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Introduction
Gears are machine elements used to transmit rotary motion between two shafts, normally with a
constant ratio. The pinion is the smallest gear and the larger gear is called the gear wheel.. A rack
is a rectangular prism with gear teeth machined along one side- it is in effect a gear wheel with an
infinite pitch circle diameter. In practice the action of gears in transmitting motion is a cam action
each pair of mating teeth acting as cams. Gear design has evolved to such a level that throughout
the motion of each contacting pair of teeth the velocity ratio of the gears is maintained fixed and the
velocity ratio is still fixed as each subsequent pair of teeth come into contact. When the teeth action
is such that the driving tooth moving at constant angular velocity produces a proportional constant
velocity of the driven tooth the action is termed a conjugate action. The teeth shape universally
selected for the gear teeth is the involute profile.
Consider one end of a piece of string is fastened to the OD of one cylinder and the other end of the
string is fastened to the OD of another cylinder parallel to the first and both cylinders are rotated in
the opposite directions to tension the string(see figure below). The point on the string midway
between the cylinder P is marked. As the left hand cylinder rotates CCW the point moves towards
this cylinder as it wraps on . The point moves away from the right hand cylinder as the string
unwraps. The point traces the involute form of the gear teeth.
The lines normal to the point of contact of the gears always intersects the centre line joining the gear
centres at one point called the pitch point. For each gear the circle passing through the pitch point is
called the pitch circle. The gear ratio is proportional to the diameters of the two pitch circles. For
metric gears (as adopted by most of the worlds nations) the gear proportions are based on the
module.
In the USA the module is not used and instead the Diametric Pitch d pis used
Many gears trains are very low power applications with an object of transmitting motion with minium
torque e.g. watch and clock mechanisms, instruments, toys, music boxes etc. These applications do
not require detailed strength calculations.
Standards
• AGMA 2001-C95 or AGMA-2101-C95 Fundamental Rating factors and Calculation Methods for
involute Spur Gear and Helical Gear Teeth
• BS 436-4:1996, ISO 1328-1:1995..Spur and helical gears. Definitions and allowable values of
deviations relevant to corresponding flanks of gear teeth
• BS 436-5:1997, ISO 1328-2:1997..Spur and helical gears. Definitions and allowable values of
deviations relevant to radial composite deviations and runout information
• BS ISO 6336-1:1996 ..Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears. Basic principles,
introduction and general influence factors
• BS ISO 6336-2:1996..Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears. Calculation of
surface durability (pitting)
• BS ISO 6336-3:1996..Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears. Calculation of
tooth bending strength
• BS ISO 6336-5:2003..Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears. Strength and
quality of materials
If it is necessary to design a gearbox from scratch the design process in selecting the gear size is not
complicated - the various design formulea have all been developed over time and are available in the
relevant standards. However significant effort, judgement and expertise is required in designing the
whole system including the gears, shafts , bearings, gearbox, lubrication. For the same duty many
different gear options are available for the type of gear , the materials and the quality. It is always
preferable to procure gearboxes from specialised gearbox manufacturers
The spur gear is is simplest type of gear manufactured and is generally used for transmission of
rotary motion between parallel shafts. The spur gear is the first choice option for gears except when
high speeds, loads, and ratios direct towards other options. Other gear types may also be preferred
to provide more silent low-vibration operation. A single spur gear is generally selected to have a ratio
range of between 1:1 and 1:6 with a pitch line velocity up to 25 m/s. The spur gear has an operating
efficiency of 98-99%. The pinion is made from a harder material than the wheel. A gear pair should
be selected to have the highest number of teeth consistent with a suitable safety margin in strength
and wear. The minimum number of teeth on a gear with a normal pressure angle of 20 desgrees is
18.
12 13 14 15 16 18 20 22 24 25 28 30 32 34 38 40 45 50
54 60
64 70 72 75 80 84 90 96 100 120 140 150 180 200 220
250
Mild steel is a poor material for gears as as it has poor resistance to surface loading. The carbon
content for unhardened gears is generally 0.4%(min) with 0.55%(min) carbon for the
pinions. Dissimilar materials should be used for the meshing gears - this particularly applies to alloy
steels. Alloy steels have superior fatigue properties compared to carbon steels for comparable
strengths. For extremely high gear loading case hardened steels are used the surface hardening
method employed should be such to provide sufficient case depth for the final grinding process used.
It is acceptable to marginally modify these relationships e.g to modify the addendum /dedendum to
allow Centre Distance adjustments. Any changes modifications will affect the gear performance in
good and bad ways...
