February 2011

e-Soft board
Theme: Gear Manufacturing Process
The theme encompasses the following:

• Introduction
• History
• Gear Manufacturing process
• Methods of forming gears
• Gear Generating Process
• Gear Shaping
• Classification of Gear
• References

¾ Introduction:
A gear is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, or cogs, which mesh with another toothed part in order to
transmit torque. Two or more gears working in tandem are called a transmission and can produce a mechanical
advantage through a gear ratio and thus may be considered a simple machine.
Geared devices can change the speed, magnitude, and direction of a power
source. The most common situation is for a gear to mesh with another gear;
however a gear can also mesh a non-rotating toothed part, called a rack,
thereby producing translation instead of rotation.
The gears in a transmission are analogous to the wheels in a pulley. An
advantage of gears is that the teeth of a gear prevent slipping.

Two meshing gears transmitting When two gears of unequal number of teeth are combined a mechanical
rotational motion. Note that the advantage is produced, with both the rotational speeds and the torques of the
smaller gear is rotating faster. two gears differing in a simple relationship.
Although the larger gear is Gears are used extensively for transmission of power. They find application
rotating less quickly, its torque is in: Automobiles, gear boxes, oil engines, machine tools, industrial
proportionally greater. machinery, agricultural machinery, geared motors etc. To meet the strenuous
service conditions the gears should have: robust construction, reliable performance, high efficiency, economy and
long life. Also, the gears should be fatigue free and free from high stresses to avoid their frequent failures. The
gear drives should be free form noise, chatter and should ensure high load carrying capacity at constant velocity
ratio. To meet all the above conditions, the gear manufacture has become a highly specialized field.
¾ History:
According to historical records, gears had started as far as 400 to 200 BC in ancient China. Until the 17th century,
people began to study that they can transfer the movement of the tooth shape. In the 18th century, after the
industrial revolution in Europe, gear drive has been used widely; first development of cycloid gear and then
involutes gear is, until the early 20th century, involutes gear has play a dominant position in the application.
Gears mesh with each other toothed machine parts, its mechanical transmission and the mechanical application of
the field is extremely broad. Modern gear technology has been achieved: the gear module O.004 ~ 100 mm; gear
diameter from 1 mm to 150 m; transmission power up to the 100 thousand kilowatts; speed up to hundreds of
thousands of r / min; maximum peripheral speed of 300 m / sec.

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 From the Knowledge Centre’S Desk February 2011

The composition generally gear teeth, alveolar, French side addendum circle, tooth root circle, base circle, pitch
circle. Gear can be classified by gear shape, tooth shapes, tooth surface. Such as gear tooth profile, including tooth
profile curve, pressure angle, tooth height, and deflection. On the above mentioned involute gear, it is relatively
easy to manufacture, so the modern use of gears, the involute gear absolute majority, while the cycloid gear and
the circular gear is seldom used.
¾ Gear Manufacturing process:
Gear manufacturing can be divided into two categories namely forming and machining as shown in flow chart.
Forming consists of direct casting, molding, drawing, or extrusion of tooth forms in molten, powdered, or heat
softened materials and machining involves roughing and finishing operations.

Materials used in gear manufacturing process

The various materials used for gears include a wide variety of cast irons, non ferrous material &non - material
materials the selection of the gear material depends upon:
i. Type of service
ii. Peripheral speed
iii. Degree of accuracy required
iv. Method of manufacture
v. Required dimensions & weight of the drive
vi. Allowable stress
vii. Shock resistance
viii. Wear resistance.
1. Cast iron is popular due to its good wearing properties, excellent machinability & Ease of producing
complicated shapes by the casting method. It is suitable where large gears of complicated shapes are
needed.
2. Steel is sufficiently strong & highly resistant to wear by abrasion.
3. Cast steel is used where stress on gear is nigh & it is difficult to fabricate the gears.
4. Plain carbon steels find application for industrial gears where high toughness combined with high
strength.

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 From the Knowledge Centre’S Desk February 2011

