power losses in spur gears can be computed by calculating the elemental power
loss at any contact point as the normal load, multiplied by the friction coefficient and the
elemental sliding, and integrating the elemental losses along the entire path of contact.
This means that losses are strongly influenced by the transmitted load and the friction
coefficient, so their variation along the path of contact should be taken into account to obtain
an accurate estimation of the efficiency.
Spur gears:-
When spur gears mesh the apparent contact area will be a long thin rectangle assuming
perfect alignment.

Diametral Pitch (DP):-

+
The Diametral Pitch describes the gear tooth size. The Diametral Pitch is expressed as the
number of teeth per inch of Pitch Diameter. Larger gears have fewer teeth per inch of
Diametral Pitch. Another way of saying this; Gear teeth size varies inversely with Diametral
Pitch.
DP = #Teeth/Pitch Diameter = 36/1.5 = 24

Pitch Diameter (PD):-

The Pitch Diameter refers to the diameter of the pitch

circle. If the gear pitch is known then the Pitch Diameter
is easily calculated using the following formula;

PD = N/P
PD = Pitch Diameter
N = Number of teeth on the gear
P = Diametral Pitch (Gear Size)

Using the values from above fig., we find

PD = N/P = 36/24 = 1.5"

The Pitch Diameter is used to generate the Pitch Circle.

Addendum (A)
The addendum refers to the distance
from the top of the tooth to the Pitch
circle
Dedendum (B)
The Dedendum refers to the distance
from the Pitch circle to the root
circle.
Clearance (C)
Refers to the radial distance between
the top and bottom of gears in mesh.
Some machinists and mechanics
refer to clearance as “play” or the
degree of looseness between mating
parts.
Ratios:-
Gears of the same pitch, but differing numbers of teeth can be paired to obtain a wide range
of Gear Ratios. Gear Ratios are used to increase mechanical advantage (torque) or increase
rotational speed or velocity.
The ratio of a given pair of spur gears is calculated by dividing the number of teeth on the
driven gear, by the number of teeth on the drive gear.
The gear ratio in fig. 6.3.1.9 shows a 36 tooth gear driving a 60 tooth gear. The gear ratio can
be calculated as follows;
Gear Ratio = Driven Gear Teeth/ Drive Gear Teeth
Gear Ratio = 60/36 = 1.6/1
The ratio describes the drive gear
revolutions needed to turn the driven
gear 1 complete revolution.

Velocity:-
Velocity refers to the rotational speed of a gear and can be expressed using a variety of units.
In the examples that follow we will express gear velocity in inches per minute. The gear
industry often uses feet per minute. Inches per minute can be converted to feet per minute by
simply dividing by 12.
Velocity is expressed as the distance a point along the circumference of the pitch circle will
travel over a given unit of time.
Velocity can be calculated using this formula
Velocity = Pitch Circle Circumference x RPM
Example:-
The 24 pitch drive gear is turning at 100 rpm. What is the velocity of the drive
gear?
Step 1.) Determine the Pitch Diameter (D) D = #Teeth/ Pitch = N/P = 60/24 = 2.5"
Step 2.) Determine the circumference of the Pitch Circle using the Pitch Diameter.
Circumference =π ∗ D = 3.1416 ∗ 2.5"= 7.854"
Step 3.) Calculate the gear velocity using the gear velocity formula.
Velocity = 7.854” x RPM = 785.4 inches per minute or 65.45 ft per second.

Calculate the Velocity of the Driven Gear in the Example Above:-

The 36 tooth driven gear in the example above is being driven by a larger 60 tooth drive gear.
In order to calculate the driven gear velocity we must first calculate the driven gear RPM
using the gear ratio.
Step 1.) Determine the driven gear RPM using the gear ratio.
Driven Gear RPM = Drive Gear RPM x ratio = 100 x 1.66 = 166 RPM
Step 2.) Determine the Pitch Diameter (D) D = #Teeth/Pitch = N/P = 36/24 = 1.5"
Step 3.) Determine the circumference of the Pitch Circle using the Pitch Diameter.
Circumference =π ∗ D = 3.1416 ∗1.5"= 4.7124"
Step 4.) Calculate the gear velocity using the gear velocity formula.
Velocity = 4.7124” x 166 RPM = 782.25 inches per minute or 65.188 ft per second.

