ELEMENTS OF MECHANICAL DESIGN

Over the past several centuries, many specific elements have evolved, which cover the majority of the situations
which occur in mechanical design.

These elements are grouped in categories, most of which are listed in Machinery’s Handbook.

• Fasteners
• Gears and Sprockets
• Bearings and Bushings
• Shaft Couplings
• Brakes and Clutches
• Actuators (motors, solenoids, pneumatics, and hydraulics)
• Sensors
This list may not (yet) be exhaustive. However, it provides 90% coverage.

If you master all of these elements, you know everything you need to know to be a mechanical designer. (That’s a
little sarcasm, but you will be on your way.)

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 1

 Power Transmission and Timing
A frequent task which arises in design is to transfer power from a driving source (usually a rotational source) and
a drive source. This task is called power transmission.

A task related to power transmission is timing. In the internal combustion engine, fuel and air delivery to the pis-
ton cylinder and the spark had to be timed mechanically. A timing belt or chain was used for this purpose.

In modern systems, sensors usually determine the timed information. However, sometimes these sensors must be
mechanically coupled to the driving source, usually through the same mechanical mechanisms of days gone by.

The difference between power transmission and timing are slight.

In power transmission, the forces are larger than in timing, and the methods for shaft coupling require more
robust design techniques.

Timing requires greater accuracy. This usually translates into less back-lash and more expensive components.

Methods for achieving power transmission include:

• Gears
• Belts and Pulleys
• Sprocket and Chain
• Timing Belt and Gears

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 2

 Belts and Pulleys (pg. 2372-2409)
The basic concepts of power transmission are best illustrated through the belt and pulley.

Examples of the belt and pulley system:

• Power distribution belts in an automobile (e.g. the belt that drives the A/C, water pump, etc.)
• Lift-o-matic I on the Phoenix
• Lift-o-matic II on Buford (the removed version)
• Wall-crawler on Johnny #5

Although straight-forward, the belt and pulley has many disadvantages.

Belt slip determines the maximum power transmission. V-belts alleviate this problem by increasing the effective
surface area over which contact is maintained.

Belt and pulley must be pretensioned. This adds to bearing loads in a system. Remember the difficulty with the
Lift-o-matic II on Buford.

Belts wear over time and must be replaced. Improvements in belt technology and automatic tensioners have
reduced this problem.

Although machinery handbook gives design tables and equations for belt calculations, the designer should always
refer to manufacturer design information where it exists.

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 3

 Different Pulley Diameters
One use for belts is to apply an increase in torque between the driving element and the driven element.

Consider two pulleys driven by a belt. The first pulley has radius r 1 and the second pulley has a different radius,
r 2 . Let us perform some rudimentary analysis on this system.

Assume the first pulley turns through an angle, θ 1 . The belt moves through an arc length, s1 = r 1 θ 1 . The second
pulley must move through this same length, assuming the belt does not bunch or slip. Hence, s 1 = r 2 θ 2 and
r1 θ1 = r2 θ2 .

·
· · θ1 r2
Differentiating this equation yields r 1 θ 1 = r 2 θ 2 which may be rearranged to determine the gear ratio, ----
· - = -.
---
r1
θ2

In words, the ratio of output speed to input speed is the inverse ratio of the pulley radii.

This provides a powerful tool for matching conditions. If the driving torque is fixed, any set of pulleys can be
devised which give an output speed in any range desired.

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 4

 Gears
The problems with pulleys include slip (which limits maximum power transmission), wear
(which limits maximum life), load on bearings (which increases losses), and set up time are line of centers
solved by gears.

lin
eo
fa
The gear tooth form is created by an involute curve. Pretend that a string is rolled up on a cyl-

ct
ion
inder whose diameter is called the base diameter. As the string is unrolled (while remaining φ
taught) it traces out a curve in space, called the involute curve. This curve forms the tooth
form.

If two cylinders of different diameters were to maintain string contact while the string were
unwinding on one circle and winding onto the other, the rate of winding/unwinding would be
uniform and not depend on center distance. base circle

The involute function is inv ( α ) = tan ( α ) – α , where α is the angle through which the string is unwrapped.

