MECH 321

Chapter 9
Gears

All figures taken from Design of Machinery, 3rd ed. Robert

Norton 2003
 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
 Fundamental Law of Gearing
• The angular velocity ratio between 2 meshing gears
remains constant throughout the mesh
• Angular velocity ratio (mV)
• Torque ratio (mT) is mechanical advantage (mA)
Input
ωout rin d in
mV   
v  ωr ωin rout d out
ωin rin  ωout rout ωin rout d out
mT   
ωout rin d in
Output
 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 (f): 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

rp+rg
Length of Action
Length of Action
Length of Action (Path of Contact)
Length of Action
 Change in Center Distance
• With the involute tooth form, the fundamental law
of gearing is followed, even if the center distance
changes
• Pressure angle
increases
 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
Backlash
 Gear Tooth Nomenclature
• Circular Pitch, pc=pd/N , Base Pitch pb=pc cos f
• Diametral Pitch (in 1/inch), pd=N/d=p/pc, pcpm
• Module (in mm), m=d/N (must be same for meshing gears)
d in N in
mV   
d out N out
d out N out
mT   
d in N in
 Gear Tooth Nomenclature

a+b

b-a

• # of pinion teeth >= 12 (Avoid Interference)

 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
f Min #
(deg) teeth
14.5 32
20 18
25 12
 Contact Ratio
• The contact ratio mp, defines the average number of
teeth in contact at any one time:
• mp=Arc of Action/ Circular Pitch = CD/pmcosf

C
 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%)
Spur Gears
 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
Helical Gears
 Herringbone Gears
• Eliminate the axial thrust force
• 95% efficient
• Very expensive
Herringbone Gears
 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)
 Simple Gear Trains
N 2 N3 N 4 N5
ωout  ωin
N3 N 4 N5 N 6
N2
 ωin
N6
• Maximum gear ratio of 10:1 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
• Allows for larger gear train ratios
• mV (Train Ratio)= +/- (prod. # of
driving gears teeth)/ (prod. # of driven
gears teeth)   N 2   N 4 
ωout    ωin
 N3  N5 
 Compound Train Design
ωin  N 2  N 4 
2 ωin     ωout
 N3  N5  2
 N2 
If N2=N4 and N3=N5 ωin    ωout
3 4  N3 
2
ωin  N3 

ωout 
ωout  N 2 
Reduction ratio
5
Will be used to determine the no. of
stages given a reduction ratio
2 stages
 Compound Train Design
• Design train with train ratio of 1:180 (Gear ratio 180:1)
• Two stages have ratio 180  13.4164 too large
 N3  3
• Three stages has ratio 3 180  5.646    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
 14  14  or 4.5x6x(20/3) etc.
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 (constant
module)
• Gear ratio is
ωin N3 N5

ωout N 2 N 4
Design a reverted compound gear train
for a train ratio of 1:18
 N3  N5 
18=3x6 N3=6N2, N5=3N4     18
N2+N3=N4+N5=constant  N 2  N 4 
N2+6N2=N4+3N4=C  N3   N5 
 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,
• N4=28, N5=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 w3
 Planetary Gearset with Ring Gear
Output
• Two inputs (sun and arm) and one output (ring)
all on concentric shafts
 Different Epicyclic Configurations
Gear plots are about axis of rotation/symmetry
bearing
Ring (internal)

teeth

Axis of
symmetry
Sun (external)
 Compound Epicycloidal Gear Train
• Which picture is this?
 Tabular Method For Velocity Analysis
• Basic equation: wgear=warm+wgear/arm
• Gear ratios apply to the relative angular velocities
Gear# wgear= warm wgear/arm Gear
ratio
 Example
Given:
Sun gear N2=40 teeth
Planet gear N3=20 teeth
Ring gear N4=80 teeth
warm=200 rpm clockwise
wsun=100 rpm clockwise

Required:
Ring gear velocity wring
 Tabular Method For Velocity Analysis
N2=40, N3=20, N4=80 Sign convention:
warm= -200 rpm (clockwise) Clockwise is negative (-)
wsun= -100 rpm (clockwise) Anti-clockwise is positive(+)

Gear# wgear= warm+ wgear/arm Gear

ratio
2 -100 -200 100 40

20
3 - 400 -200 -200
20

4 -250 -50
80
-200

w4= - 250 rpm