Compare the Velocity in feet per second of the two gears. The velocity of the 60-tooth drive
gear is 65 ft. per minute, AND the velocity of the 36-tooth driven gear is 65 feet per
minute.
Gears in mesh rotate at different RPM but always at the same velocity. If this were not
true,
then the teeth of the gears would strip off!
Calculating Ratios for Compound Gear Drives
Let’s look at an example of a multiplicative gear reduction using a compound gear. A
compound gear is made up of two gears solidly connected. Often they are machined from the
same stock or keyed to the same shaft.
The red gear on the left is the drive gear. This gear can also be called a pinion gear.
All the gears are rigidly fixed to the shafts. The green and red center gears form a compound
gear.
The red drive gear spins at 100 RPM, and drives the 60 tooth green gear.
The ratio between the red (drive) gear and the green (driven) gear is 36T:60T or 1.6:1.
Since the green and red gears are affixed to the same shaft, they must both have the same
RPM.
We can determine the RPM of the center shaft using the ratio between the red (drive) gear
and the green (driven) gear. As noted previously the ratio is 1.6:1. Thus every time the red
(drive) gear turns 1.6 revolutions, the green (driven) gear turns 1 revolution.
We find the RPM of the green (driven) gear by dividing 100 RPM/1.6 = 62.5 RPM.
Both the red and green center gears are turning at 62.5 RPM. The red center gear now drives
the blue gear on the right.
The ratio between the red center gear and the blue gear is also 36T : 60T or 1.6:1.
We find the RPM of the blue (driven) gear by dividing 62.5 RPM/1.6 = 39.06 RPM.
The overall gear reduction is 100 RPM/39.06 RPM = 2.56:1
Note that if we MULTIPLY the two gear reductions, 1.6 x 1.6 = 2.56
Thus we can calculate the overall gear ration for gear trains with multiple gears by
MULTIPLYING the individual gear reductions.
Spur gears:-

The spur gear is the least expensive of all gears to manufacture and is the most commonly
used. It can be manufactured to close tolerances and is used to connect parallel shafts that
rotate in opposite directions. It gives excellent results at moderate peripheral speeds and the
tooth load produces no axial thrust. Because contact is simultaneous across the entire width
of the meshing teeth, it tends to be noisy at high speeds. However, noise and wear can be
minimized with proper lubrication.
There are three main classes of spur gears: external tooth, internal tooth, and rack-and-pinion.
The external tooth variety shown in Figure 39.1 is the most common. Figure 39.2 illustrates
an internal gear and Figure 39.3 shows a rack or straight-line spur gear.

Figure 39.1 . Example of a spur gear

Figure 39.2 . Example of an internal spur gear

Figure 39.3 . Rack or straight-line gear

The spur gear is cylindrical and has straight teeth cut parallel to its rotational axis. The tooth
size of spur gears is established by the diametrical pitch. Spur-gear design accommodates
mostly rolling, rather than sliding, contact of the tooth surfaces and tooth contact occurs
along a line parallel to the axis. Such rolling contact produces less heat and yields high
mechanical efficiency, often up to 99 per cent.
An internal spur gear, in combination with a standard spur-gear pinion, provides a compact
drive mechanism for transmitting motion between parallel shafts that rotate in the same
direction. The internal gear is a wheel that has teeth cut on the inside of its rim and the pinion
is housed inside the wheel. The driving and driven members rotate in the same direction at
relative speeds inversely proportional to the number of teeth.

Rack and Pinion:-

V
A rack is a toothed bar or rod that can be thought of as a sector gear with an infinitely large
radius of curvature. Torque can be converted to linear force by meshing a rack with a pinion:
the pinion turns; the rack moves in a straight line. Such a mechanism is used in automobiles
to convert the rotation of the steering wheel into the left-to-right motion of the tie rod(s).
Racks also feature in the theory of gear geometry, where, for instance, the tooth shape of an
interchangeable set of gears may be specified for the rack, (infinite radius), and the tooth
shapes for gears of particular actual radii are then derived from that. The rack and pinion gear
type is employed in a rack railway.
iewchapter