As α is varied, the line traces out the tooth form. When α reaches the pitch circle, it takes on the value of the pres-
sure angle, φ . The pressure angle is defined as the angle between the lin-of-action and a perpendicular to the line
of centers.

The equation relating pressure angle and base circle diameter is D b = D cos φ where D is the pitch diameter.

The pitch diameter relates the number of teeth on a gear and the diametral pitch.

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 5

 Gear Terminology
The diametral pitch of a gear determines how many
teeth per inch a gear contains.

For instance, 32 pitch means that a gear has 32 teeth

per inch. Note that the linear distance in this measure-
ment is one of arc length for spur gears.

For metric gears, the same concept is called module.

However, module is the inverse concept. It is the num-
ber of millimeters per tooth.

For instance, a 0.7 module means that one tooth occu-

pies 0.7 mm of arc length.

Since module and pitch are linked to a specific unit, the

conversion is:

–1
P d = ( 25.4mm/inch ) ( m ) . (1)

The pitch diameter is the circle along which gear mesh-

ing occurs. As two gears whose centers are correctly Reprinted from Machinery’s Handbook, 26th ed.
placed mesh, it is as if two cylinders, each with the pitch diameter of its gear, were rolling on each other without
slip. Pitch diameter can be calculated from pitch and number of teeth (Z) by D = Z ⁄ P d = mZ .

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 6

 Geometry of Gears
In order for gears to roll properly along each other, their centers must be spaced at the distance:
( D 1 + D2 ) ( Z1 + Z2 ) m ( Z1 + Z2 )
L = ------------------------ = ---------------------- -.
- = --------------------------- (1)
2 2P d 2

Forces between gear teeth will be directed along the pressure angle. In a well designed gear, the force will be
mostly perpendicular to the gear tooth face. This means that most of the force will be directed towards turning the
gear and little will be pushing against the bearing support.

1
Pressure angles for readily available gears (English or metric) are usually quantized into the following bins, 14 --2- ° ,
20° , 25° . Custom pressure angles can be made. However, this is done at the expense of much design time and
1
design of tooling. Although it is still readily available, 14 --2- ° is being phased out and should not be used unless abso-
lutely necessary.

The larger the pressure angle, the thicker the tooth and the more normal the force. This results in a lessening of
the unused force and strenthens the tooth at the same time.

The only down-side is that the fewest number of teeth available on a gear is larger than for a smaller pressure
angle.

1
As an example, the original teeth on Johnny #5’s drive system were 14 --2- ° , and the pitting wear on the teeth was
excessive.
SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 7
 Gear Train Calculations
The classic spur gear train involves two geometric rules.

1. Gears which share a common shaft have the same rotational speed.

· D in Z in
θ out  ---------- = –  ---------
-
2. Meshing gears have the speed ratio --------
· - = –  D out  Z out , where D is the pitch diameter and Z is the number
θ in
of teeth on a gear. This formula comes from the same geometric consideration as two pulleys.

The normal use is to have smaller gears mesh with larger gears. A large gear and a small gear at a middle stage
will share a shaft.

· Z 2 Z in
θ out  ---------
-  ------- , where Z and Z share a common shaft.
Hence, for a two stage gear train --------
· - =
 Z out  Z1  1 2
θ in

This formula can be replicated ad infinitum.

Note the negative sign in these formulas. It indicates that direction is reversed for each gear stage. This is a differ-
ence from pulleys, where the direction remains the same.

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 8

 Forces in Spur Gears
Assume that gears are moving at constant velocity. During starting and stopping,
there will be inertial “forces” due to the gear’s moment of inertia. This can be τM τB1
B1
accommodated by applying a safety factor. Except for dramatic stoppages, such
as when a gear train is locked up due to an external failure, angular accelerations
will be moderate. Small gears have small moments of inertia. The product of Wt
these two factors, except under extreme circumstances, will be negligible when φ
compared with the actual moments. In other words, except when locking up the Wn
gear system (an unusual circumstance), the dynamic aspect of gears can be
neglected. τG2
-Wn
Also, even though the gear system may be moving in space, the resulting linear
accelerations and Coriolis terms will be very small compared to both the forces -Wt
τB2
and moments encountered in a gear system. B2

Thus, a static analysis will be fairly accurate under all circumstances. In fact, the
tolerances in materials will affect the calculations more than accelerations.

