670 Mechanical Engineering Design

Figure 13-7 Base circle

(a) Generation of an involute;

(b) involute action.

d 7 < I" \1:-= IC

I ........_

8
I
Pitch
circle
\
I

circle G~,2 \\

I02

(a) (b)
·\ '' I I•:' •j : I ' ' )I (' ' I

) I

1' II

1 ,
13-4 ' l':'volute Properties
'I : L'(. 1 r :I An involute curve may be generated as shown in Fig. 13-7a. A partial flange B is
(II [ attached to the cylinder A, around which is wrapped a cord def, which is held tight.
I. Il I)' t1 l Point b on the cord represents the tracing point, and as the cord is wrapped and
unwrapped about the cylinder, point b will trace out the involute curve ac. The radius
'• I of the curvature of the involute varies continuously, being zero at point a and a
maximum at point c. At point b the radius is equal to the distance be, since point b is
instantaneously rotating about point e. Thus the generating line de is normal to the invo-
lute at all points of intersection and, at the same time, is always tangent to the cylinder
J! A. The circle on which the involute is generated is called the base circle.
1 i Let us now examine the involute profile to see how it satisfies the requirement
for the transmission of uniform motion. In Fig. 13-7b, two gear blanks with fixed
centers at 0 1 and 0 2 are shown having base circles whose respective radii are 0 1a
and 0 2b. We now imagine that a cord is wound clockwise around the base circle of
gear 1, pulled tight between points a and b, and wound counterclockwise around the
base circle of gear 2. If, now, the base circles are rotated in different directions so as
to keep the cord tight, a point g on the cord will trace out the involutes cd on gear 1
and ef on gear 2. The involutes are thus generated simultaneously by the tracing point.
The tracing point, therefore, represents the point of contact, while the portion of the
cord ab is the generating line. The point of contact moves along the generating line;
the generating line does not change position, because it is always tangent to the base
circles; and since the generating line is always normal to the involutes at the point of
contact, the requirement for uniform motion is satisfied.

13-5 Fundamentals
Among other things, it is necessary that you actually be able to draw the teeth on a
pair of meshing gears. You should understand, however, that you are not doing t~s
for manufacturing or shop purposes. Rather, we make drawings of gear teeth to obtain
an understanding of the p~oblems involved in the meshing of the mating teeth.

. i1I
....
Gears-General 671

Figure 13-8
ConstJUction of an involute
curve.
B,

./10
First, it is necessary to learn how to construct an involute curve. As shown in
Fig. 13-8, divide the base circfe into a number of equal parts, and construct radial
lines OAo, OAi, OA2, etc. Beginning at A1, construct perpendiculars A18 1, A2B2, A383,
etc. Then along A18 1 lay off the distance A1A0 , along A28 2 lay off twice the distance
A1A0, etc., producing points through which the involute curve can be constructed.
To investigate the fundamentals of tooth action, let us proceed step by step
through the process of constructing the teeth on a pair of gears.
When two gears are in mesh, their pitch circ;les roll on one another without slip-
ping. Designate the pitch radii as r1 and r2 and the angular velocities as w1 and "'2,
respectively. Then the pitch-line velocity is
V = lr1wd = Jr2w2l
Thus the relation between the radii on the angular velocities is

w1
l W2
I= r2
r1
(13-5)
,· •1

Suppose now we wish to design a speed reducer such that the input speed is 1800 rev/min
and the output speed is 1200 rev/min. This is a ratio of 3:2; the gear pitch diameters
would be in the same ratio, for example, a 4-in pinion driving a 6-in gear. The various
•·r ,
dimensions found in gearing are always based on the pitch circles.
Suppose we specify that an 18-tooth pinion is to mesh with a 30-tooth gear and
that the diametral pitch of the gearset is to be 2 teeth per inch. Then, from Eq. (13-1),
the pitch diameters of the pinion and gear are, respectively,
i •I
N1 • 18 . N2 30 .
d1 = - = - = 9 m d2 = - = - = 15 m
P 2 P 2
'' I
The first step in drawing teeth on a pair of mating gears is shown in Fig. 13-9. The
1
center distance is the sum of the pitch radii, in this case 12 in. So locate the pinion
I , ,. ' and gear centers 0 1 and 0 2, 12 in apart. Then construct the pitch circles of radii r 1 ,.
r
1

and r2. These are tangent at P, the pitch point. Next draw line ab, the common tangent,
through the pitch point. We now designate gear l as the driver, and since it is rotating
counterclockwise, we draw a line cd through point P at an angle cp to the common r
tangent ab. The line cd has three names, all of which are in general use. It is called
• " I. the pressure line, the generating line, and the line of action. It represents the direction
in which the resultant force acts between the gears. The angle cp is called the pressure
angle, and it usually has values of 20 or 25°, though 14½° was once used.
 672 Mechanical Engineering Design