Addendum h a = m = 0.3183 p
Base Circle diameter Db = d.cos α
Centre distance a = ( d g + d p) / 2
Circular pitch p = m.π
Circular tooth thickness ctt = p/2
Dedendum h f = h - a = 1,25m = 0,3979 p
Module m = d /n
Number of teeth z=d/m
Outside diameter D o = (z + 2) x m
Pitch circle diameter d = n . m ... (d g = gear & d p = pinion )
Whole depth(min) h = 2.25 . m
Top land width(min) t o = 0,25 . m
Module (m)
The module is the ratio of the pitch diameter to the number of teeth. The unit of the module is milli-
metres.Below is a diagram showing the relative size of teeth machined in a rack with module ranging
from module values of 0,5 mm to 6 mm
An important variable affecting the geometry of the gear teeth is the normal pressure angle. This is
o
generally standardised at 20 . Other pressure angles should be used only for special reasons and
using considered judgment. The following changes result from increasing the pressure angle
o o
Gears required to have low noise levels have pressure angles 15 to17.5
Contact Ratio
The gear design is such that when in mesh the rotating gears have more than one gear in contact
and transferring the torque for some of the time. This property is called the contact ratio. This is a
ratio of the length of the line-of-action to the base pitch. The higher the contact ratio the more the
load is shared between teeth. It is good practice to maintain a contact ratio of 1.2 or greater. Under
no circumstances should the ratio drop below 1.1.
A contact ratio between 1 and 2 means that part of the time two pairs of teeth are in contact and
during the remaining time one pair is in contact. A ratio between 2 and 3 means 2 or 3 pairs of teeth
are always in contact. Such as high contact ratio generally is not obtained with external spur gears,
but can be developed in the meshing of an internal and external spur gear pair or specially designed
non-standard external spur gears.
contact ratio m =
[Rgo2 - Rgb2 )1/2 + (Rpo2 - Rpb2 )1/2 - a sin α] / p cos α
Speed Ratio =ω 1 / ω 2 = d 2 / d 1 = z 2 /z 1
Input Power P 1 = T1 .ω 1
Designing spur gears is normally done in accordance with standards the two most popular series are
listed under standards above:
The notes below relate to approximate methods for estimating gear strengths. The methods are really
only useful for first approximations and/or selection of stock gears (ref links below). — Detailed design
necessary guidance. Software is also available making the process very easy. A very reasonably
priced and easy to use package is included in the links below (Mitcalc.com)
The determination of the capacity of gears to transfer the required torque for the desired operating life
is completed by determining the strength of the gear teeth in bending and also the durability i.e of the
teeth ( resistance to wearing/bearing/scuffing loads ) .. The equations below are based on methods
used by Buckingham..
Bending
The basic bending stress for gear teeth is obtained by using the Lewis formula
σ = Ft / ( ba. m. Y )
σ = Ft / ( ba. p. y )
When a gear wheel is rotating the gear teeth come into contact with some degree of impact. To allow
for this a velocity factor is introduced into the equation. This is given by the Barth equation for milled
profile gears.
K v = 6,1 / (6,1 +V )
σ = K v.Ft / ( ba. m. Y )
Surface Durability
This calculation involves determining the contact stress between the gear teeth and uses the
Herz Formula
σ w = 2.F / ( π .b .l )
To arrive at the formula used for gear calculations the following changes are made
F is replaced by F t/ cos α
d is replaced by 2.r
l is replaced by W
The velocity factor K v as described above is introduced.
Also an elastic constant Z E is created
When the value of E used is in MPa then the units of Cp are √ MPa = KPa The resulting
formula for the compressive stress developed is as shown below
The dynamic contact stress χc developed by the transmitted torque must be less than the
allowable contact stress Se...
Note: Values for Allowable stress values Se and ZE for some materials are provided at Gear
Table
r1 = d1 sin α /2
r2 = d2 sin α /2
Important Note: The above equations do not take into account the various factors which are
integral to calculations completed using the relevant standards. These equations therefore
yield results suitable for first estimate design purposes only...
Design Process
To select gears from a stock gear catalogue or do a first approximation for a gear design select the gear material and
obtain a safe working stress e.g Yield stress / Factor of Safety. /Safe fatigue stress
The gear face width should be selected in the range 9-15 x module or for straight spur gears-up to 60% of the pinion
diameter.
Internal Gears
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
1. Housing and bearing supports are more complicated, because the external gear nests within the internal
gear.
