Syllabus

 Module IV: Gears and Gear trains

Spur Gears: Gear terminology, law of gearing, Characteristics of involute

action, Path of contact. Arc of contact, Contact ratio of spur, helical, bevel and
worm gears, Interference in involute gears. Methods of avoiding interference,
Back lash. Comparison of involute and cycloidal teeth. Profile Modification.

Gear Trains: Simple gear trains, Compound gear trains for large speed.
Reduction, Epicyclical gear trains, Algebraic and tabular methods of finding
velocity ratio of epicyclical gear trains. Tooth load and torque calculations in
epicyclical gear trains.
Introduction
Gears are used to transmit motion or power from one shaft to another preferably if
the centre distance between the two shaft is small. It is a positive and smooth drive

Let the wheel A be keyed to the rotating shaft and the wheel B to the shaft, to be
rotated. A little consideration will show, that when the wheel A is rotated by a
rotating shaft, it will rotate the wheel B in the opposite direction as shown in Fig.

The wheel B will be rotated (by the wheel A) so long as the tangential force
exerted by the wheel A does not exceed the maximum frictional resistance
between the two wheels. But when the tangential force (P) exceeds the frictional
resistance (F), slipping will take place between the two wheels. Thus the friction
drive is not a positive drive.
Classification
1. According to the position of axes of the shafts
2. According to the peripheral velocity of the gears.
3. According to the type of gearing.
4. According to position of teeth on the gear surface.
1. According to the position of axes of the shafts
The axes of the two shafts between which the motion is to be transmitted, may be
(a) Parallel, (b) Intersecting, and (c) Non-intersecting and non-parallel.
The two parallel and co-planar shafts connected by
the gears is shown in Fig. These gears are called spur
gears. These gears have teeth parallel to the axis of
the wheel.
Another name given to the spur gearing is helical
gearing, in which the teeth are inclined to the axis.

The single and double helical gears connecting

parallel shafts. The double helical gears are
known as herringbone gears.
Classification
1. According to the position of axes of the shafts
2. According to the peripheral velocity of the gears.
3. According to the type of gearing.
4. According to position of teeth on the gear surface.
1. According to the position of axes of the shafts
The axes of the two shafts between which the motion is to be transmitted, may be
(a) Parallel, (b) Intersecting, and (c) Non-intersecting and non-parallel.
The two non-parallel or intersecting, but coplanar shafts connected by
gears is shown in Fig. These gears are called bevel gears The bevel
gears, like spur gears, may also have their teeth inclined to the face of
the bevel, in which case they are known as helical bevel gears.
The two non-intersecting and non-parallel i.e.
non-coplanar shaft connected by gears is shown
in Fig. These gears are called skew bevel gears
or spiral gears This type of gearing also have a
line contact, the rotation of which about the
axes generates the two pitch surfaces known as
hyperboloids.
Classification
1. According to the position of axes of the shafts
2. According to the peripheral velocity of the gears.
3. According to position of teeth on the gear surface.
4. According to the type of gearing.
According to the peripheral velocity of the gears.

The gears, according to the peripheral velocity of the gears may be classified as :
(a) Low velocity, (b) Medium velocity, and (c) High velocity.
The gears having velocity less than 3 m/s are termed as low velocity gears
gears having velocity between 3 and 15 m/s are known as medium velocity gears.
If the velocity of gears is more than 15 m/s, then these are called high speed gears.
According to position of teeth on the gear surface.
The teeth on the gear surface may be
(a) straight, (b) inclined, and (c) curved.
spur gears have straight teeth
where as helical gears have their teeth inclined to the wheel rim.
In case of spiral gears, the teeth are curved over the rim surface.
 Classification
1. According to the position of axes of the shafts
2. According to the peripheral velocity of the gears.
3. According to position of teeth on the gear surface.
4. According to the type of gearing.
According to the type of gearing.
The gears, according to the type of gearing may be classified as :
(a) External gearing, (b) Internal gearing, and (c) Rack and pinion.
In external gearing, the gears of the two shafts mesh externally
with each other as shown in Fig. The larger of these two wheels is
called spur wheel and the smaller wheel is called pinion. In an
external gearing, the motion of the two wheels is always in
opposite direction
In internal gearing, the gears of the two shafts mesh internally
with each other as shown in Fig. The larger of these two wheels is
called annular wheel and the smaller wheel is called pinion. In an
internal gearing, the motion of the two wheels is always in same
direction.
Gear of a shaft meshes externally and internally with the gears in a straight line, as
shown in Fig. Such type of gear is called rack and pinion. The straight line gear is
called rack and the circular wheel is called pinion.
 Spur Gear terminology

