Gears
Gears are among the most important
power transmission elements. A gear is a
rotating machine element having cut teeth
which mesh with another toothed part,
usually having teeth of similar size and
shape, in order to transmit power. Two or
more gears working together are called a
"transmission" (or gear set) and can
produce "mechanical advantage" and thus
may be considered a simple machine. The
mechanical advantage is a measure of the
force or torque amplification that is
obtained using mechanical devices.
When two gears mesh with one gear bigger than the other (the size of the teeth
must match thus the bigger gear has more teeth), a mechanical advantage is
obtained where the rotational speeds and the torques of the two gears will be
different. Since the input and output power must be equal (ignoring friction losses),
there is an inverse relationship between the speed and torque ratios (the small gear
will have higher speed and lower torque and the larger gear will have lower speed
and higher torque).
Atransmission (or gear set) can be used to change
the speed, torque, direction of rotation, direction
of a power source, or the type of motion. The
most common configuration for a gear is to mesh
with another gear, however, a gear can also mesh
with a non-rotating toothed part, called a "rack",
thereby producing translation instead of rotation,
as shown in the figure. Such arrangement is
refered to as "rack and pinion" and it is commonly
used in the steering systems of automobiles.
Types of Gears
There are four principal types of gears:
Spur gears: The simplest type of gears. The teeth are parallel to
the axis of rotation, as seen in the figure. It transmits rotation
between parallel shafts.
" Helical gears:The teeth are inclined with respect to the axis
of rotation, as seen in the figure. Same as spur gears,
transmits rotation between parallel shafts, but it is less noisy
than spur gears because of the more gradual engagement of
the teeth during meshing and thus it is more suitable for
transmitting motion at higher speeds.
In some cases, helical gears can also be used to transmit
rotation between perpendicular shafts, as seen in the figure.
Bevel gears: The teeth are somehow similar to those of a
spur gear but they are formed on conical surfaces instead of
cylinders. Bevel gears transmit rotation between intersecting
shafts. The gear shown in the figure has straight teeth where
this the simplest type. However, there are other types
were the teeth form circular arcs and it is called spiral bevel
gears, as shown in the figure. With spiral bevel gears, the
teeth engagement will be more gradual (similar to helical
gears) and thus is less noisy and it is suitable for higher
speeds.
Worms and Worm gears: Transmit rotation between
perpendicular shafts (not intersecting, there is an offset
between them). The worm resembles a screw which can be
right handed or left handed. Worm gear sets are usually used
when high reduction in speed is desired (speed ratios of 3 or
higher). It transmits rotation from the worm to the worm gear,
but not the opposite.