2. Low ratios are unsuitable and in many cases impossible because of interferences.
3. Fabrication is limited to the shaper generating process, and usually special tooling is required.
http://www.ecs.umass.edu/mie/labs/mda/dlib/machine/gear/gear2.html
Helical Gears
Introduction
Helical gears are similar to spur gears except that the gears teeth are at an angle with the axis of the
gears. A helical gear is termed right handed or left handed as determined by the direction the teeth
slope away from the viewer looking at the top gear surface along the axis of the gear. ( Alternatively
if a gear rests on its face the hand is in the direction of the slope of the teeth) . Meshing helical gears
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must be of opposite hand. Meshed helical gears can be at an angle to each other (up to 90 ). The
helical gear provides a smoother mesh and can be operated at greater speeds than a straight spur
gear. In operatation helical gears generate axial shaft forces in addition to the radial shaft force
generated by normal spur gears.
In operation the initial tooth contact of a helical gear is a point which develops into a full line contact
as the gear rotates. This is a smoother cycle than a spur which has an initial line contact. Spur
gears are generally not run at peripheral speed of more than 10m/s. Helical gears can be run at
speed exceeding 50m/s when accurately machined and balanced.
Standards ... The same standards apply to helical gears as for spur gears
• AGMA 2001-C95 or AGMA-2101-C95 Fundamental Rating factors and Calculation
Methods for involute Spur Gear and Helical Gear Teeth
• BS 436-4:1996, ISO 1328-1:1995..Spur and helical gears. Definitions and
allowable values of deviations relevant to corresponding flanks of gear teeth
• BS 436-5:1997, ISO 1328-2:1997..Spur and helical gears. Definitions and
allowable values of deviations relevant to radial composite deviations and runout
information
• BS ISO 6336-1:1996 ..Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears. Basic
principles, introduction and general influence factors
• BS ISO 6336-2:1996..Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears.
Calculation of surface durability (pitting)
• BS ISO 6336-3:1996..Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears.
Calculation of tooth bending strength
• BS ISO 6336-5:2003..Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears.
Strength and quality of materials
A helical gear train with parallel axes is very similar to a spur gear with the same tooth profile and
proportions. The primary difference is that the teeth are machined at an angle to the gear axis.
Helix Angle ..
The helix angle of helical gears β is generally selected from the range 6,8,10,12,15,20 degrees. The
larger the angle the smoother the motion and the higher speed possible however the thrust loadings
on the supporting bearings also increases. In case of a double or herringbone gear β values
the two sets of teeth cancel each other allowing larger angles with no penalty
Pitch /module ..
When two helical gears are used to transmit power between non parallel, non-intersecting shafts,
they are generally called crossed helical gears. These are simply normal helical gears with non-
parallel shafts. For crossed helical gears to operate successfully they must have the same pressure
angle and the same normal pitch. They need not have the same helix angle and they do not need to
be opposite hand. The contact is not a good line contact as for parallel helical gears and is often
little more than a point contact. Running in crossed helical gears tend to marginally improve the area
of contact.
The relationship between the shaft angles Ε and the helix angles β 1 & β2 is as follows
Ε = (Same Helix Angle) β 1 + β 2 ......(Opposite Helix Angle) β 1 - β 2
o
For gears with a 90 crossed axis it is obvious that the gears must be the same hand.
The centres distance (a) between crossed helical gears is calculated as follows
Designing helical gears is normally done in accordance with standards the two most popular series
are listed under standards above: The notes below relate to approximate methods for estimating gear
strengths. The methods are really only useful for first approximations and/or selection of stock gears
(ref links below). — Detailed design of spur and helical gears should best be completed using :
a) Standards.
b) Books are available providing the necessary guidance.
c) Software is also available making the process very easy. A very reasonably priced and easy to
use package is included in the links below (Mitcalc.com)
The determination of the capacity of gears to transfer the required torque for the desired operating life
is completed by determining the strength of the gear teeth in bending and also the durability i.e of the
teeth ( resistance to wearing/bearing/scuffing loads ) .. The equations below are based on methods
used by Buckingham..
Bending
The Lewis formula for spur gears can be applied to helical gears with minor adjustments to provide
an initial conservative estimate of gear strength in bending. This equation should only be used for
first estimates.
σ = Fb / ( ba. m. Y )
When a gear wheel is rotating the gear teeth come into contact with some degree of impact. To allow
for this a velocity factor is introduced into the equation. This is given by the Barth equation for milled
profile gears.
