MEE 341

Chapter 9
Gears

Introduction

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 1

 Definition
− When a change in Speed or Torque is required
− Gear trains: from can opener to aircraft carriers

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 2

 Introduction
− The simplest means of transferring rotary motion
from one shaft to another is by rolling cylinders
Provided sufficient friction at interface
− Types
External
Internal

Internal set External set

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 3

 Introduction
Flat or Vee Belts
– Transfer power through friction
– Large power need enough belt cross section
– Found in: sewing machines, car alternator

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 4

 Introduction
Flat or Vee Belts
– Used when absolute phasing is not required
– Also used when only moderate power is needed
– Quiet & inexpensive solution
– Possibility of slip

Gears
– Used when phasing of input & output shafts is
required for timing purposes
• Valve trains in auto engines
• Valve cams in phase with piston motion (crank
shaft)
– Gear: larger of two meshing gears
– Pinion: small in gear set

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 5

 Gears
Fundamental Law of Gearing
Velocity of A on the pinion VA  rin inin

Velocity of A on the gear VA  rout out

out

Constraint VA  VA
in
 rin in  rout out
out

Let mv = angular velocity ratio

Remains constant throughout the mesh

out rin din

mv   
in rout dout
+ for internal cylinder
– for external cylinder

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 6

 Gears Teeth
• Mating gear teeth contours must be conjugate
– Cycloid tooth found in watches & clocks
– Involute curves in most other gears

• Involute tooth form

– Generated by unwrapping a string on a spool
– String is always tangent to the cylinder

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 7

Spur Gear Geometry:
Involute
• Involute tooth tooth
profile
Unwind a string from a
base circle
Track the path of the
string end Base
Circle

Pitch circle

• Pitch Diameter (d)

Size of equivalent friction Line of Centers
rollers

Pitch circle
 Terminology

Pitch diameter (d): Size of equivalent friction rollers

Addendum circle: circle circumscribing the gear

Root or Dedendum circle: circle drawn through the

bottom of the gear teeth

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 9

 Terminology

Clearance circle: largest circle centered at the gear center

that is not penetrated by the teeth of the mating gear

Clearance: radial distance from the clearance circle to the

root circle or difference between the dedendum of one gear
and the addendum of the mating gear.

Whole depth: radial distance between the addendum and

dedendum circles
MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 10
 Terminology

Working depth: radial distance between the

addendum and the clearance circle or the sum of
the addendums of the two meshing gears

Circular pitch: sum of the tooth width and tooth

space. It is equal to the circumference of the pitch
circle divided by the teeth. d
p
N
MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 11
 Terminology

Diametral pitch: The number of teeth of a gear

divided by the diameter of the pitch circle in
inches N
P 
d
d

Therefore, the relationship between circular and

diametral pitch is P p 
d

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 12

 Diametral pitch
N
The number of teeth of a gear divided by the diameter of the pitch circle in inches Pd 
d
While there are no theoretical restrictions on the possible values of diametral pitches, a set
of standard values is defined based on available gear cutting tools.

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 13

 Terminology

Module: Used in SI units to express the gear

tooth size rather than the diametral pitch. It is the
reciprocal of the diametral pitch
d
m
N

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 14

 Terminology

A pair of meshing gears must have:

•Same circular pitch

•Same module
•Same diametral pitch

Heavy duty Applications need gears with large modules d

m
N
Plastic gears with small modules are used in light-duty applications

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 15

 Terminology

Backlash: The difference between tooth space and tooth

thickness.

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 16

 Mating Spur Gears : Fundamental Law of Gearing
The shape (profile) of the teeth of a gear must be such that the common normal at the point of contact
between two teeth always passes through a fixed point on the line of centers of the gears. (This point
lies on the pitch circles of both gears)

Driver Gear
(pinion)

Base
Circle Line of Centers

Pitch
Circle
Pressure Angle, f
Addendum
Circle
Center Distance, c Pitch Line

3 2 1 Base
Circl
Pitch
Contact Line e Circle
Addendum
Circle

Driven Gear
 Pressure Angle (f)

Base Circle
Pitch Circle Pressure Line

Pressure Angle, f
Pitch Line

Pitch Circle

Base Circle
Line of Centers

Standard values: f = 14½0, 200, 250

 Pressure Angle

Standard values: φ = 14½o, 20o, 25o

14½o : recommended only for replacement of other 14½o gears
20o: well suited for general applications
25o : used without concern for interference but have less efficient force transmission,
therefore best suited for high speed low-power applications

Mating gears must have same

pressure angle and diametral pitch.
MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 19
 Standard Features

The following features are standardized for interchangeability:

Base circle: db=d cos φ

Circular Pitch: p = πd/N

N
Addendum: a=1/Pd
(distance from the pitch circle to addendum circle)
Diametral pitch: Pd 
d
Dedendum: b=1.25/Pd
(distance between the radii of the pitch circle and the dedendum circle)

Face Width: F=12/Pd

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 20

 Example 1
A 20o, full-depth, involute spur gear with 18 teeth has a diametral
pitch of 12.

