GEARS

A. Definition

Gears are machine elements that transmit motion by means of successively engaging teeth.
B. Types of Gears and their Applications

1. Spur Gear
Spur gears have tooth elements that are straight and parallel to the
shaft axis, and they are used to transmit motion and power without
slippage between parallel shafts.
Applications: Automotive transmission; Industrial drives; Machine tools;
Motors and pumps; Agriculture equipment; Scientific instruments;
Electronic devices; Large mills.

2. Helical Gears
Helical gears have teeth which are cut in the form of helix about
an axis of rotation. They are used to connect parallel and non-
𝜓
parallel shafts, can be ran at faster speeds, are quieter and can
sustain greater tangential loads than spur gears.
𝜓 − ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑥 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒
Applications: Automotive transmission; High-speed drives and
machines; Rolling mills; Robotics; Agricultural equipment

3. Herringbone gears
Herringbone gears consist of two helical gears in opposite hands,
to balance the axial thrust and are used to connect the parallel
shafts.

4. Bevel Gears
Bevel gears are used to connect intersecting shafts, usually but not
necessarily, at right angle.
Miter gears are bevel gears of the same size connecting shafts at
right angle.
Applications: Differential gear systems of machines and automobiles, hand
and power tools, marine transmission, power plants, steel plants, railway
track inspection machines, textile machines, cooling towers, cement mixers,
material-handling equipment, robotics.
 5. Worm Gears
Worm gears are used where high-speed ratios (10:1 and above) are
desired. The mating members are called worm (smaller) and worm
gear or wheel (bigger).
Applications: Speed reducers, anti-backlash drives, indexing devices,
machine tools, rolling mills, presses, conveyor systems, marine
transmission.

6. Rack and Pinion

- The diameter of the base circle of a gear is increased without
limit, it will become a straight line. The linear gear is called
the rack.
Applications: Materials handling, linear actuators, power-steering system,
machine tools, traveling gantries, robots, positioning systems, stair lifts.

C. Types of Gear Teeth

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

Construction of cycloidal teeth of a gear (source: Khurmi and Gupta, pp 391)

b. Involute
An involute of a circle is a plane curve generated by a point on a tangent, which rolls on the circle
without slipping, or by a point on a taut string that is unwrapped from a reel.

Construction of cycloidal teeth of a gear (source: Khurmi and Gupta, pp 392)

D. Common Gear Manufacturing Processes

1. Material Removal Processes

a. Planning
Gear planning is one of the oldest processes for manufacturing spur and helical gears by
using a rack-type cutter. The teeth are generated by a reciprocating planning action of the cutter
against the rotating gear blank.

b. Hobbing
Gear Hobbing is the process of generating gear teeth by means of a rotating cutter referred
to as a ‘hob’. A hob resembles a worm gear; it has a number of flutes (also referred to as a gash)
around its periphery, parallel to the axis, to form cutting edges.

c. Shaping
Gear shaping cuts gear teeth with a gear-shaped cutter mounted in a spindle with its main
axis parallel to the axis of the gear blank. The cutter reciprocates axially across the gear blank to
cut the teeth, while the blank rotates in mesh with the cutter. The teeth of the gear are generated
by the axial stroke of the cutter in successive cuts.
 d. Milling
Gear milling is an economical and flexible process for cutting a variety of cylindrical and
other gear types such as spur, helical and bevel gears, racks, splines, and ratchets. In gear milling,
circular, disc-type cutters and end-mill cutters are used to cut gear teeth. The shape of the milling
cutter conforms to the gear-tooth space.

2. Forming Processes
a. Rolling (Flat and Round)
In gear rolling, a cylindrical bar gear blank is passed through a set of rolls that are shaped
appropriately to the gear to be rolled and therefore impart the desired geometry to the blank. Spur
gears, helical gears, worms, and splines are roll-formed from a wide range of materials, including
carbon steels, alloy steels, and nonleaded brasses.

Flat Rolling Round Rolling

b. Extrusion and cold-drawing

Extrusion and cold drawing involves forming the required teeth geometry on cylindrical
rods referred to as pinion rods. A cylindrical bar of the required material is drawn (pulled) or
extruded (pushed) through a series of several dies, the last of which has the final shape of the
desired tooth geometry. The cylindrical bar is progressively deformed into the shape of the die to
produce the desired tooth form. Since the material displacement takes place by pressure, the outer
surface of the gear is relatively smooth and work hardened.
c. Stamping
Stamping is an economical method for high-volume production (up to 400 gears per
minute) of lower quality, lightweight sheet-metal gears of low thickness (0.253 mm), which can
be employed in low to medium-duty applications such as toys, simple mechanisms, washers,
electrical appliances, and water meters. Stamping is a process where sheet or stock metal is cut
(sheared) and/or shaped between a tool and a die containing the appropriate geometry.