K v = 6,1 / (6,1 + V )
σ = Fb / (K v. ba. m. Y )
3
The Lewis form factor Y must be determined for the virtual number of teeth z' = z /cos β The bending stress
resulting should be less than the allowable bending stress Sb for the gear material under
consideration. Some sample values are provide on this page ef Gear Strength Values
Surface Strength
The allowable gear force from surface durability considerations is determined approximately using the
simple equation as follows
2
Fw = K v d p b a Q K / cos2β
Q = 2. dg /( dp + dp ) = 2.zg /( zp +zp )
K = Gear Wear Load Factor (MPa) obtained by look up ref Gear Strength Values
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Lewis Form factor for Teeth profile α = 20 , addendum = m, dedendum = 1.25m
Number Number Number Number Number
Y Y Y Y Y
of teeth of teeth of teeth of teeth of teeth
12 0.245 17 0.303 22 0.331 34 0.371 75 0.435
13 0.261 18 0.309 24 0.337 38 0.384 100 0.447
14 0.277 19 0.314 26 0.346 45 0.401 150 0.460
15 0.290 20 0.322 28 0.353 50 0.409 300 0.472
16 0.296 21 0.328 30 0.359 60 0.422 Rack 0.485
Material Properties Tables for Spur, Helical and Bevel Gears
Detailed gear designs should be based on more accurate information available using the relevant
standards..
Allowable K
Poissons
Material Young's Modulus ( E ) Surface for α = 20 Cp Ze
Ratio (ν)
Endurance deg
Pinion Gear Pinion Pinion Pinion Gear Pinion Gear Stress ( S e)
psi psi MPa MPa psi MPa psi MPa √psi √MPa
Steel.BHN Av=150 0.3 0.3 3.00E+07 3.00E+07 2.07E+05 2.07E+05 50000 345 41 0.281 2291 190
Steel.BHN Av=175 0.3 0.3 3.00E+07 3.00E+07 2.07E+05 2.07E+05 60000 414 59 0.404 2291 190
Steel.BHN Av=200 0.3 0.3 3.00E+07 3.00E+07 2.07E+05 2.07E+05 70000 483 80 0.550 2291 190
Steel.BHN Av=225 0.3 0.3 3.00E+07 3.00E+07 2.07E+05 2.07E+05 80000 552 104 0.719 2291 190
Steel.BHN Av=250 0.3 0.3 3.00E+07 3.00E+07 2.07E+05 2.07E+05 90000 621 132 0.910 2291 190
Steel.BHN Av=275 0.3 0.3 3.00E+07 3.00E+07 2.07E+05 2.07E+05 100000 689 163 1.123 2291 190
Steel.BHN Av=300 0.3 0.3 3.00E+07 3.00E+07 2.07E+05 2.07E+05 110000 758 197 1.359 2291 190
Steel.BHN Av=325 0.3 0.3 3.00E+07 3.00E+07 2.07E+05 2.07E+05 120000 827 235 1.617 2291 190
Steel.BHN Av=350 0.3 0.3 3.00E+07 3.00E+07 2.07E+05 2.07E+05 130000 896 275 1.898 2291 190
Steel.BHN Av=375 0.3 0.3 3.00E+07 3.00E+07 2.07E+05 2.07E+05 140000 965 319 2.201 2291 190
Steel.BHN Av=400 0.3 0.3 3.00E+07 3.00E+07 2.07E+05 2.07E+05 150000 1034 366 2.527 2291 190
Stl BHN=150 Cast Iron 0.3 0.211 3.00E+07 2.20E+07 2.07E+05 1.52E+05 50000 345 48 0.332 2077 172
Stl BHN=250 Cast Iron 0.3 0.211 3.00E+07 2.20E+07 2.07E+05 1.52E+05 70000 483 94 0.650 2077 172
Stl BHN=350 Cast Iron 0.3 0.211 3.00E+07 2.20E+07 2.07E+05 1.52E+05 90000 621 156 1.075 2077 172
Stl BHN=150 Phos Bros 0.3 0.38 3.00E+07 1.45E+07 2.07E+05 1.00E+05 59000 407 62 0.600 1888 157
Stl BHN=250 Phos Bros 0.3 0.38 3.00E+07 1.45E+07 2.07E+05 1.00E+05 65000 448 100 0.728 1888 157
Stl BHN=350 Phos Bros 0.3 0.38 3.00E+07 1.45E+07 2.07E+05 1.00E+05 85000 586 184 1.245 1888 157
Cast Iron Cast Iron 0.211 0.211 2.20E+07 2.20E+07 1.52E+05 1.52E+05 90000 621 264 1.240 1914 159
Cast Iron Phos Bros 0.211 0.38 2.20E+07 1.45E+07 1.52E+05 1.00E+05 83000 572 234 1.328 1763 146