Gear Drive - Introduction

 In gear drives, gear engage with each other and thus transfer the revolution & torque of the input (drive) shaft to
desired value on output (driven) shaft.
 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. The motion and power transmitted by gears is kinematically equivalent to that transmitted by frictional
wheels or discs.
 Gear Drive (contd..)
Advantages
• It is a positive drive (no slip) so power transmission is
highly efficient.
• Used for small centre to centre distance. Bulky if
used for large centre to centre distances.
• It can transmit very large power compared to belt or
chain drive
• It can transmit motion at very low velocities (clocks
and watches). Which are not possible with belt drives.
Disadvantages
• Complicated manufacturing
• High maintenance cost.
• Need Careful lubrication and cleanliness
• Need precise alignment of shafts
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Classification of Gear
1. According to the position of axes of the shafts.

a. Parallel
1. Spur Gear
2. Helical Gear
3. Rack and Pinion
b. Intersecting
• Bevel Gear
c. Non-intersecting and Non-parallel
• Worm wheel and worm gears
Spur Gear
 Teeth is parallel to axis of rotation
 Transmit power from one shaft to another parallel shaft
 Contact between mating gears will be along a line- higher power transmission
 Instantaneous line contact when teeth mesh will result into high noise.
 Easy design, cheap production and low maintenance is required.
 Used in washing machines, and automobile gear boxes.
Spur Gears - Types

External Set: Opposite Movement Internal Set: Movement in the same direction
Helical Gear
 The teeth on helical gears are cut at an angle to the face of the gear in the form of helix.
 Contact between mating gears is curvilinear.
 This gradual engagement makes helical gears operate much more smoothly and quietly than spur gears
 One interesting thing about helical gears is that if the angles of the gear teeth are correct, they can be mounted on
perpendicular shafts, adjusting the rotation angle by 90 degrees.
 The main disadvantage of helical gears is that it produces end thrusts on the driving and driven shafts.
 Helical Gears can be used for transmitting motion between parallel shafts as well as between perpendicular shafts.
 Herringbone gears / Double helical gears
 HERRINGBONE Gears are pairs of Helical Gears. These gears are used for large power transmission.

 To avoid axial thrust, two helical gears of opposite hand can be mounted side by side, to cancel resulting thrust forces.

 Herringbone gears are mostly used on heavy machinery.

Rack and Pinion Gear
 It is a special case of spur gear in which one gear is having infinite diameter called "Rack".
 Rack and pinion gears are used to convert rotation (From the pinion) into linear motion (of the rack)
 Application
 lifting mechanisms (vertical movement), horizontal movement, steering systems to change the direction of cars,
lathe machine, drilling machine and measuring instrument.
 Bevel gear
 When power is required to be transmitted from one shaft to another shaft
which are intersecting to each other then bevel gears are used. Generally, the
angle between two shafts is 90⁰.
 Bevel gears have the shape of a truncated cone. Size of the gear tooth
decreases towards the apex of the cone.
 Locomotives, marine applications, automobiles, printing presses, cooling
towers, power plants, steel plants, railway track inspection machines, etc.

Bevel gear - Types

 The teeth on bevel gears can be straight, spiral.
 Types of Gear Drives (contd..)
Worm Gear
• Worm gears are used for power transmission between non-intersecting shafts
that are generally at right angles to each other.
• A worm gear is a type of gear mechanism that consists of a shaft with a spiral
thread, engaging and driving a toothed wheel.
• Worm is a threaded screw and is used as the driver.
• Worm wheel is a toothed wheel.
• The teeth on the wheel are slightly angled and curved.
• Worm gears play a crucial role in changing rotational movement by 90 degrees.
• Worm gears are used for high speed reduction (100 : 1)
• Examples: Lifts and elevators, rolling mills, conveying engineering, mining
industry machines.
Types of Gear
Definitions in Gear Drive
 VELOCITY RATIO
• It is the ratio between the speed of the driven shaft and the speed of the driving shaft (driver).