IFigure 13-9
Circles of a gear layout.
w,(
I II I

0•7~<
Involute

11
--r-t++-" I
Io,
\Q d~
\Ihl-""" p;«h
ml,
1
'

circle

Figure 13-10
Base circle radius can be
related to the pressure angle <f,
and the pitch circle radius by
rb = r cos <f,.

Base circle

Next, on each gear draw a circle tangent to the pressure line. These circles are the
base circles. Since they are tangent to the pressure line, the pressure angle determines
their size. As shown in Fig. 13-10, the radius of the base circle is
rb = r cos cf> (13-6)
:,.
where r is the pitch radius.
Now generate an involute on each base circle as previously described and as shown
in Fig. 13-9. This involute is to be used for one side of a gear tooth. It is not necessary
to draw another curve in the reverse direction for the other side of the tooth, because
we are going to use a template which can be turned over to obtain the other side.
, The addendum and dedendum distances for standard interchangeable teeth are,
as we shall learn later, 1/P and l.25/P, respectively. Therefore, for the pair of gears
we are constructing,

1 1
p - 2 = 0,500 in
a=--
b =p
1.25 = 1.2
2
5 = 0.625 in
Using these distances, draw the addendum and dedendum circles on the pinion and
on the gear as shown in Fig. 13-9.
Next, using heavy drawing paper, or preferably, a sheet of 0.015- to 0.020-in clear
plastic, cut a template for each involute, being careful to locate the gear centers prop-
erly with respect to each involute. Figure 13-11 is a reproduction of the template used
to create some of the illustrations for this book. Note that only one side of the tooth
profile is formed on the template. To get the other side, turn the template over. For
some problems you might wish to construct a template for the entire tooth.

..
 Gears-General 673

Figure 13-11
.. ,
A template for drawing gear
teeth. +o,

Figure 13-12
I
/ . Dedcndum circle
/r·
/ / I , /
Pinion
(driver) Base circle
Tooth action.
I I / Pitch circle

I ; { !I o I
Anglco/,/ j/
I . I
/I/I
,/ 1/'. I
. /
·,,Z
.......... ,
·:::----.
',,.
~
I.
/ X:LI'.
:le of ''
:ss
I . I
Il l/1 Addendum circl, / ~ \
// Pitch circle / \ ·\ \
/ 1 Base circle / \ ·
1 Gear Dedendum circle
/ (driven)

02

To draw a tooth, we must know the tooth thickness. From Eq. (13-4), the circular
pitch is
'TT 'TT
p = p = 2 = 1.57 in
Therefore, the tooth thickness is
p 1.57
t =
2 2 = 0.785 in
=

measured on the pitch circle. Using this distance for the tooth thickness as well as
the tooth space, draw as many teeth as desired, using the template, after the points
have been marked on the pitch circle. In Fig. 13-12 only one tooth has been drawn
on each gear. You may run into trouble in drawing these teeth if one of the base
circles happens to be larger than the dedendum circle. The reason for this is that the
involute begins at the base circle and is undefined below this circle. So, in drawing
gear teeth, we usually draw a radial line for the profile below the base circle. The
actual shape, however, will depend upon the kind of machine tool used to form the
teeth in manufacture, that is, how the profile is generated.
The portion of the tooth between the clearance circle and the dedendum circle
includes the fillet. In this instance the clearance is
c =b - a = 0.625 - 0.500 = 0.125 in
The construction is finished when these fillets have been drawn.

