Gears 331

from the perpendicular. It is called the pressure line because the resultant tooth force is
along this line during meshing. Here, the pressure angle is 20 .
3. Construct perpendiculars Op A and OgB to the pressure line through the centers of each
gear. The radial distance of each of these lines is the radii of the base circles of the pinion
and gear, respectively. Draw the base circles.
4. Draw an involute curve on each base circle. This is illustrated on the gear. First divide the base
circle into equal parts A0, A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, ., An. Construct radial lines Og A0, Og A1, Og A2,
Og A3, ., Og An. Construct perpendiculars to these radial lines. The involute begins at A0. The
second point is obtained by measuring off the distance A0 A1 on the perpendicular through A1.
The next point is found by measuring off twice the distance A0 A1 on the perpendicular through
A2 and so on. The curve constructed through these points is the involute for the gear. The
involute for the pinion is constructed in the same way on the base circle of the pinion.
5. Calculate the circular pitch p ¼ pm. The width of the teeth and the width of the spaces are
equal to half the circular pitch. Mark these distances off on the pitch circles. (Here
p ¼ p  2.5).
6. Draw the addendum and dedendum circles for the pinion and gear (see Figure 8.20). Here,
a tooth system (see Table 8.3) has been selected with

a ¼ m;
b ¼ 1:25 m:

7. Mirror the involute profile about a line constructed using a distance that is one-half of the
tooth width along the pitch circle and the gear center. Using a polar array, generate all of
the teeth for the gear. Construct the root fillets, as appropriate. Construct the tooth top and
bottom lands.
Gears can be purchased as standard items from specialist manufacturers. The exact geometry
for the blade teeth is not necessary for engineering drawings and general design purposes
(unless you are designing gears, cutters/forming tools). However, the tooth geometry is
necessary for detailed stress/reliability and dynamic analysis.

8.3 Gear Trains

A gear train is one or more pairs of gears operating together to transmit power. Figure 8.21
shows examples of a simple gear train, a reverted gear train, and a nonreverted gear train.
When two gears are in mesh, their pitch circles roll on each other without slippage. If
r1 ¼ pitch radius of gear 1, r2 ¼ pitch radius of gear 2, u1 ¼ angular velocity of gear 1,
u2 ¼ angular velocity of gear 2, then the pitch line velocity is given by

V ¼ jr1 u1 j ¼ jr2 u2 j (8.4)

332 Chapter 8

Og

Line of
centers

Dedendum Base
circle circle
Gear

Pitch
circle

Pressure Addendum
line circles
Base
circle Dedendum
Op circle Pitch
Pinion
circle

Figure 8.20
Layout of a pair of meshing spur gears.

The velocity ratio is

u1
r2


¼ (8.5)

u
r
2 1

It can be defined in any of the following ways:

uP nP NG dG
¼ ¼ ¼ (8.6)
uG nG NP dP
where uP and uG are the angular velocities of the pinion and gear respectively (rad/s), nP and
nG are the rotational speeds of the pinion and gear, respectively (rpm), NP and NG are the
 Gears 333

(a)
Input
(b)
Input
(c)
Input Output

Output
Output

Figure 8.21
Gear trains. (a) Simple gear train. (b) Reverted compound gear train. (c) Nonreverted
compound gear train.

number of teeth in the pinion and gear, respectively, and dP and dG are the pitch diameter of
the pinion and gear, respectively (mm).
Consider a pinion 1, driving a gear 2. The speed of the driven gear is






N1

d1

n2 ¼
n1
¼
n1





(8.7)
N2 d2
where n ¼ revolutions or rpm, N ¼ number of teeth, and d ¼ pitch diameter.

Equation (8.7) applies to any gear set (spur, helical, bevel, or worm). For spur and parallel
helical gears, the convention for direction is positive for counterclockwise rotation, i.e.
N1
n2 ¼  n1 (8.8)
N2

Example 8.1
Consider the gear train shown in Figure 8.22. Calculate the speed of gear 5.
Solution
N1
n2 ¼  n1
N2
N2
n3 ¼  n2
N3
n4 ¼ n3 ðon the same shaftÞ
N4
n5 ¼  n4
N5
334 Chapter 8

N1 N1
Input n1 Input

N2 N2

n2

N4
N4 N3
n3

N3

N5 N5

Output n5
Output

Figure 8.22
Example gear train.