Two components of forces are considered:

• forces tangent to the pitch circle, which transmit motion from one gear to the next
• normal forces, which serve no useful purpose, but occur because the pressure angle is not “perfect”

Consider the free body diagram of the gears and note the implied direction of W t .

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 9

 Static Analysis of Spur Gears
This is a planar problem. So, we can sum forces in the x and y directions, and sum moments in the z direction.
Note: the y direction is always aligned with the line of action and the x direction is aligned perpendicular to this.

This yields six equations for the two gears.

B 1x = W t , B 1y = – W n , B 2x = – W t , B 2y = W n (1)

τ M + τ B1 – r 1 W t = 0 , τ G2 + τ B2 + r 2 W t = 0 . (2)

Unless you prepare a model for bearing torques (ie as a function of angular speed or bearing forces) it is best to
neglect them in the analysis and develop an experiential model for the friction. Hence,

τ G2 r Z
-------- = – ---2- = – -----2- . (3)
τM r1 Z1

For spur gears, I normally use a fudge factor of 0.9. For planetary gears, 0.8. And for worm gears, 0.7 to account
for friction at the bearings. This might also be a function of the actual bearings.

τM Z2
- = ( – f ) -----
------- - (4)
τ G2 Z1

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 10

 Calculating the Forces
From equation 2 on the previous slide (neglecting friction), the tangent force is:

τM
W t =  ------
r1 
 (1)

Since this force will be used in failure calculations, by neglecting the friction torque, this force will be larger than
the actual force. However, this is erring in the direction of conservatism for failure criteria and is a good thing.

Because the force acts along the pressure line, the horizontal component of the force is:

W n = W t tan φ (2)

It is often useful to treat gears through the power that they transmit. This occurs because power encapsulates both
the torque and the velocity.

Consider the work rate done at the point of contact. This is the force acting at that point multiplied by the velocity
of the point. This is actually a dot product and, since the entire velocity is tangentially directed at the circumfer-
ence of a circle, only the tangential force enters into the equation:

P = Wt vt = Wt r1 ω 1 = W t r2 ω2 = τM ω1 . (3)

ω  ω
Noting that, for DC motors, τM = T stall  1 – ----------------
- , the power at the first stage is P = T stall ω 1  1 – ----------------
1 
- .
ω no load ω no load

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 11

 Internal Gearing
An internal gear is a spur gear (or helical gear if
you have some extra cash) turned inside out.

The addendum and dedendum are reversed, and

usually the internal gear is cut deeper and the pin-
ion tooth is lengthened.

Standard spur gears will mate with internal gears.

However, the margin for error (ie with number of
teeth) must be considered more carefully than
with conventional spur gear meshes.

Do not make the pinion too large or interference

will result.

In internal gear meshes, the pinion rolls around

the inside of the internal gear (relatively speak-
ing). Internal Gear. From Stock Drive Products Design Manual

In most cases, either the internal gear will be pinned to avoid rotation or the center of the pinion will be pinned to
avoid rotation.

In the first case, the pinion’s axis will rotate. In the second case, the internal gear will rotate about its axis.

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 12

 Center Distance for Internal Gears
The geometry of internal gears involves a small circle inscribed
in a larger circle.
Planet
Gear rP Internal
In order for the two circles to be tangent, r P + D = r I .
(or ring)
D rI
gear
I D –D
P I Z –Z
P m(Z – Z )
I P
Hence, D = r I – r P = ------------------
- = ---------------- -.
- = --------------------------
2 2P d 2

s D +DP s Z +Z P m(Z + Z )
s P
Also, D = r s + r P = ------------------
- = -----------------
- = ---------------------------
-
2 2P d 2

In a planetary gear system, the center distance between the

Planet gear (shown) and the sun gear (not shown) follows the
same rules as for ordinary spur gears.

