GEAR TERMINOLOGY
CONTENTS
TERMINOLOGY
MANUFACTURING
ERRORS
GEAR AND PINION
Gears are the most common means of transmitting
power in mechanical engineering.
Gear or wheel. The larger of two interacting
gears.
Pinion. The smaller gear in a pair.
BASE CIRCLE
Base circle : It is a circle from which involute form is
generated. Only the base circle on a gear is fixed and
unalterable.
Base pitch (pb): It is the distance from one face of a
tooth to the corresponding face of an adjacent tooth
on the same gear, measured along the base circle.
Sometimes called the 'normal pitch'.
PITCH CIRCLE
Pitch is the distance between a
point on one tooth and the
corresponding point on an
adjacent tooth.
Pitch circle. A circle, centered on
and perpendicular to the axis, and
passing through the pitch point.
Sometimes also called the 'pitch
line', although it is a circle.
Pitch diameter (D). Diameter of a
pitch circle. The nominal gear size
is usually the pitch diameter.
Circular pitch (p). The distance from one face of
a tooth to the corresponding face of an adjacent
tooth on the same gear, measured along the
pitch circle.
Diametral pitch (Pd). The ratio of the number of
teeth to the pitch diameter.
Module(m). The module of a gear is equal to the
pitch diameter divided by the number of teeth.
ADDENDUM AND
DEDENDUM
Addendum : The radial distance from the pitch
surface to the outermost point of the tooth.
Dedendum : The radial distance from the depth of
the tooth to the pitch surface.
POINT OF CONTACT
A p o in t o f co n ta ct is a n y p o in t a t w h ich tw o to o th
p ro file s to u ch e a ch o th e r.
The pitch point is the point of tangency of two pitch
circles and is on the line of centers.
LINE OF ACTION
The line of action is
also called path of
action.
It is the straight line
passing through the
pitch point and
tangent to both base
circles.
LANDS
Bottom land is the
surface at the bottom
of a gear tooth space
adjoining the fillet.
Top land is the
(sometimes flat)
surface of the top of
a gear tooth.
ANGLES ASSOCIATED WITH
GEARS
Helix angle (ψ). The angle between a tangent to the helix and the
gear axis. It is zero in case of a spur gear.
Lead angle (λ). The angle between a tangent to the helix and a plane
perpendicular to the axis. It is the complement of the helix angle
which is usually given for helical gears.
Pressure angle (ø). The complement of the angle between the
direction, that the teeth exert force on each other, and the line
joining the centers of the two gears. The pressure angle is a
constant for a given gear.
MANUFACTURING OF GEARS
The gears (gear teeth) are generally made by
one of the following 2 methods.
1. Reproducing method, in which the cutting
tool is a formed involve cutter, which forms
the gear teeth profiles by reproducing the
shape of the cutter itself. In this method,
each tooth space is cut independently of the
other tooth spaces.
2.
3. Generating method, in which the cutting tool
(hob) forms the profiles of several teeth
simultaneously during constant relative
motion of the tool and blank.
SOURCES OF ERRORS
The various sources of errors in the
gear made by reproducing method be due
to
1. incorrect profile on the cutting tool,
2.
3. incorrect positioning of the tool in
relation to the work and,
4.
5. incorrect indexing of the blank.
SOURCES OF ERRORS
The sources of error in the gear made
by generating method are:
1. Errors in the manufacture of the cutting
tool
2.
3. Errors in positioning the tool in relation to
the work and
4.
5. Errors in the relative motion of the tool
and blank during the generating
operation.
GEAR ERRORS
Pitch error
It is the difference between actual and
design pitch.
Cyclic error
Error occurs in each revolution of gear.
Undulation
It is the periodical departure of the actual
tooth surface from the design surface.
GEAR ERRORS
Run out
Total range of a fixed indicator with the
contact points applied to a surface rotated,
without axial movement, about a fixed axis.
Periodic error
Error occurs at regular intervals.
Profile error
The maximum distance of any point on
the tooth profile form to the design profile.
GEAR ERRORS
Radial run out
Run out is measured along a
perpendicular to the axis of rotation.
Axial run out
Run out is measured parallel to the axis
of rotation.
Eccentricity
It is the half radial run out.
BACKLASH
Backlash is the error in motion that occurs when
gears change direction.
It exists because there is always some gap between
the trailing face of the driving tooth and the leading
face of the tooth on the driven gear, and that gap
must be closed before force can be transferred in
the new direction.
REFERENCE
Engineering Metrology R.K.
jain
www.wikipedia.org
www.gearshub.com