5. Alloy steels are used where high tooth strength & low tooth wear are required.
6. Aluminum is used where low inertia of rotating mass is desired.
7. Gears made of non -Metallic materials give noiseless operation at high peripheral speeds.
Gear manufacture by casting method:
Gear can be produced by the various casting processes. Send casting is economical and can take up large size and
module, but the gears have rough surfaces and are inaccurate dimensionally. These gears are used in machinery
where operating speed is low and where noise and accuracy of motion can be tolerated, for example, farm
machinery and some hand operated devices. Send casting is suitable for one off or small batches. Large quantities
of small gears are made by “Die - Casting”. These gears are fairly accurate and need little finishing. However the
materials used are low melting ones, such as alloys of zinc, aluminum and copper so, there gears are suitable for
light duty applications only (light loads at moderate speeds). Gears made by “Investment Casting” may be
accurate with good surface finish. These can be made of strong materials to withstand heavy loads. Moderate -
size gears are currently being steel cast in metal moulds to produce performs which are later forged to size. Light
gears of thermoplastics are made by “Injection Moulding”. This method is satiable for large volume production.
However, gear tooth accuracy is no high and initial tool cost is high. These gears find use in instruments,
household appliances etc for phosphor bronze worm wheel rims; “centrifugal casting” is used far more
extensively than any other method. Centrifugal casting is also applied to the manufacture of steel gears. Both
vertical and horizontal axis spinners are used. After casting, the gears are annealed or normalized to remove
cooling stresses. They may then be heat treated, if required, to provide the needed properties. Centrifugally cast
gears perform as well as rolled (discussed ahead) gears and are usually less expensive. “Shell moulding” is also
sometimes used to produce small gears and the product is a good cast gear of somewhat lower accuracy than one
made by investment casting but much superior to sand casting.
¾ Methods of forming gears:
Roll forming:
In roll forming, the gears blank is mounted on a shaft & is pressed against hardened steel of rolling dies. The rolls
are fed inward gradually during several revolutions which produce the gear teeth. The forming rolls are very
accurately made & roll formed gear teeth usually home both by not and cold. In not roll forming, the not rolled
gear is usually cold -rolled which compiles the gear with a smooth mirror finish. In cold roll forming, higher
pressures are needed as compared to not rolling many of the gears produced by this process need no further
finishing. It becomes stronger against tension & fatigue. Spur & helical gears are made by this process.
Stamping:
Large quantities of gears are made by the method known as stamping ‘blanking’ or ‘fine blanking’. The gears are
made in a punch press from sheet; up to 12.7mm think such gears find application in: toys, clocks 4 timers,
watches, water & Electric maters & some business Equipment. After stamping, the gears are shaved; they give
best finish & accuracy. The materials which can be stamped are: low, medium & high carbon steels stainless steel.
This method is suitable for large volume production.
Powder metallurgy:-
High quality gears can be made by powder metallurgy method. The metal powder is pressed in dies to convert
into tooth shape, after which the product is sintered. After sintering, the gear may be coined to in crease density &
surface finish. This method is usually used for small gears. Gears made by powder metallurgy method find
application in toys, instruments, small motor drivers etc.
Extrusion:
Small sized gear can also be made by extrusion process. There is saving in material & machining time. This
method can produce any shape of tooth & is suitable for high volume production gears produced by extrusion find
application in watches, clocks, type writers etc.

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 From the Knowledge Centre’S Desk February 2011

¾ Gear Generating Process:

Gear Hobbing
Hobbing is the process of generating gear teeth by means of a rotating cutter called a hob. It is a continues
indexing process in which both the cutting fool & work piece rotate in a constant relationship while the hob is
being fed into work. The route gears the hob has essentially straight sides at a given pressure angle. The hob and
the gear blank are connected by means of proper change gears. The ratio of hob & blank speed is such that during
one revolution of the hob, the blank turns through as many teeth. The teeth of hob cut into the work piece in
Successive order & each in a slightly different position. Each hob tooth cuts its own profile depending on the
shape of cutter, but the accumulation on the shape of cutter, but the accumulation of these straight cuts produces a
curved form of the gear teeth, thus the name generating process. One rotation of the work completes the cutting
up to certain depth.
Type of Hobbing
1) Axial Hobbing
This type of feeding method is mainly used for cutting spur or helical gears. In this type, firstly the gear blank is
brought towards the hob to get the desired tooth depth. The table side is them clamped after that, the hob moves
along the face of the blank to complete the job. Axial hobbing which is used to cut spur & helical gears can be
obtained by ‘climb noting’ or ‘convential hobbing.
2) Radial Hobbing
This method of hobbing is mainly used for cutting worm wheels. In this method the hob & gear blank are set with
their ones normal to Each other. The gear blank continues to rotate at a set speed about its vertical axes and the
rotating hob is given a feed in a radial direction. As soon as the required depth of tooth is cut, feed motion is
stopped.
3) Tangential hobbing
This is another common method used for cuffing worm wheel. In this method, the
worm wheel blank is rotated in a vertical plane about horizontal axes. The hob is also held its axis or the blank.
Before starting the cut the hob is set at full depth of die tooth and then it is rotated. The rotating hob is then fed
forward axially. The front portion of the hob is tapered up to a certain length & gives the fed in tangential to the
blank face & hence the name ‘Tangential feeding’.
¾ Gear shaping
In gear shapers, the cutters reciprocate rapidly. The teeth are cut by the reciprocating motion of the cutter. The
cutter can either be ‘rack - type cutter’ or a rotary pinion type cutter’.
Rack - type cutter generating process:
The rack cutter generating process is also called gear shaping process. In this method, the generating cutter has the
form of a basic rack for a gear to be generated. The cutting action is similar to a shaping machine. The cutter
reciprocates rapidly & removes metal only during the cutting stroke. The blank is rotated slowly but uniformly
about its axis and between each cutting stroke of the cutter, the cutter advances along its length at a speed Equal to
the rolling speed of the matching pitch lines. When the cutter & the blank have rolled a distance Equal to one
pitch of the blank, the motion of the blank is arrested, the cutter is with drawn from the blank to give relief to the
cutting Edges & the cutter is returned to its starting position. The blank is next indexed & the next cut is started
following the same procedure.
Pinion type cutter generating process
The pinion cutter generating process is fundamentally the same as the rack cutter generating process, and instead
of using a rack cutter, it uses a pinion to generate the tooth profile. The cutting cycle is commenced after the
cutter is fed radically into the gear blank Equal to the depth of tooth required. The cutter is then given
reciprocating cutting motion parallel to its axis similar to the rack cutter and the cutter & the blank are made to
rotate slowly about their axis at speeds which are Equal at the matching pitch surfaces. This rolling movement