I P s P Z –Z Z +Z
This yields the first constraint on planetary gear teeth, ----------------- = -----------------
-
2P d 2P d

Z I = Z s + 2Z P

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 13

 Planetary Gear Systems
A planetary gear system involves a ring gear (ZI), several planet
gears (Zp), and a sun gear (Zs). The sun gear serves as the input
Planet
element. The planet gears are constrained to move between the Gear Internal
sun and the ring gear and serve as the output motion. (or ring)
gear
The ring gear can be fixed, moving, or driven at a desired speed.

·
Assuming the sun gear is being driven at a rate θ s (i.e. counter-
·
Z s θs
clockwise), the pitch velocity is v s = ----------
-
2P d û t .
˜ ut
ur
The velocity of the point of contact between the ring gear and
·
ZI θI
the planet gear is : v I = ----------
2P d û t .
˜

Since the planet gear is both revolving around a center and rotating, determining its surface velocities is not as
p (Z + Z )
s
easy. The position of the center of the planet is r p = ----------------------
2P
- û , where û is the unit vector directed from the center
r r
˜ d
·
of the sun to the center of the moving planet. This unit vector rotates with angular velocity θ p k̂ , where k̂ points out
p (Z + Z ) · s
- θ p û t , where û is the unit vector in the direction of travel.
of the page. The velocity of the center is v p = ----------------------
˜ 2P d
t

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 14

 Planetary Gear Speed Ratio v s/p
˜

The relative velocity of the point of contact of the planet in contact with the sun is vp
Zp  · · ˜
v s/p =  – --------
- θ s/p û t where θ s/p is the angular velocity of the planet gear about its axis.
˜  2P d
·
θ s/p
Zp · v I/p
The relative velocity of the planet point of contact with the ring gear is vI/p =  --------
- θ s/p û t . ˜
˜ 2P d Planet Gear

The velocity of the point of contact is the same for the sun gear and the planet gear:
·
Zs θs ( Zp + Z s ) · Zp · · · ·
v s = ---------- - θ p ût –  --------
- û = ---------------------- - θ s/p û t or Z θ = ( Z + Z )θ p – Z θ s/p (1)
˜ 2P d t 2P d  2P d s s p s p

The velocity of the point of contact is the same for the ring gear and the planet gear:
·
ZI θI ( Z p + Zs ) · Zp · · · ·
v I = --------- - θ p û t +  --------
- û = ---------------------- - θs/p û t or Z θ = ( Z + Z )θ p + Z θ s/p (2)
˜ 2P d t 2P d  2P d I I p s p

· Z · Zs ·
Equation (1) can be solved to determine θ s/p =  1 + -----s- θ p –  -----
-
Z p θ s ,which, when substituted into Equation (2) yields:
Zp

· ·
ZI θI + Zs θs ·
---------------------------- = θ p (3)
2 ( Z p + Zs )

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 15

 Planetary Gear Ratio
Since Z I = Z s + 2Z P ,

· ·
ZI θI + Zs θs ·
---------------------------- = θ p (1)
ZI + Zs

·
θp 1
The most common situation pins the ring gear, which yields, ---- -.
· - = --------------
ZI
θs ----- + 1
Zs

· ·
If, on the other hand, the ring gear is free to move, it will turn with θ I = θ s and equation (1) becomes:

· ·
· ZI θs + Zs θs ·
θp = ---------------------------- = θs (2)
ZI + Zs

· ·
If the internal gear is turned such that θ I = kθ s , where k ∈ [ 0, 1 ] , then

Z
· k  -----I + 1 ·
θp kZ I + Zs  Z s θp 1
· - = -------------------
----
ZI + Z s ZI ·- ∈
- = ------------------------ or ---- ---------------, 1
ZI (3)
θs ----- + 1 θs ----- + 1
Zs Zs

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 16

 Second Law of Planetary Gearing
In order for the planetary gears to be in mesh simultaneously, a
restriction on the number of teeth in the ring gear, planetary Planet
gears, and sun gear occurs. Although it is not necessary to have Gear Internal
the planets in mesh simultaneously, this may result in imbalance (or ring)
in the design and care must also be taken to insure that gear gear
tooth stresses are calculated more carefully.

