GEARS

What is a
gear?

A toothed machine part, such as a

wheel , that meshes with another
toothed part to transmit motion or to
change speed or direction

Gears operate in pairs

Smaller one called pinion
Larger one called gear
Normally the pinion drives the gear

GEARS
Gears are versatile mechanical components capable
of performing many different kinds of power
transmission or motion control
Their general purpose is as follows :
Changing rotational speed
Changing rotational direction
Changing the angular orientation of rotational motion
Multiplication or division of torque or magnitude of rotation
Converting rotational to linear motion and its reverse
Offsetting or changing the location of rotating motion

GEAR TEMINOLOGY
Pitch Circle : the imaginary circle
that comes in contact with the
imaginary circle of another gear
when the two are in mesh
Addendum : the
distance from the
top of a tooth to
the pitch circle
Dedendum : the
distance from the
pitch circle to the
root circle. It
equals the
addendum + the
working clearance

Pitch diameter : The diameter of the

pitch circle, the imaginary circle that
rolls without slipping with the pitch
circle of the mating gear, measured in
inches or millimeters
Clearance: The
radial distance
between the
bottom land and
the clearance
Circular pitch: The
circle
distance along
the pitch circle
from a point on
one
tooth to a
corresponding
point on an
adjacent tooth
GEAR TOOTH
PROFILE

SPUR GEARS
Spur gears have their teeth
parallel to the axis
Used for transmitting power
between two parallel shafts
Applications : Clocks,
household gadgets, motor cycles,
automobiles

They offer constant velocity

ratio
Highly reliable
Simplest, hence easiest to
design and manufacture
A spur gear is more efficient if
you compare it with helical gear
of same size
Spur gear teeth are parallel to
its axis Hence, spur gear train
does not produce axial thrust. So
the gear shafts can be mounted
easily using ball bearings

Spur gear are slow-speed gears

Thus, gear teeth experience a
large amount of stress
They cannot transfer power
between non-parallel shafts
They cannot be used for long
distance power transmission
Spur gears produce a lot of
noise when operating at high
speeds
Not as strong as other gears

HELICAL GEARS
Used for transmitting
torque in non-parallel shafts
When two helical gears are
engaged the helix angle has
to be the same on each
gear, but one gear must
have a right-hand helix and
the other a left-hand helix
Applications : Blowers ,
feeders, sugar industry ,
rolling mills
The angled teeth engage more
gradually than spur gear teeth
causing them to run more smoothly
and quietly
Helical gears are highly durable
and are ideal for high load
applications
At any given time their load is
distributed over several teeth,
resulting in less wear

Helical gears cause losses due

to the unique geometry along
the axis of the helical gears
shaft
Efficiency of helical gear is less
because helical gear trains have
sliding contacts between the
teeth which in turns produce
axial thrust of gear shafts and
generate more heat

BEVEL GEARS
Used when the direction of a
shaft's rotation needs to be
changed
Usually mounted on shafts that
are 90 degrees apart, but can be
designed to work at other angles
as well
Applications:
Used in hand drills ,differential
drives
The angled teeth engage more
gradually than spur gear teeth
causing them to run more smoothly
and quietly
Helical gears are highly durable
and are ideal for high load
applications
At any given time their load is
distributed over several teeth,
resulting in less wear

Helical gears cause losses due

to the unique geometry along
the axis of the helical gears
shaft
Efficiency of helical gear is less
because helical gear trains have
sliding contacts between the
teeth which in turns produce
axial thrust of gear shafts and
generate more heat.