N4 N2 N1
n5 ¼  n1
N5 N3 N2

Example 8.2
For the double reduction gear train shown in Figure 8.23, if the input speed is 1750 rpm in a
clockwise direction what is the output speed?
Solution
N1
n2 ¼  n1
N2
n3 ¼ n2 ðon the same shaftÞ
N3
n4 ¼  n3
N4
  
N3 N1 18 20
n4 ¼ n1 ¼ ð1750Þ ¼ 166:7 rpm
N4 N2 54 70

Example 8.3
For the double reduction gear train with an idler shown in Figure 8.24, if the input speed is
1750 rpm in a clockwise direction, what is the output speed?
 Gears 335

N1 = 20

Input

N2 = 70 N3 = 18

N4 = 54

Output

Figure 8.23
Double reduction gear train.

N1 = 20

Input

N2 = 70 N3 = 18

N4 = 22

Idler
N5 = 54 gear

Output

Figure 8.24
Double reduction gear with idler.
336 Chapter 8

Solution
N4
n5 ¼  n4
N5
N3
n4 ¼  n3
N4
n3 ¼ n2
N1
n2 ¼ 
n1
N2
   
N4 N3 N1 22 18 20
n5 ¼  n1 ¼  ð1750Þ ¼ 166:7 rpm
N5 N4 N2 54 22 70

Notice that the presence of the idler gear has caused the gear train output to reverse direction
but has not altered the gear ratio in comparison to example 8.2.
Example 8.4
For the gear train illustrated in Figure 8.25, determine the output speed and direction of
rotation if the input shaft rotates at 1490 rpm in a clockwise direction. In Figure 8.25, gears
A to D have a module of 1.5 and gears E to H a module of 2.
Solution
d ¼ mN; N ¼ d/m; NB ¼ 67.5/1.5 ¼ 45; NC ¼ 27/1.5 ¼ 18; and NF ¼ 56/2 ¼ 28.
NG
nH ¼ nG :
NH
nG ¼ nF :

N A = 20
d B = 67.5 mm

Input A D E H Output d C = 27 mm
N D = 38
N E = 18
F G d F = 56 mm
B C
N G = 18
N H = 30

Figure 8.25
Gear train.
 Gears 337
NE
nF ¼ nE :
NF
nE ¼ nD :
NC
nD ¼ nC :
ND
nC ¼ nB :
NA
nB ¼ nA :
NB
NG NE NC NA 18 18 18 20
nH ¼    nA ¼     1490 ¼ 121 rpm:
NH NF ND NB 30 28 38 45

Gear A B C D E F G H
Direction CW CCW CCW CW CW CCW CCW CW
Note: CW ¼ clockwise. CCW ¼ counterclockwise.

8.3.1 Manually Shifted Automotive Transmissions

The torque speed characteristic of a petrol IC engine delivers low torque at starting and at low
speeds. This does not match the load, whichdto enable a car to pull away from a stationary
positionddemands a high torque. The torque from an IC engine can be increased by means
of gearing. Similarly, at other load conditions such as high acceleration, hills, and cruising,
the torque speed characteristics of the engine may not be compatible with the load. A
multiratio gearbox is the traditional solution to this problem.
A typical manually shifted gearbox for a passenger car is illustrated in Figure 8.26. This has
five forward speeds and reverse. The basic elements of a manually shifted transmission are
a single or multiplate clutch for engaging and disengaging the power from the load, a variable
ratio transmission unit with permanent mesh gears, and a gear shift mechanism and lever.
Clutches are presented more fully in Chapter 13, and their function here is to interrupt the
power flow. The demands of the automobile product mean that harshness in gear changes is
unacceptable to the majority of customers. A method of overcoming shocks from gears
crashing into each other as they are engaged is to hold the gears in permanent mesh but not
necessarily transmitting any power. This is illustrated for gears 2e4 which, although in mesh
in Figure 8.26a, do not transmit torque because one of each of the pairs of gears concerned is
free to rotate relative to its shaft. In order to transmit torque, a spline is moved on the shaft
causing the gear to rotate at the same speed as the shaft; therefore, it is able to transmit power.
This is the principle of the synchromesh illustrated in Figure 8.27. Depending on the gear
train desired, the gear lever shift mechanism moves the synchromesh splines to engage the
appropriate gears.