( Zs + ZI )
---------------------- = an integer ,
N

where N is the number of planets (usually 3 or 4).

This condition isn’t unbreakable. However, failure to satisfy it will result in the gear teeth not meshing smoothly
and correctly and can result in excessive stresses and poor fit.

Note: there is a third law regarding interference among the planet gears themselves. However, if you are pushing
that limit, you might want to rethink your overall design. It will be ignored here. Just don’t make the planet gears
too big.

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 17

 Forces in Planetary Systems
j
˜ Wt
In a planetary system, the sun gear is in contact with three or four planet ˜
gears. i
˜
A free body diagram of the sun gear shows that the tangent forces of con-
tact with the N planetary gears (3 are shown in the FBD), are evenly dis-
tributed around the circumference. τM
Wt ˜ rp
˜
By symmetry, the magnitudes of the forces are equal. The moment equa-
tion is the only one required to determine the magnitude
Wt
Solving yields the following relations: ˜

τ M = 3r p W t

Hence, the magnitude of the tangential force is divided by a factor equal to the number of planetary gears.

The net force created by the tangential component of the force is also zero. In other words, it does not provide any
load on the bearings.

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 18

 Stresses in Spur Gears
An estimate for the maximum stress in a gear tooth can be formed by treating the tooth as a rectangular beam of
tooth thickness, t, and tooth width, F.

6W t L
σ = -------------
2
- (1)
Ft

where σ is the axial stress at the base of the tooth, W t is the tangential force (computed earlier), and L is the theo-
retical length of the tooth, where the force acts.

This last assumption is known to be bad. However, considerable literature exists based on this assumption and it
gives a more conservative failure estimate than the actual worst case contact point, the mid-point of the tooth.

It is convenient to remove the difficult to handle variables and incorporate a fudge factor which accounts for the
tooth’s non-rectangular geometry. To this end, the Lewis Form Factor, Y, is created. Tables for this factor for
many conditions can be obtained in American Gear Manufacturer Association (AGMA) standards. This informa-
tion may also be available from gear manufacturers themselves.

Equation (1) can be rewritten as:

6W t Y
σ = --------------
-. (2)
FP d

Note: in the modern age, these approximations can be replaced by using a Finite Element Model of the gear tooth.
SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 19
 If you don’t have a Lewis Factor chart
Z 1 Z+1
The tooth length is approximately the pitch diameter plus the addendum, L = ----- + ----- = ------------- = m ( Z + 1 ) .
Pd Pd Pd

π πm
The tooth thickness at the pitch diameter is t = --------
- = -------- . Note, this is a smaller than the tooth thickness at the
2P d 2
root. However, it will predict a more conservative value of the maximum stress and somewhat compensates for
the fact that the tooth is not a rectangular beam.

Using these values in equation (1) on the previous page yields:

Z + 1
6W t  ------------
Pd 
-
24P d W t ( Z + 1 )
σ = ----------------------------
- = ------------------------------------- (1)
 π 2 Fπ
2
F  --------
2P d
-

Although this last equation is not standard, it can give an estimate of the actual stress in a gear tooth, lacking
more accurate documentation.

The maximum stress in a gear tooth must not exceed the allowable stress, which is determined by the yield stress
of the material.

Normally, safety factors are applied based on loading conditions. In the AGMA standard for designing gear teeth,
there are about 10 different safety factors.

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 20

 Worm Gearing
A worm mesh is composed of a worm gear and a worm.

The worm is similar to a rotating rack. It is similar to a helical gear with a very high helix angle. Worm and worm
gear systems come in either right hand or left hand varieties. You cannot mix a right hand worm with a left hand
worm gear!

Worms usually have one, two, or four threads. The number of thread starts can be seen by looking down the axis
of the worm.