Helical or "dry fixed" gears:-

Helical or "dry fixed" gears offer a refinement over spur gears. The leading edges of the teeth
are not parallel to the axis of rotation, but are set at an angle. Since the gear is curved, this
angling makes the tooth shape a segment of a helix. Helical gears can be meshed
in parallel or crossed orientations. The former refers to when the shafts are parallel to each
other; this is the most common orientation. In the latter, the shafts are non-parallel, and in this
configuration the gears are sometimes known as "skew gears".
The angled teeth engage more gradually than do spur gear teeth, causing them to run more
smoothly and quietly.  With parallel helical gears, each pair of teeth first make contact at a
single point at one side of the gear wheel; a moving curve of contact then grows gradually
across the tooth face to a maximum, then recedes until the teeth break contact at a single
point on the opposite side. In spur gears, teeth suddenly meet at a line contact across their
entire width, causing stress and noise. Spur gears make a characteristic whine at high speeds.
For this reason spur gears are used in low-speed applications and in situations where noise
control is not a problem, and helical gears are used in high-speed applications, large power
transmission, or where noise abatement is important. The speed is considered high when the
pitch line velocity exceeds 25 m/s.
A disadvantage of helical gears is a resultant thrust along the axis of the gear, which must be
accommodated by appropriate thrust bearings. However, this issue can be turned into an
advantage when using a herringbone gear or double helical gear, which has no axial thrust -
and also provides self-aligning of the gears. This results in less axial thrust than a comparable
spur gear.
A second disadvantage of helical gears is also a greater degree of sliding friction between the
meshing teeth, often addressed with additives in the lubricant.

Bevel gears:-

A bevel gear is shaped like a right circular cone with most of its tip cut off. When two bevel
gears mesh, their imaginary vertices must occupy the same point. Their shaft axes also
intersect at this point, forming an arbitrary non-straight angle between the shafts. The angle
between the shafts can be anything except zero or 180 degrees. Bevel gears with equal
numbers of teeth and shaft axes at 90 degrees are called miter (US) or mitre (UK) gears.
If the action of spur and helical gears can be related to that of rolling cylinders, then the
action of bevel gears can be compared to a friction cone drive. Bevel gears are used to
connect shafts which lie in the same plane and whose axes intersect. The size of the tooth
decreases as it passes from the back edge towards the apex of the pitch cone, hence the cross-
section varies along the whole length of the tooth. When viewed on the curved surface which
forms part of the back cone, the teeth normally have the same profiles as spur gears. The
addendum and dedendum have the same proportions as a spur gear, being measured radially
from the pitch circle, parallel to the pitch-cone generator.

Worm and worm wheel:-

Worms resemble screws. A worm is meshed with a worm wheel, which looks similar to a spur
gear.
Worm-and-gear sets are a simple and compact way to achieve a high torque, low speed gear
ratio. For example, helical gears are normally limited to gear ratios of less than 10:1 while
worm-and-gear sets vary from 10:1 to 500:1. A disadvantage is the potential for considerable
sliding action, leading to low efficiency.
A worm gear is a species of helical gear, but its helix angle is usually somewhat large (close
to 90 degrees) and its body is usually fairly long in the axial direction. These attributes give it
screw like qualities. The distinction between a worm and a helical gear is that at least one
tooth persists for a full rotation around the helix. If this occurs, it is a 'worm'; if not, it is a
'helical gear'. A worm may have as few as one tooth. If that tooth persists for several turns
around the helix, the worm appears, superficially, to have more than one tooth, but what one
in fact sees is the same tooth reappearing at intervals along the length of the worm. The usual
screw nomenclature applies: a one-toothed worm is called single thread or single start; a
worm with more than one tooth is called multiple thread or multiple start. The helix angle of
a worm is not usually specified. Instead, the lead angle, which is equal to 90 degrees minus
the helix angle, is given.
In a worm-and-gear set, the worm can always drive the gear. However, if the gear attempts to
drive the worm, it may or may not succeed. Particularly if the lead angle is small, the gear's
teeth may simply lock against the worm's teeth, because the force component circumferential
to the worm is not sufficient to overcome friction. In traditional music boxes, however, the
gear drives the worm, which has a large helix angle. This mesh drives the speed-limiter vanes
which are mounted on the worm shaft.
Worm-and-gear sets that do lock are called self locking, which can be used to advantage, as
when it is desired to set the position of a mechanism by turning the worm and then have the
mechanism hold that position. An example is the machine head found on some types
of stringed instruments.
Worm gears can be right or left-handed, following the long-established practice for screw
threads.

Cam and Follower:-

continuously rotating cams producing reciprocating linear motion of the cam followers.
Cam profile

A cam is a rotating or sliding piece in a mechanical linkage used especially in transforming

rotary motion into linear motion. It is often a part of a rotating wheel (e.g. an eccentric wheel)
or shaft (e.g. a cylinder with an irregular shape) that strikes a lever at one or more points on
its circular path. The cam can be a simple tooth, as is used to deliver pulses of power to
a steam hammer, for example, or an eccentric disc or other shape that produces a smooth
reciprocating (back and forth) motion in the follower, which is a lever making contact with
the cam. A cam timer is similar, and were widely used for electric machine control (an
electromechanical timer in a washing machine being a common example) before the advent
of inexpensive electronics, microcontrollers, integrated circuits, programmable logic
controllers and digital control.