Spur Gear produced by stamping process

3. Additive Processes

a. Gear Casting (Die, Sand, Investment)

Die-casting is the most extensively used casting process for high-volume
production of the small gears used in small machine tools, instruments, cameras, toys,
appliances, and electronic devices. This process involves injecting molten metal into a die
cavity under pressure. This process is suited to high-volume production of low-cost gears
that have limited accuracy.
Sand casting produces low-quality, large-size gears from cast iron, cast steel, and
bronze.
Investment casting is used to produce small-to-medium-sized gears of spur, helical,
and even spiral bevel shapes.

b. Powder Metallurgy
Powder Metallurgy is a process used to make gears from metallic powders of
bronze, iron, stainless steel, and alloy steels. These gears are used in electric motors,
automobiles, pumps, power tools, and small appliances.

c. Injection Molding
Injection molding is the most extensively used process to manufacture plastic gears.
It has the capability to produce good-quality, small, nonmetallic gears of various
geometries for light-load and noiseless transmissions. Nylon, acetal, polycarbonate, and
polyester types of thermoplastic materials are commonly processed by injection molding
to make gears.

Scan the following QR codes for sample Gear Manufacturing videos

http://surl.li/atrjn http://surl.li/atrjt
E. Spur Gear Nomenclatures

Pitch Circle – the circle which is the right section of the pitch surface
Pitch point – the point of tangency of the pitch circles
Pitch diameter – the diameter of the pitch circle
Outside circle or addendum circle – the circle that bounds the outer ends of the teeth
Outside diameter – the diameter of the outside circle
Root circle or dedendum circle – the circle that bounds the bottoms of the teeth
Root diameter – the diameter of the root circle
Addendum – the radial distance between the pitch circle and the addendum circle
Dedendum – the radial distance from the pitch circle to the root circle
Whole depth – addendum plus dedendum
Working depth – sum of the addendums of the mating gears
Clearance – the dedendum minus the mating addendum
Tooth thickness – the width of tooth measured along the pitch circle
Tooth space or space width – the space between teeth measured along the pitch circle
Backlash – tooth space minus the tooth thickness.
Backlash = S - T

Face width – the length of teeth in an axial direction

Involute – the curve with which the tooth profile of gears is based
Pressure angle, Ø – the angle between the line of action of the force on the gear tooth and the line tangent
to the pitch circles
Diametral Pitch – the ratio of the number of teeth to the pitch diameter. It is the term used to designate
tooth size.
Diametrical Pitch = Number of Teeth
Pitch diameter (in Inches)

Diametral pitch vs. no. of teeth

Circular pitch – the distance from the center of one tooth to the center of the next tooth.
Normal pitch (for involute gearing) – the distance from one tooth to the corresponding side of
the next tooth, measure on the common normal.

Module – the ratio of pitch diameter in millimeter to the number of teeth. The module is the usual unit
for indicating tooth size in International System (SI) units, and it customarily has units of
millimeters per tooth
Module = Pitch Diameter in mm
Number of Teeth

English Module is the ratio of pitch diameter in inches to the number of teeth.

F. Useful Formulas Involving Mating Spur Gears:

D1 D2

N1 N2

Pinion is the smaller of the two mating gears.

Gear Ratio
𝑇2 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛
𝐺𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 = =
𝑇1 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟

𝑵𝟏 𝑻𝟐 𝑫𝟐
= =
𝑵𝟐 𝑻𝟏 𝑫𝟏
Center Distance
𝑫𝟏 + 𝑫𝟐
𝑪=
𝟐
where:
T1, D1, N1 = number of teeth, pitch diameter, speed of pinion
T2, D2, N2 = number of teeth, pitch diameter, speed of gear
C = center distance
Speed Ratio = N1/ N2
Circular pitch
𝝅𝑫
𝑷𝒄 =
𝑻
 Normal pitch
𝝅𝑫𝒃
𝑷𝒏 = = 𝑷𝒄 𝒄𝒐𝒔∅
𝑻
Where: 𝐷𝑏 – diameter of the base circle
Diametral pitch
𝑻 𝝅
𝑷𝒅 = =
𝑫 𝑷𝒄
𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒
𝑇 = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ
𝐷 = 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟
The product of the circular pitch and the diametral pitch is equal to 𝝅