For calculating center distances, the pitch diameter of the worm is ( Pdn is normal diametral pitch, m n is normal
module)

zw zw mn
d w = ------------------- = ------------
- (1)
P dn sin λ sin λ

where z w is the number of thread starts (or teeth) and λ is the lead angle. This angle represents the back-drivabil-
w πz
ity of a worm/gear mesh. The lead for a worm is L = -------------------- .
P dn cos λ

z
In English gears, the diametral pitch, Pd = Pdn cos λ , is normally used and d w = ----------------
w
-.
P d tan λ

Normally the pitch diameter for both worm and worm gear will be given and calculating it is not necessary.
SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 21
 Worm Gear Quantities
The pitch diameter for the helical worm gear is ( Pd is diametral pitch, m n is normal module)

z zg mn
d g = -----g = -----------
- (1)
Pd cos λ

The center distance for a worm/gear mesh is:

1 1 zw m z zg 
- ( d + d ) = ---------  ----------
D = -- - + z  = ------n-  ----------
w
(2)
2 w g 2P d  tan λ g 2  sin λ- + ------------
cos λ

Worm/gear meshes can generate tremendous gear ratios in a compact space. They also allow the turning of the
drive axis through 90° .

Because worm/gear meshes involve both rolling contact (to transmit the loads) and sliding contact, they are not as
efficient as spur gear systems. Further, since the axis is rotated, thrust loads, which may not be present in planar
gear systems, are significant. This increases the requirements on the bearing system in a worm/gear mesh.

The velocity (gear) ratio of a worm/gear mesh is

·
θg zg
g = -----
· - = -----
- (3)
zw
θw

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 22

 Self-locking of Worm/Gear mesh
If cos φ n sin λ – µ cos λ ≤ 0 , the worm/gear mesh will possess self-locking capability.

The variable, φ n , is the normal pressure angle (e.g. 20° , 25° , 30° ). The variable, µ , is the coefficient of friction
between the worm and the worm gear. This number is usually kept small (especially with lubrication) and varies
between values of 0.01 (well lubricated) to 0.20 (poorly lubricated).

This means that the worm gear cannot drive the worm. Since the normal condition is for the worm to drive the
worm gear, self-locking is usually expressed as the inability of the system to be “back-driven.”

In the case of drive systems, this is nice, because the motor can drive the wheel, but the wheel cannot drive the
motor.

The formula indicates that for self-locking, small lead angle, λ , must be chosen. The gears in the Stock Drive cata-
log have lead angles of 3° – 10° .

zw
Lead angle, λ = tan – 1  -----------
-
P d  , is directly proportional to the number of teeth. Therefore, fewer teeth results in
d w
smaller lead angles, and better self-locking capabilities.

Buford’s lead angle, with a four tooth worm, was rather high and did not “self-lock.”

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 23

 Forces is Worm/Gear Meshes
In a worm tooth, there is a normal force, Fn , and a friction force, µF n .

If the pressure angle is φ n , then the normal force has components F 1 = F n cos φ n and
F r1 = F n sin φ n .

Because the worm is a helical shape, summing the components of Fn and µFn in the
driving direction gives the relevant driving force:

F a1 = F 1 cos λ – µF n sin λ = F n cos φ n cos λ – µF n sin λ = ( cos φ n cos λ – µ sin λ )F n . (1)

Worm and Worm Gear
The thrust force is Teeth Forces
(from Stock Drive Design
Catalog)
F u1 = F 1 sin λ + µF n cos λ = F n cos φ n sin λ + µF n cos λ = ( cos φ n sin λ + µ cos λ )F n . (2)
Note: αn is the pressure
angle, which is φn in
The driving force on the worm gear is provided by the worm’s thrust force,
these notes.
F u2 = F a1 = ( cos φ n cos λ – µ sin λ )F n .
Note: γ is the lead angle,
The thrust load on the worm gear’s bearings is provided by the worm’s axial force, which is λ in the notes.
F a2 = F u1 = ( cos φ n sin λ + µ cos λ )F n .