Cam mechanisms appeared in China at around 600 BC in the form of a crossbow trigger-
mechanism with a cam-shaped swing arm.  However, the trigger mechanism did not rotate
around its own axis and traditional Chinese technology generally made little use of
continuously rotating cams. Nevertheless, later research showed that such cam mechanisms
did in fact rotate around its own axis . Likewise, more recent research indicates that cams
were used in water-driven trip hammers by the latter half of the Western Han Dynasty (206
BC - 8 AD) as recorded in the Huan Zi Xin Lun. Complex pestles were also mentioned in
later records such as the Jin Zhu Gong Zan and the Tian Gong Kai Wu, amongst many other
records of water-driven pestles.  During the Tang dynasty, the wooden clock within the
water-driven astronoical device, the spurs inside a water-driven armillary sphere, the
automated alarm within a five-wheeled sand-driven clock, artificial paper figurines within a
revolving lantern, all utilized cam mechanisms. The Chinese hodometer which utilized a bell
and gong mechanism is also a cam, as described in the Song Shi. In the book Nongshu, the
vertical wheel of a water-driven wind box is also a cam. Out of these examples, the water-
driven pestle and the water driven wind wind box both have two cam mechanisms
inside. Cams that rotated continuously and functioned as integral machine elements were
built into Hellenistic water-driven automata from the 3rd century BC. The cam and camshaft
later appeared in mechanisms by Al-Jazari and Shooshtari, who used them in their automata,
described in 1206. The cam and camshaft appeared in European mechanisms from the 14th
century.
Key duplicating machine. The original key (mounted in the left-hand holder) acts as a linear
cam to control the cut depth for the duplicate.

Eccentric Motions:-

Eccentric sheave, with strap and eccentric rod fitted.

In mechanical engineering, an eccentric is a circular disk (eccentric sheave) solidly fixed to a

rotating axle with its centre offset from that of the axle (hence the word "eccentric", out of the
centre).[1]
It is used most often in steam engines, and used to convert rotary into linear reciprocating
motion to drive a sliding valve or pump ram. To do so, an eccentric usually has a groove at its
circumference closely fitted a circular collar (eccentric strap). An attached eccentric rod is
suspended in such a way that its other end can impart the required reciprocating motion. A
return crank fulfills the same function except that it can only work at the end of an axle or on
the outside of a wheel whereas an eccentric can also be fitted to the body of the axle between
the wheels. Unlike a cam, which also converts rotary into linear motion at almost any rate
of acceleration and deceleration, an eccentric or return crank can only impart simple
harmonic motion.

Eccentricity (also called quirkiness) is unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual.

This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being
demonstrably maladaptive. ... People who consistently display benignly eccentric behavior
are labeled as "eccentrics."
Eccentric bottom bracket on a Burley tandem bicycle held in place with two set screws

Chain and sprocket mechanism:-

A sprocket or sprocket-wheel is a profiled wheel with teeth, or cogs, that mesh with
a chain, track or other perforated or indented material.[5][6] The name 'sprocket' applies
generally to any wheel upon which radial projections engage a chain passing over it. It is
distinguished from a gear in that sprockets are never meshed together directly, and differs
from a pulley in that sprockets have teeth and pulleys are smooth except for timing pulleys
used with toothed belts.
Sprockets are used in bicycles, motorcycles, cars, tracked vehicles, and
other machinery either to transmit rotary motion between two shafts where gears are
unsuitable or to impart linear motion to a track, tape etc. Perhaps the most common form of
sprocket may be found in the bicycle, in which the pedal shaft carries a large sprocket-wheel,
which drives a chain, which, in turn, drives a small sprocket on the axle of the rear wheel.
Early automobiles were also largely driven by sprocket and chain mechanism, a practice
largely copied from bicycles.
Sprockets are of various designs, a maximum of efficiency being claimed for each by its
originator. Sprockets typically do not have a flange. Some sprockets used with timing
belts have flanges to keep the timing belt centered. Sprockets and chains are also used for
power transmission from one shaft to another where slippage is not admissible, sprocket
chains being used instead of belts or ropes and sprocket-wheels instead of pulleys. They can
be run at high speed and some forms of chain are so constructed as to be noiseless even at
high speed.