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blow the teeth on the blank are cut. The pinion cutter in a gear shaping rn/c may be reciprocated either in the
vertical or in the horizontal axis.
¾ Classification of Gear

Spur Gears
General: Spur gears are the most commonly used gear type. They are
characterized by teeth which are perpendicular to the face of the gear. Spur
gears are by far the most commonly available, and are generally the least
expensive. The basic descriptive geometry for a spur gear is shown in the figure
below.
Limitations: Spur gears generally cannot be used when a direction change
between the two shafts is required.
Advantages: Spur gears are easy to find, inexpensive, and efficient.

Helical Gears
General: Helical gears are similar to the spur gear except that the teeth are at an angle to the shaft, rather than parallel
to it as in a spur gear. (See the references for more specific information).
The resulting teeth are longer than the teeth on a spur gear of equivalent
pitch diameter. The longer teeth cause helical gears to have the following
differences from spur gears of the same size:
ƒ Tooth strength is greater because the teeth are longer,
ƒ Greater surface contact on the teeth allows a helical gear to carry
more load than a spur gear
ƒ The longer surface of contact reduces the efficiency of a helical
gear relative to a spur gear

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 From the Knowledge Centre’S Desk February 2011

Limitations: Helical gears have the major disadvantage that they are expensive and much more difficult to find (at
least insofar as an ME3110 student is concerned). Helical gears are also slightly less efficient than a spur gear of the
same size (see above).
Advantages: Helical gears can be used on non parallel and even perpendicular shafts, and can carry higher loads than
can spur gears.
Bevel Gears
General: Bevel gears are primarily used to transfer power between intersecting
shafts. The teeth of these gears are formed on a conical surface. Standard bevel
gears have teeth which are cut straight and are all parallel to the line pointing
the apex of the cone on which the teeth are based. Spiral bevel gears are also
available which have teeth that form arcs. Hypocycloid bevel gears are a special
type of spiral gear that will allow nonintersecting, non-parallel shafts to mesh.
Straight tool bevel gears are generally considered the best choice for systems
with speeds lower than 1000 feet per minute: they commonly become noisy
above this point.
Limitations: Limited availability. Cannot be used for parallel shafts. Can become noisy at high speeds.
Advantages: Excellent choice for intersecting shaft systems.
Worm Gears
General: Worm gears are special gears that resemble screws, and can be used to drive spur gears or helical gears.
Worm gears, like helical gears, allow two non-intersecting
'skew' shafts to mesh. Normally, the two shafts are at right
angles to each other. A worm gear is equivalent to a V-type
screw thread. Another way of looking at a worm gear is that
it is a helical gear with a very high helix angle.
Limitations: Low efficiency. The worm drives the drive
gear primarily with slipping motion, thus there are high
friction losses.
Advantages: Will tolerate large loads and high speed
ratios. Meshes are self locking (which can be either an
advantage or a disadvantage).
Racks (straight gears)
General: Racks are straight gears that are used to convert rotational motion to translational motion by means of a gear
mesh. (They are in theory a gear with an infinite pitch diameter). In theory, the torque and angular velocity of the
pinion gear are related to the Force and the velocity of the rack by the radius of the pinion gear, as is shown below:
Perhaps the most well-known application of a rack is the rack and pinion steering system used on many cars in the
past.
Limitations: Limited usefulness. Difficult to find.
Advantages: The only gearing component that converts rotational motion to translational motion. Efficiently
transmits power. Generally offers better precision than other conversion methods.

¾ References
http://www.123eng.com/seminar/GEAR%20MFG..pdf
http://www.public.asu.edu/~smurshed/academic/assignments/gear_classification.pdf
http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/IIT-MADRAS/Machine_Design_II/pdf/2_5.pdf
http://www.ehow.com/list_7648221_problems-brake-override.html

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