Note that directions are reversed between the worm and worm gear, per Newton’s
third law.
SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 24
 Driving Forces of Worm Gears
The relation between the driving torque and the worm’s force
dw dg
is τM =  -----
-  -----
2  F u1 . The torque on the driven gear is τ D =  2  F u2 .

τD d g ( cos φ n cos λ – µ sin λ )F n d ( cos φ n cos λ – µ sin λ )

=  -----
- ----------------------------------------------------------- =  -----g- ----------------------------------------------------
-
 d w ( cos φ n sin λ + µ cos λ ) . (1)
------ d w ( cos φ n sin λ + µ cos λ )F n
τM

For determining the worm/gear mesh efficiency, the bearing

loads can be estimated as the usually 90% loss (ie f=.9). The
coefficient of friction can be estimated, and the loss due to
tooth-tooth sliding can be computed directly.

Using the definitions of pitch diameter and gear ratio,

zg pn
--------------- z g tan λ
d π cos λ
- = g tan λ .
-----g- = ---------------- = ---------------- (2)
dw z w pn zw
--------------
π sin λ

Thus,

τD ( cos φ n cos λ – µ sin λ )

= ( fg ) ----------------------------------------------------
( cos φ n sin λ + µ cos λ ) tan λ
------ - . (3)
τM Worm and Gear (reprinted from Stock Drive Design Guide)

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 25

 Normal Force
dw
The normal force can be calculated in terms of the driving torque, τ M =  -----
-
2  F u1 .

2τ
Since Fu1 = ( cos φ n sin λ + µ cos λ )Fn , Fn = -----------------------------------------------------------
M
-.
( cos φ n sin λ + µ cos λ )d w

w w n z z m
Using the expressions for pitch diameter, d w = ----------------
- or d w = ------------
- , the normal force is:
P d tan λ sin λ

2τ M ( P d tan λ )
F n = ----------------------------------------------------------- (1)
( cos φ n sin λ + µ cos λ )z w

or

2τ M sin λ
F n = -----------------------------------------------------------------------
- (2)
( cos φ n sin λ + µ cos λ ) ( z w m n )

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 26

 Example: Worm/Gear Mesh
Consider a left handed worm/gear from the Stock Drive Catalog which has the following parameters:

General: pressure angle ( φ n ) = 25° , pitch ( P d = 24 ), lead angle ( λ = 18.43° ), maximum drive torque: τD = 10inlb

Assume a coefficient of sliding friction of 0.05.

Worm: 4 threads Worm Gear: 20 teeth

Velocity ratio: g = 20
------ = 5 , which hardly seems worth it.
4

τ ( cos φ n cos λ – µ sin λ ) cos ( 25° ) cos ( 18.43° ) – 0.05 sin ( 18.43° )
= ( fg ) ----------------------------------------------------
( cos φ sin λ + µ cos λ ) tan λ = ( 0.9 ) ( 5 ) cos ( 25° ) sin ( 18.43° ) + 0.05 cos ( 18.43° ) tan ( 18.43° ) = 3.8 .
D - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Drive ratio: ------
τM n

M d 2τ ( P tan λ ) 2 ( 10inlb ) ( 24in ) tan ( 18.43° )

–1
Normal force: F n = ----------------------------------------------------------- = --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- = 120lb
( cos φ n sin λ + µ cos λ )z w ( cos ( 25° ) sin ( 18.43° ) + ( 0.05 ) cos ( 18.43° ) ) ( 4 )

Worm Axial load: Fa1 = ( cos φ n cos λ – µ sin λ )F n = ( cos ( 25° ) cos ( 18.43° ) – 0.05 sin ( 18.43° ) )120lb = 100lb .

Tangential force: F 1 = F n cos φ n = ( 120lb ) cos ( 25° ) = 110lb

·
Worm Gear Axial load: F a2 = ( cos φn sin λ + µ cos λ )F n = ( cos ( 25° ) sin ( 18.43° ) + 0.05 cos ( 18.43° ) )120lb = 40lb .

SYEN4399. FIRST in Engineering 27