𝑷𝒅 𝑷𝒄 = 𝝅
English Module
𝑫 (𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔) 𝟏
𝒎= =
𝑻 𝑷𝒅
Module
𝑫 (𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔) 𝟐𝟓. 𝟒
𝒎= =
𝑻 𝑷𝒅
Where:
Pd – diametral pitch in teeth/inch
Standard Gear-Tooth Proportions (James and Doughtie, pp 288)
System 14 ½ o Brown
and Sharpe,
14 ½ o 14 ½ o Full- 20o Full- 20o
20o Stub
Composite, Depth Depth Fellows
and Cycloidal
1 1 1 0.8 1
Addendum
𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑
1.157 1.157 1.157 1 1.25
Dedendum
𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑
0.157 0.157 0.157 0.2 0.25
Clearance
𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑
2 2 2 1.6 2
Working Depth
𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑
2.157 2.157 2.157 1.8 2.25
Total Depth
𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑
𝑇+2 𝑇+2 𝑇+2 𝑇 + 1.6𝑇 2
Outside Diameter +
𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃1 𝑃2
1.5708 1.5708 1.5708 1.5708 1.5708
Tooth thickness
𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃1
1.5708 1.5708 1.5708 1.5708 1.5708
Tooth space
𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃1
0.209 0.209 0.209 0.209 0.25
Fillet radius 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃𝑑 𝑃1
𝑃𝑑 = 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ; 𝑇 = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ. 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝐹𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑃1 = 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ;
𝑃2 = 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ
G. Nomenclatures and Useful Formulas for Worm Gears

c c

Single thread Double thread Triple thread

Linear/Axial Pitch, 𝑷𝒂 – distance between adjacent threads

𝝅𝑫𝒈
𝑷𝒂 = 𝑷𝒄 =
𝑻
Lead, L – the axial distance that a helix advances in one turn.
𝑳 = 𝑷𝒂 (𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 )
𝑳 = 𝟐𝑷𝒂 (𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 )
𝑳 = 𝟑𝑷𝒂 (𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑 )

Lead angle, 𝝀 – the angle between a tangent to the pitch helix and a plane normal to the axis of
the screw.

𝑳
tan 𝝀=
𝝅𝑫𝒘
 If the shaft angle is 90o, the lead angle on the worm 𝝀 = 𝝍, the helix angle on the gear; also,
lead angle on gear 𝝀𝒈 = 𝝍𝒘 , the helix angle on the worm.

Velocity ratio, 𝒎𝒘 = number of teeth on the gear, Ng

number of threads on the worm, Nt

𝝎𝒘 𝑵𝒈 𝑫𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝝀 𝑫𝒈
𝒎𝒘 = = = =
𝝎𝒈 𝑵𝒕 𝑫𝒘 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝝀 𝑫𝒘 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝝀

Where:
Nt = 1 for single-threaded worm, Nt = 2 for double thread, etc.
𝜔𝑤 – angular velocity of the worm
𝜔𝑔 – angular velocity of the gear
𝐷𝑤 – pitch diameter of the worm
𝐷𝑔 – pitch diameter of the gear
𝑁𝑔 – no. of teeth of the gear

H. Nomenclatures and Useful Formulas for Bevel Gears

Pitch Cone – the imaginary cone upon which the teeth are made.
Cone Distance – the length of the side of the pitch cone.
Pitch point, P – the point of tangency of the pitch cones at the large ends.
Pitch, center, or cone angle, α – the angle which an element of the pitch cone makes with the
axis of rotation or center line of the gear.
Pitch angle of the gear, 𝜶𝒈
𝑵𝒈
𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝜶𝒈 = = 𝒎𝒈
𝑵𝒑