WORM GEARS
These gearsare used when large
gear reductions are needed
It is common for worm gears to
have reductions of 20:1, and even
up to 300:1 or greater
Are used for transmitting motion
between non parallel and non
transmitting shafts
Applications : Turning
instruments like guitar, elevators,
conveyor belts

Worm gear drives operate silently and

smoothly.
They are self-locking.
They occupy less space.
They have good meshing effectiveness.
They can be used for reducing speed
and increasing torque.
High velocity ratio of the order of 100

Wor
m

Worm
Gear

Worm gear materials are

expensive
They have high power losses
A disadvantage is the potential
for considerable sliding action,
leading to low efficiency
They produce a lot of heat

PLANETARY GEAR
A planetary transmission
system (or Epicyclic
system), consists normally
of a centrally pivoted sun
gear, a ring gear and
several planet gears which
rotate between these
The advantage of a
planetary transmission is
determined by load
distribution over multiple
planet gears. It is thereby
possible to transfer high
torques utilizing a compact
design
Used to achieve large
speed reductions in
compact space

Sun
gear
1
Sun
gear 2
First
gear
step
Second
gear step

Applications :
Used in automatic
transmissions of cars
Turbine engines
Gearhead motors
Car mirrors

Ring
gear

plane
t
gear

GEAR MODULE

"Module" is the unit of size

that indicates how big
or small a gear is

m
d
Z

d
z

reference diameter
Number of teeth

Reference
pitch

circumfere nce(d )
Z

p reference
pitch
Z
Number of teeth

LAW OF GEARING
The fundamental law of gearing :
the angular velocity ratio between the gears of a gear
set must remain constant throughout the mesh
This amounts to the following relationship

1 n1 d 2 Z 2

2 n2 d1 Z1

Pinio Gea
n
r
Number of
teeth (Z)

Z1

Z2

Diameters (d)
(mm)

d1

d2

Speed(rpm)

n1

n2

Speed(rad/s)

GEAR RATIOS
Thegear ratioof agear
train, also known as itsspeed
ratio, is the ratio of the
angular velocity of the input
gear to the angular velocity of
the output gear
The gear ratio can be
calculated directly from the
numbers of teeth on the gears
in the gear train
Many machines use gears. A
very good example is a
bicycle which has gears that
make it easier to cycle,
especially up hills
Bicycles normally have a
large gear wheel which has a
pedal attached and a
selection of gear wheels of
different sizes, on the back
wheel
When the pedal is revolved

SPROCK
ET

PEDAL
GEAR

CONCEPT OF GEAR RATIOS

The concept of gear ratios

can be explained using
the bicycle gears

The reason bicycles are

easier to cycle up a hill
when the gears are
changed is due to what is
called Gear Ratio

The ratio is determined by

the number of teeth on
each gear wheel

SPROCK
ET
30
Teeth

DRIVEN
GEAR
WHEEL

PEDAL
GEAR
60
Teeth

DRIVER
GEAR
WHEEL

Driven 30 1

1: 2
Driving 60 2
This means
The DRIVEN gear makes TWO
rotations for every ONE rotation of
the Driving Gear

COMPOUND GEAR RATIOS

When faced with three gears the question can be broken

down into two parts
First work on Gears A and B
When this has been solved work on
and C at 60
gears
Gear ABrevolves
revs/min in a clockwise
direction
What is the output in
revolutions per minute at
Gear C? In what direction
does
C revolve
?
firstGear
calculate
for GEAR
We
A
and B

GEAR A

GEAR B

GEAR C

20
TEETH

60
TEETH

10 TEETH

Driven 60 3

3 :1
Driving 20 1

COMPOUND GEAR RATIOS

Since we are going from a
SMALLER gear to a LARGER
gear we DIVIDE the rpm

60rev / min
20rev / min
3
Now we calculate for GEAR B and
C

Driven 10 1

1: 6
Driving 60 6
Finally, the output of GEAR
C is

This means for every ONE

rotation of gear B, gear C makes
SIX rotations

20rev / min 6 120rev / min

GEAR TRAINS

n5
N3
N1
N4
(
)(
)(
)
n1
N2
N4
N5

PROBLEMS WITH GEAR DRIVES

Backlash
It is the amount by which the
width of a tooth space exceeds
the thickness of the engaging
tooth on the pitch circles
Backlash may be determined
in the transverse, normal, or
axial-planes, and either in the
direction of the pitch circles or
on the line of action