.........__
674 Mechanical Engineering Design

Referring again to Fig. 13-12, the pinion with center at 01 is the driver and turns
counterclockwise. The pressure, or generating, line is the same as the cord used in
Fig. 13-7a to generate the involute, and contact occurs along this line. The initial ,
contact will take place when the flank of the driver comes into contact with the tip
of the driven tooth. This occurs at point a in Fig. J 3-12, where the addendum circle
of the driven gear crosses the pressure line. If we now construct tooth profiles through
point a and draw radial lines from the intersections of these profiles with the pitch '
circles to the gear centers, we obtain the angle of approach for each gear.
As the teeth go into mesh, the point of contact will slide up the side of the driving
tooth so that the tip of the driver will be in contact just before contact ends. The final
point of contact will therefore be where the addendum circle of the driver crosses the
pressure line. This is point b in Fig. 13-12. By drawing another set of tooth profiles
through b, we obtain the angle of recess for each gear in a manner similar to that of
finding the angles of approach. The sum of the angle of approach and the angle of recess
for either gear is called the angle of action. The line ab is called the line of action.
We may imagine a rack as a spur gear having an infinitely large pitch diameter.
Therefore, the rack has an infinite number of teeth and a base circle which is an
infinite distance from the pitch point. The sides of involute teeth on a rack are straight
lines making an angle to the line of centers equal to the pressure angle. Figure 13-13
shows an involute rack in mesh with a pinion. Corresponding sides on involute teeth
are parallel curves; the base pitch is the constant and fundamental distance between
them along a common normal as shown in Fig. 13-13. The base pitch is related to the
circular pitch by the equation
Pb = Pc cos cf> (13-7)
where Pb is the base pitch.
Figure 13-14 shows a pinion in mesh with an internal, or ring, gear. Note that
• , both of the gears now have their centers of rotation on the same side of the pitch
point. Thus the positions of the addendum and dedendum circles with respect to the
pitch circle are reversed; the addendum circle of the internal gear lies inside the pitch
circle. Note, too, from Fig. 13-14, that the base circle of the internal gear lies inside
the pitch circle near the addendum circle.
Another interesting observation concerns the fact that the operating diameters of
the pitch circles of a pair of meshing gears need not be the same as the respective
design pitch diameters of the gears, though this is the way they have been constructed
in Fig. 13-12. If we increase the center distance, we create two new operating pitch
circles having larger diameters because they must be tangent to each other at the pitch

,, ' Base pitch . ,•1 I/

Figure 13-13
'
Involute-toothed pinion
and rack.

,, .
 Gears-General 675

Figure 13-14
I
Internal gear and pinion.

point. Thus the pitch circles of gears really do not come into existence until a pair of
gears are brought into mesh.
Changing the center distance has no effect on the base circles, because these were
used to generate the tooth profiles. Thus the base circle is basic to a gear. Increasing
the center distance increases the pressure angle and decreases the length of the line
of action, but the teeth are still conjugate, the requirement for uniform motion trans-
mission is still satisfied, and the angular-velocity ratio has not changed.

EXAMPLE 13-1 A parallel helical gearset uses a 17-tooth pinion driving a 34-tooth gear. The pinion has a
•1,. •., 'j ',. right-hand helix angle of 30", a normal pressure angle of 20", and a normal diametral
• •t~ • j ;, ; ; I~; f, ) "f' • ,JI 1 , pitch of 5 teeth/in. Find: • .
I '.': , Jr J .1 :~:._ ,.., (a) The normal, transverse, and axial circular pitches
iI .I , :
1
•• • ... ! I: I! (b) The normal base circular pitch • •
;•,•., I
(c) The transverse diametral pitch and the transverse pressure angle
...' (d) The addendum, dedendum, and pitch diameter of each gear
1-1· ! ,,i •! 'I ',
. ·" ~; r· , ,. . . , Solution 11 I ,,
V/411 ///b~~ ~~
'P 'G
I I

(a) Pn = rr/5 = 0.6283 in

Pt = Pnfcos VI = 0.6283/cos 30° = 0.7255 in
Px = p,/tan VI= 0.7255/tan30° = 1.25 in
Answer . (b) Eq. (13-7): Pnb = Pn cos <Pn = 0.6283 cos 20° = 0.590 in
Answer (c) P, = Pn cos VI = 5 cos 30° = 4.33 teeth/in
<Pt = tan- 1(tan <Pn/cos V1) = tan- (tan 20°/cos 30°) = 22.8°
1

..
-:-1 Mecha nical Engineering Design

Answer ( d) Table 13-4:

a= J/5 = 0.200 in
b = J.25/5 = 0.250 in
17
dP = - - -
5cos3 0°
= 3.926 rn.
34
da = 5cos3 = 7.852 in

-
0°

ii