Let 𝐷 = diameter of driving gear

𝐷 = diameter of driven gear
𝑁 = speed of driving gear
𝑁 = speed of driven gear

𝑁 𝐷 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔

= ⇒ =
𝑁 𝐷 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛
 Definitions in Gear Drive
𝑉 Let
𝜔 = angular speed of gear
𝜔 = angular speed of pinion gear
1 2
𝑇 = No. of teeth on gear
𝑇 = No. of teeth on pinion

No slip, 𝑉 = 𝜔 𝑟1 = 𝜔 𝑟2
𝜔 𝑁 𝑟
= 2𝜋𝑁 𝑟1 = 2𝜋𝑁 𝑟2 = =
𝜔 𝑁 𝑟

 Gear Ratio
• The gear ratio represents the relationship between the number of teeth on two meshing gears. It is the ratio of teeth
on the gear to that of on the pinion.
.
𝐺𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 = .
⇒ = =
 Definitions in Gear Drive
Pitch Circle: Pitch circle is the imaginary circle on the gear about which it may be supposed to roll without
slipping with pitch circle of another gear.

• The size of gear teeth is more easily calculated by dividing the diameter of the Pitch Circle by the number of gear teeth.
This is known as the Module (m) and must be the same for any meshing gears.
m= D/T
• Circular pitch is the distance from one corresponding point on a tooth to another tooth along the circumference of the
pitch circle.
The formula for the circular pitch of a gear is P = πD/T
Applications of Gear Drives

Differential
gear drive
is in motor
vehicles

Lathe Machine

The joint of robot's link

actuated by planetary gear
system
GEAR TRAINS
 A gear train is two or more gear working together by meshing their teeth and turning each
other in a system to generate power and speed
 Series of gear wheels in which each gear is mounted on a separate shaft
 Gears in between Driver and Driven gear called idler gears
 It reduces speed and increases torque.
 Electric motors are used with the gear systems to reduce the speed and increase the torque.
Types of Gear Trains

 Simple gear train

 Compound gear train

 Reverted Gear Train

 Planetary gear train

 Simple gear train
 A simple gear train consists of two or more gears meshed, with each gear having a unique shaft. The input and output
shafts are connected by these gears, providing a direct transfer of motion.
 All odd numbered gears move in in one direction and all even numbered gears in opposite direction.
 All the gears can be in straight line or in zig-zag manner.
 Intermediate gears have no effect on the speed ratio and are know as idlers.
 Commonly found in various machinery and mechanical systems where a single-stage gear reduction or speed increase is
sufficient.
 Compound gear train
 When a series of gears are connected in such a way that two or more gears are rotate about an axis with the same
angular velocity, called compound gear train.
 Compound gear trains are utilized when multiple stages of gear reduction or speed increase are necessary.
 Ideal for applications requiring precise control of both speed and torque.
 Widely used in automotive transmissions, industrial machinery, and clock mechanisms.
Reverted Gear Train

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 Planetary gear train (Epicyclic gear train)
 A gear train having a relative motion of axes is called Planetary gear train or Epicyclic gear train.
 Used for very high speed reductions with gears of moderate size in lesser space
 A complex gear configuration known as a planetary gear train enables versatile and compact power transmission.
 Consists of a central gear (sun gear), surrounding gears (planet gears), and an outer ring gear (annulus).
 Planet gears rotate around the sun gear while also spinning about their own axes, resulting in varied gear ratios, torque
outputs, and motion patterns.
 Commonly used in automatic transmissions, robotics, wrist watches and diverse systems requiring efficient and adaptable
power transmission solutions.
Problem 2
A pair of spur gear consists of 20 teeth pinion meshing with 120 teeth gear. The module is 4mm,
Calculate i) centre distance
ii) pitch circle diameter of pinion and gear
iii) gear ratio.

Ans i) 280mm
ii) 80mm and 480mm
iii) 6