Pitch point- It is a common point of contact between two teethes

Pitch circle –It is an imaginary circle which by pure rolling action, would give the same
motion as the actual gear. (locus of these pitch point is called pitch circle)
Pitch circle diameter-It is the diameter of the pitch circle. The size of the gear is usually
specified by the pitch circle diameter. It is also known as pitch diameter
 Spur Gear terminology

Addendum. It is the radial distance of a tooth from the pitch circle to the top of the
tooth.
Dedendum. It is the radial distance of a tooth from the pitch circle to the bottom of
the tooth.
Addendum circle. It is the circle drawn through the top of the teeth and is concentric
with the pitch circle.
Dedendum circle. It is the circle drawn through the bottom of the teeth. It is also
called root circle.
 Spur Gear terminology

Clearance. It is the radial distance between the addendum of one gear to the
dedundum of the matting gear.
A circle passing through the top of the meshing gear is known as clearance circle
Total depth. It is the radial distance between the addendum and the dedendum
circles of a gear. It is equal to the sum of the addendum and dedendum.
Working depth. It is the radial distance from the addendum circle to the clearance
circle. It is equal to the sum of the addendum of the two meshing gears.
 Spur Gear terminology

Face of tooth. It is the surface of the gear tooth above the pitch surface.
Flank of tooth. It is the surface of the gear tooth below the pitch surface.
Top land. It is the surface of the top of the tooth.
Bottom land. It is the surface of the bottom of the tooth.
Face width. It is the width of the gear tooth measured parallel to its axis.
Profile. It is the curve formed by the face and flank of the tooth.
Fillet radius. It is the radius that connects the root circle to the profile of the tooth.
 Spur Gear terminology

Tooth thickness. It is the width of the tooth measured along the pitch circle.

Tooth space . It is the width of space between the two adjacent teeth measured along
the pitch circle.

Back lash: It is the difference between the tooth thickness and the width of the tooth
matting gear
 Spur Gear terminology

Module: It is the ratio of the pitch circle diameter (in mm) to the number of teeth. It is
usually denoted by m. Mathematically,
Module, m = D /T
 Spur Gear terminology

Circular pitch. It is the distance measured on the circumference of the pitch circle from
a point of one tooth to the corresponding point on the next tooth. It is usually denoted by pc.
Mathematically, Circular pitch, pc = πD/T
where D = Diameter of the pitch circle, and T = Number of teeth on the wheel.
A little consideration will show that the two gears will mesh together correctly, if the two
wheels have the same circular pitch.
Note : If D1 and D2 are the diameters of the two meshing gears having the teeth T1 and T2
respectively, then for them to mesh correctly,
 Spur Gear terminology

Diametral pitch. It is the ratio of number of teeth to the pitch circle diameter (in millimeters).
It is denoted by pd. Mathematically,
 Spur Gear terminology

Base circle : The base circle is the circle from which involute form is generated.

Base pitch: It is the distance measured along the base circle from a point of one tooth to the
corresponding point on the adjacent tooth and it is denoted by Pb.
pb  m cos   pc cos 
 Pressure angle
 Spur Gear terminology

Pressure angle: It is the angle between the common normal to two gear teeth at the point of
contact and the common tangent at the pitch point. It is usually denoted by Ø .
The standard pressure angles are 14 .5° and 20°
Spur Gear terminology
Spur Gear terminology
Spur Gear terminology
 Spur Gear terminology

Contact ratio: It is the ratio of angle of action to pitch angle (or) the ratio of path of
contact to base pitch
pathofcontact pathofcontact Arcofcontact
contactratio   
basepitch m cos  PC

Gear ratio: It is the ratio of number of teeth on gear to number of teeth on pinion.

T T=No. of teeth on gear

G t=No. of teeth on pinion
t

Velocity ratio: It is defined as the ratio of the angular velocity of the follower (Pinion)
to the angular velocity of the driving gear.