Pitch angle of the pinion, 𝜶𝒑

𝟏 𝑵𝒑
𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝜶𝒑 = =
𝒎𝒈 𝑵𝒈

Where:
𝑁𝑝 – no. of teeth of the pinion

𝑁𝑔 – no. of teeth of the gear

Face angle, 𝜸 – the angle which the top surface of the tooth makes with the center line of the gear.
Addendum angle, 𝝈 – the angle which the top surface of the tooth makes with the cone distance;
it is equal to face angle minus the pitch angle.
𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒎
𝝈 = 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏
𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆
Root or cutting angle, 𝜷 – the angle which the bottom surface of the tooth makes with center line
of the gear.
Dedendum angle, 𝜼 - the angle which the bottom surface of the tooth makes with the cone distance
and is equal to the pitch angle minus root angle.
𝒅𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒎
𝜼 = 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏
𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆
Back cone distance – the distance along the element of the back cone from the pitch point to the
center line of the gear.
Formative virtual number of teeth – the number of teeth contained in a spur gear whose pitch
radius is equal to the back cone distance and whose pitch is the same as that of the bevel
gear.
PROBLEMS:
1. 9-2. Two shafts are 15 in. on centers. One of the shafts carries a 40-tooth 2-diametral pitch gear which drive
a gear on the other shaft at a speed of 150 rpm. How fast is the 40-teeth gear turning?

2. 9-3. Given a gear of 24 teeth, 4 diametral pitch. The addendum equals 1 in ÷ diametral pitch, the clearance is
to be one-eighth of the addendum, and the backlash is to be 2 percent of the circular pitch. Calculate the
following, giving results to 3 decimal places: the pitch diameter, the diameter of the blank gear before cutting
the teeth (addendum diameter), the depth of teeth, the backlash, and the tooth thickness and space width.

3. 9-4 A 12-tooth external spur gear 2, rotating clockwise, drives a gear 4 whose diametral pitch is 4. The ratio
of the speed of gear 2 to gear 4 is 2 to 1. The tooth proportions are standard 14 ½o Brown and Sharpe. (1)
Placing the center of gear 2 on a vertical line above the center of 4 on the same vertical line, show and give
the diameters of the pitch circles, addendum circles, and the dedendum circles. (2) Sketch in roughly enough
of a tooth on each gear in contact at the pitch point and indicate the face of the tooth, the flank of the tooth,
and the pitch point.

4. 9-5. Two gears, 2 and 4, have 10 and 15 teeth, respectively. The distance between centers of the shafts is 10
in. The addendum equals the module and the clearance equals 0.157 time the module. There is no backlash.
Placing the center of 2 on a vertical line above the center of 4, draw, indicate and give the values of the
diameters of the pitch, addendum, dedendum, and root circles. Also, find the thickness of the teeth. Draw
one-half size.

5. Find the circular pitch when the whole depth of tooth is 0.60 mm. with the tooth thickness of 13.2 mm on the
tooth circle of a 20° involute gear having a diametral pitch of 3. (Ans: 1.0472)

6. A machinist made two 8 DP spur gears to be mounted on a center distance of 16 inches with speed ratio of 7
to 9. Find the number of teeth in each gear. (Ans: 144 teeth and 112 teeth)

7. A triple thread worm has a pitch diameter of 4 inches. The wheel has 36 teeth and a pitch diameter of 10
inches. Compute the helix angle. (Ans: 11.7o)

8. In a standard bevel gear, the pinion rotates at 150 rpm, its no. of teeth is 14 while the gear has 42 teeth. What
is the pitch angle of the pinion? (Ans: 18.4o)
[Past Board Exam Problems]
9. Find the tooth thickness on the tooth circle of a 20-degree full depth involute tooth having a diametral pitch
of 3, circular pitch of 1.0472 and whole depth of tooth at 0.60. (Ans: 13.2 mm)

10. A triple thread worm has a pitch diameter of 3 inches. The wheel has 25 teeth and a pitch diameter of 5
inches. Material for both the worm and the wheel is of phosphorus bronze. Compute the tangent of helix
angle. (Ans: 0.20)

11. A pair of gear/pinion of 42 -tooth and 18-tooth with a diametral pitch of 0.7874 teeth/cm and the addendum
is 0.80/p and the addendum 1/p. The gear pressure angle is 20 o. Compute the center distance of the pair of
gears in meters. (Ans: 0.381 m)

12. A Mitsubishi car transmission has two spur gears in mesh having a velocity ratio of 1.4. The number of teeth
in the driven gear is 36 and the diametral pitch of 3.
a. Determine the number of teeth in the driver. (Ans: 26 teeth)
b. Determine the distance between centers. (Ans: 10.34 in)
c. What is the circular pitch. (Ans: 1.047 in/tooth)