PROBLEMS WITH GEAR DRIVES

Interferen
ce

BEARINGS
A bearing is a mechanical device that supports the moving
parts of a machine
It is a device that is used to enable rotational or linear
movement, while reducing friction and handling stress
Bearings are made to support radial loads, thrust loads, or
combined radial-thrust loads
They may be categorized into two general classes, each
with two sub-types
1. Plain bearings
(a) Cylindrical
(b) Thrust
2. Anti Friction Bearings
(a) Ball bearing
(b) Roller bearings

HOW BEARINGS WORK

Bearings make use of a relatively simple
structure: a ball with internal and external
smooth metal surfaces, to aid in rolling
The ball itself carries the weight of the load
the force of the loads weight is what drives the
bearings rotation
However, not all loads put force on a bearing in
the same manner
There are two different kinds of loading :
Radial and Thrust

Radial
loading
A radial load, as
in a pulley, simply
puts weight on
the bearing in a
manner that
causes the
bearing to roll or
rotate as a result
of tension

Thrust
loading

Thrust bearings
are designed to
manage thrust
(axial) loads and
provide highshock-load
resistance in a
variety of
applications

TYPES OF BEARINGS

Thrust bearing

Cylindrical roller
bearing

Radial bearing

Flanged bearing

COUPLINGS

Acouplingis a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for torque
transmission

Couplingsdo not normally allow disconnection of shafts during operation, however there
are torque limiting couplingswhich can slip or disconnect when some torque limit is
exceeded

Couplers are available in two major styles:

1. Rigid
Rigid couplers must be strong enough to hold the shafts ends together as if they
were one shaft
2. Flexible
Flexible couplers allow for misalignment and are used where the two shafts are
already running in their own bearings, but might be slightly out of alignment

TYPES OF COUPLINGS

Rigid coupling

Clamped
Rigid coupling

Flexible
sleeve
coupling

Rubber
flexible
coupling

JOINTS
Mechanical joints are parts of a machine which are used to
join one mechanical part to another
Knuckle Joint

A knuckle joint is used to connect the two rods which

are under the tensile load, when there is requirement of
small amount of flexibility or angular moment is necessary

There is always axial or linear line of action of load

UNIVERSAL JOINT
Is a joint or a coupling in a rigid rod that allows the rod to
bend in any direction, and Is commonly used in shafts that
transmit rotary motion
It consists of pair of hinges located close together , oriented
at 90 to each other, connected by a cross shaft
The universal joint is not a constant velocity joint

KINEMATIC JOINTS
Kinematic pair
A joint which is formed by the
contact between two bodies and
allows relative motion between them

TYPES OF KINEMATIC JOINTS

Revolute pair (Pin
joint)

D.O.F : 1
Relative motion :
Circular
Screw
Pair(Helical)

D.O.F : 1
Relative motion :

Prismatic Pair(Slider
Joint)

D.O.F : 1
Relative motion :
Linear
Spherical
Pair(Globular)

D.O.F : 3
Relative motion :

Cylindrical Pair

D.O.F : 2
Relative motion :
Cylindrical
Planar Pair(Flat)

D.O.F : 3
Relative motion :

LEAD SCREW
It is also known as a power screw or translation
screw
Used as a linkage in a machine to translate turning
motion into linear motion

BALL SCREW
Ballscrews use recirculating
balls to reduce friction and
gain higher efficiency than
conventional
Leadscrews
Used as a linkage in a
machine to translate turning
motion into linear motion

Ballscrew drive

In the ballscrew driven

mechanism ,the motor turns the
ballscrew, and its rotary motion is
translated into the linear motion
that moves the carriage and load
by the stages bolt nut
The bearing ways act as linear
guides

Ballscrew-driven single-axis
slide mechanism