A sprocket and roller chain

16 tooth sprocket. Do = Sprocket diameter. Dp = Pitch diameter

Bearing:-

A bearing is a machine element that constrains relative motion to only the desired motion,
and reduces friction between moving parts. The design of the bearing may, for example,
provide for free linear movement of the moving part or for free rotation around a fixed axis;
or, it may prevent a motion by controlling the vectors of normal forces that bear on the
moving parts. Most bearings facilitate the desired motion by minimizing friction. Bearings
are classified broadly according to the type of operation, the motions allowed, or to the
directions of the loads (forces) applied to the parts.
Rotary bearings hold rotating components such as shafts or axles within mechanical systems,
and transfer axial and radial loads from the source of the load to the structure supporting it.
The simplest form of bearing, the plain bearing, consists of a shaft rotating in a
hole. Lubrication is used to reduce friction. In the ball bearing and roller bearing, to reduce
sliding friction, rolling elements such as rollers or balls with a circular cross-section are
located between the races or journals of the bearing assembly. A wide variety of bearing
designs exists to allow the demands of the application to be correctly met for maximum
efficiency, reliability, durability and performance.
The term "bearing" is derived from the verb "to bear"; a bearing being a machine element that
allows one part to bear (i.e., to support) another. The simplest bearings are bearing surfaces,
cut or formed into a part, with varying degrees of control over the form, size, roughness and
location of the surface. Other bearings are separate devices installed into a machine or
machine part. The most sophisticated bearings for the most demanding applications are
very precise devices; their manufacture requires some of the highest standards of current
technology.

Tapered roller bearing

Motions
Common motions permitted by bearings are:

 Radial rotation e.g. shaft rotation;

 linear motion e.g. drawer;

 spherical rotation e.g. ball and socket joint;

 hinge motion e.g. door, elbow, knee.

Friction
Reducing friction in bearings is often important for efficiency, to reduce wear and to facilitate extended use at
high speeds and to avoid overheating and premature failure of the bearing. Essentially, a bearing can reduce
friction by virtue of its shape, by its material, or by introducing and containing a fluid between surfaces or by
separating the surfaces with an electromagnetic field.

 By shape, gains advantage usually by using spheres or rollers, or by forming flexure bearings.
 By material, exploits the nature of the bearing material used. (An example would be using plastics that
have low surface friction.)

 By fluid, exploits the low viscosity of a layer of fluid, such as a lubricant or as a pressurized medium to
keep the two solid parts from touching, or by reducing the normal force between them.

 By fields, exploits electromagnetic fields, such as magnetic fields, to keep solid parts from touching.

 Air pressure exploits air pressure to keep solid parts from touching.

Combinations of these can even be employed within the same bearing. An example of this is where the cage is
made of plastic, and it separates the rollers/balls, which reduce friction by their shape and finish.

Loads
Bearing design varies depending on the size and directions of the forces that they are required to support. Forces
can be predominately radial, axial (thrust bearings), or bending moments perpendicular to the main axis.

Speeds
Different bearing types have different operating speed limits. Speed is typically specified as maximum relative
surface speeds, often specified ft/s or m/s. Rotational bearings typically describe performance in terms of the
product DN where D is the mean diameter (often in mm) of the bearing and N is the rotation rate in revolutions
per minute.
Generally, there is considerable speed range overlap between bearing types. Plain bearings typically handle only
lower speeds, rolling element bearings are faster, followed by fluid bearings and finally magnetic bearings
which are limited ultimately by centripetal force overcoming material strength.

Rolling element bearings

Rolling element bearing life is determined by load, temperature, maintenance, lubrication,
material defects, contamination, handling, installation and other factors. These factors can all
have a significant effect on bearing life. For example, the service life of bearings in one
application was extended dramatically by changing how the bearings were stored before
installation and use, as vibrations during storage caused lubricant failure even when the only
load on the bearing was its own weight; the resulting damage is often false
brinelling. Bearing life is statistical: several samples of a given bearing will often exhibit
a bell curve of service life, with a few samples showing significantly better or worse life.
Bearing life varies because microscopic structure and contamination vary greatly even where
macroscopically they seem identical.
CrankShaft mechanism:-

Crankshaft (shown in red), pistons with connecting rods (gray), cylinders (blue) and flywheel (black)
for an inline-four engine

A crankshaft is a rotating shaft which (in conjunction with the connecting rods)
converts reciprocating motion of the pistons into rotational motion. Crankshafts are
commonly used in internal combustion engines and consist of a series
of cranks and crankpins to which the connecting rods are attached.
The crankshaft rotates within the engine block through use of main bearings, and the
crankpins rotate within the connecting rods using rod bearings. Crankshafts are usually made
from metal, with most modern crankshafts being constructed using forged steel.