 2 N2
V .R     2N  2 N 2 d1 T1
 1 N1 V .R    
 1 N1 d 2 T2
 2 N 2 d1  d1 N1  d 2 N 2
V .R   
 1 N1 d 2
 Forms of teeth
In actual practice following are the two types of teeth commonly used
1. Cycloidal teeth ; and
2. Involute teeth.

Cycloidal Teeth
• A cycloid is the curve traced by a point on the circumference of a circle which rolls
without slipping on a fixed straight line.

• When a circle rolls without slipping on the outside of a fixed circle, the curve traced
by a point on the circumference of a circle is known as epi-cycloid.

• On the other hand, if a circle rolls without slipping on the inside of a fixed circle, then
the curve traced by a point on the circumference of a circle is called hypo-cycloid
1. Cycloid
A cycloid is the curve traced by a point on the circumference of a circle which rolls
without slipping on a fixed straight line.
Epi-cycloid.
When a circle rolls without slipping on the outside of a fixed circle (directing circle), the
curve traced by a point on the circumference of a circle is known as epi-cycloid.
hypo-cycloid.
When a circle rolls without slipping on the inside of a fixed circle (directing circle), then
the curve traced by a point on the circumference of a circle is called hypo-cycloid
 Construction of cycloid teeth
In Fig, the fixed line or pitch line of a rack is shown.

When the circle C rolls without slipping above the pitch line in the clockwise direction,
then the point P on the circle traces epi-cycloid PA. This represents the face of the
cycloidal tooth profile.

When the circle D rolls without slipping below the pitch line in counter clock wise
direction, then the point P on the circle D traces hypo-cycloid PB, which represents the
flank of the cycloidal tooth. The profile BPA is one side of the cycloidal rack tooth.
 Construction of Involute teeth
An involute of a circle is a plane curve generated by a point on a tangent, which rolls on
the circle without slipping.
In connection with toothed wheels, the circle is known as base circle.

A little consideration will show that at any instant (A3), the tangent A3T to the involute is
perpendicular to P3A3 and P3A3 is normal to the involute. (or)
In other words, normal at any point of an involute is a tangent to the base circle.
 Characteristics of involute teeth
1. A normal to involute is a tangent to the base circle
2. When the involute are in mesh, then the pressure
angle remains constant
3. The involute is the only tooth form which is
insensitive to the centre distance of its base circle
4. The shape of the involute profile depends only on
the dimension of the base circle.
5. The radius of curvature of an involute is equal to
the length of tangent to the base circle.
6. The common tangent to the base circles of the two
involutes is the line of action and also the path of
contact between the involutes
7. When two involutes are in mesh, then they transmit
constant angular velocity ratio and it is inversely
proportional to the size of base circles
8. Manufacture is easy due to single curvature
9. Involute gears in mesh give conjugate action
10. Suitable for motion and power transmission
 Comparison of involute and cycloid teeth
Comparison Between Involute and Cycloidal Gears
• In actual practice, the involute gears are more commonly used as compared to
cycloidal gears, due to the following advantages :
Advantages of involute gears
• The most important advantage of the involute gears is that the centre distance for a
pair of involute gears can be varied within limits without changing the velocity
ratio. This is not true for cycloidal gears which requires exact centre distance to be
maintained.

• In involute gears, the pressure angle, from the start of the engagement of teeth to
the end of the engagement, remains constant. It is necessary for smooth running and
less wear of gears. But in cycloidal gears, the pressure angle is maximum at the
beginning of engagement, reduces to zero at pitch point, starts decreasing and
again becomes maximum at the end of engagement. This results in less smooth
running of gears.

• The face and flank of involute teeth are generated by a single curve where as in
cycloidal gears, double curves (i.e. epi-cycloid and hypo-cycloid) are required for the
face and flank respectively. Thus the involute teeth are easy to manufacture than
cycloidal teeth. In involute system, the basic rack has straight teeth and the same can be
cut with simple tools.
 Comparison of involute and cycloid teeth
Comparison Between Involute and Cycloidal Gears
• In actual practice, the involute gears are more commonly used as compared to
cycloidal gears, due to the following advantages :
Advantages of Cycloidal Gears
• Since the cycloidal teeth have wider flanks, therefore the cycloidal gears are
stronger than the involute gears, for the same pitch.

• In cycloidal gears, the contact takes place between a convex flank and concave
surface, whereas in involute gears, the convex surfaces are in contact. This condition
results in less wear in cycloidal gears as compared to involute gears. However the
difference in wear is negligible.

• In cycloidal gears, the interference does not occur at all. (The only disadvantage of
the involute teeth is that the interference occurs with pinions having smaller
number of teeth. This may be avoided by altering the heights of addendum and
dedendum of the mating teeth or the angle of obliquity of the teeth).
 Law of Gearing
It states that for constant angular velocity ratio of the two gears, the common normal at
the point of contact of the two messing teeth must pass through a fixed point on the line
joining the centre of rotation. The fixed point is the pitch point in the case of gears.

Thus for constant angular velocity ratio of gearing, the normal at the point of contact
divides the line joining the centre of rotation in the inverse ratio of the angular velocities.

 1 O2 P

 2 O1 P
 Law of Gearing
A1CF ~ A1O1G
A1 F A1G A1C A1 F
 ; 
A1C A1O1 A1O1 A1G
A2 BF ~ A2O2 H
A2 F A2 H A2O2 A2 H
 ; 
A2 B A2O2 A2 B A2 F
A1C A1 F AO AH
  and 2 2  2
A1O1 A1G A2 B A2 F
Substitute these in equation (1)
 1  A1 F  A2 H  A2 H O2 H O2 P
Va1 cos   Va 2 cos 
      
 2  A1G  A2 F  A1G O1G O1 P
 A1 F  AF
 1O1 A1     2O2 A2  2 
 A1C   A2 B   1 O2 P pitchradius (r2 )
  
 1  A1C  O2 A2   2 O1 P pitchradius (r1 )
   .....(1)
 2  O1 A1  A2 B   OP r
 1  2  2
 2 O1 P r1
 Velocity of sliding between a pair of involute teeth
The velocity of sliding is equal to the product of the sum of the angular velocities and the
distance from the point of contact to the point of intersection of the common normal and
the line joining the centers of rotation.

The velocity of sliding is equal to the product of the sum of the angular velocities and the
distance from the point of contact of the making teeth to the pitch point.

V .S   1   2 A1 P
V .S   1   2 A2 P
 Interference
When two gears are in mesh at one instant there is a chance to mate involute portion with
non-involute portion of mating gear. This phenomenon is known as "interference" and
occurs when the number of teeth on the smaller of the two meshing gears is less than a
required minimum.
 Methods to avoid interference
The interference can be eliminated if we select correct minimum number of teeth on
pinion and wheel. But if it is not possible then following methods are used to avoid
interference.

(1) Modified Profile of Teeth: When the base circle of gear is more than the radius of
dedendum circle then portion of the profile below base circle is non-involute. In such case
interference will occurs. To avoid the interference when the portion of the flank of pinion
and the portion of the face of wheel teeth are made cycloidal instead of involute shape.
 Methods to avoid interference
(2) Modified Addendum of Pinion and Wheel:
The length of path of contact KL is less then MN, then there is no interference. But the
length of path of contact KL is larger than MN, then interference occurs. When addendum
of wheel is reduced and addendum of pinion is increased then interference can be
avoided.
 Methods to avoid interference
(3) Modified Center Distance between Pinion and Wheel:
The center distance of involute gear can be varied within limits without affecting the law
of gearing then avoid the interference. If the center distance is increased then the
pressure angle also increases. So the interference point M & N changes with M′ & N′. But
path of contact KL is not extend up to new interference point.
 Backlash
Backlash is the amount of tooth space or clearance between mating gears at the pitch
circle diameter. Backlash may be measured or specified in the transverse, normal or
axial planes and in the direction of the pitch circles or on the line of action.
The purpose of backlash is to allow smooth operation and reduce friction by preventing
contact on both sides of their gear teeth at the same time.
Also it allowed for lubrication, manufacturing errors, deflection under thermal load and
thermal expansion, over heating and tooth damage.
 Profile modification
It is an operation in the manufacturing of gears. It involves removing part of the face of
the gear teeth. It is designed to reduce errors in the regular arrangement of teeth on the
gears, which give rise to additional dynamic loads and increase vibrations and noise in the
gear train.
Errors in manufacture and errors arising from deformation of teeth lead to contact of the
teeth outside the pressure line, accompanied by a shock. Profile modification eliminates
this and ensures theoretically correct contact on the pressure line