Determine:

• Outside (addendum) diameter.

• Root (dedendum) diameter.
• Standard face width.
• Base circle diameter.
• Circular pitch.
 Example 2: Center Distance (c)
Two mating external 4-pitch, spur gears have 14 and 42 teeth.
Determine the center distance.

𝑑1 + 𝑑2 𝑁1 + 𝑁2
𝐶𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑔𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 = 𝑟1 + 𝑟2 = =
2 2𝑃𝑑

𝑑2 − 𝑑1 𝑁2 − 𝑁1
𝐶𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑔𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 = 𝑟2 − 𝑟1 = =
2 2𝑃𝑑
Pitch circle

Line of Centers

Pitch circle
cexternal
 Example 3: Contact Ratio (mp)
Contact Ratio (mp) : Average number of teeth in contact at any instant.
Z
mp 
pb
Base pitch (pb):
 d1 cos f  d 2 cos f
pb  
N1 N2
Length of contact path (Z):
Z  (r2  a2 ) 2  (r2 cos f ) 2  r2 sin f
 (r1  a1 ) 2  (r1 cos f ) 2  r1 sin f

Larger values have smoother load transfer

Recommend 1.4 – 1.5

Example:
Two mating external 4-pitch, 20o , spur gears have 18 and 42 teeth. Determine
the contact ratio.
 Interference
 Interference
 Gears with too few teeth. 𝑁1 2 sin Φ 2 − 4𝑘 2
 Small gear mates with a much larger gear. 𝑁2 <
 Top of one gear digs into base of the other. 4𝑘 − 2𝑁1 sin Φ 2
 Use following table to check.
0 0 0 𝑘
f  14½ f  20 f25
𝑎=
Number
of pinion
Maximum
number of gear
Number of
pinion teeth
Maximum
number of gear
Number of
pinion
Maximum
number of
𝑃𝑑
teeth teeth teeth teech gear teeth
<23 Interference <13 Interference <9 Interference
23 26 13 16 9 13
24 32 14 26 10 32
25 40 15 45 11 249
26 51 16 101 12 
27 67 17 1309
28 92 18 
29 133
30 219
31 496
32 

Example 4:
Two mating 200, 4-pitch, spur gears have 12 and 42 teeth. Will they interfere?
 Interference and Undercutting
− To prevent interference avoid gears with few teeth
−Interference can also be avoided by undercutting: removing
material on the gear tooth between the base circle and dedendum
circle (Involute tooth form is implemented only outside the base
circle)
− Undercutting reduces the strength of the gear, thus the power
that can be safely transmitted.
− Severe undercutting will promote early tooth failure

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 25

 Interference and Undercutting
AGMA – American Gear Manufacturing Assoc
Defines standards for quality & tolerances pressure
angles numbers of pinion & gear teeth

Table 9−4a Table 9−4b

Min. num. of pinion teeth Min. num. of pinion teeth

to avoid interface between to avoid undercutting when
pinion and rack cut with a Hob
Pressure Min. num. Pressure Min. num.
angle of teeth angle of teeth
14.5 32 14.5 37
20 18 20 21
25 12 25 14

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 26

 Interference and Undercutting
AGMA – American Gear Manufacturing Assoc
Defines standards for quality & tolerances pressure
angles numbers of pinion & gear teeth

Table 9−5a Table 9−5b

Max. num. of Gear teeth Max. num. of Gear teeth

to avoid interface (200 pinion) to avoid interface (250 pinion)
N. Pinion Max. Gear N. Pinion Max. Gear
teeth teeth teeth teeth
17 1309 11 249
16 101 10 32
15 45 9 13
14 26
13 16

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 27

 Interference and Undercutting
0 0 0
f  14½ f  20 f25
Number Maximum Number of Maximum Number of Maximum
of pinion number of pinion teeth number of pinion number of
teeth gear teeth gear teeth teech gear teeth
<23 Interference <13 Interference <9 Interference
23 26 13 16 9 13
24 32 14 26 10 32
25 40 15 45 11 249
26 51 16 101 12 
27 67 17 1309
28 92 18 
29 133
30 219
31 496
32 

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 28

 Types of Gears
Spur gear
Most common
teeth parallel to axis of gear
Simple (loud)

Helical gears
Teeth at a helix angle
Smoother, quieter (more expensive)
Types: Parallel or crossed

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 29

 Types of Gears
Worm gears
Actually a thread (not an involute)
Impossible to backdrive (safety)

Bevel gears
Straight : Spur at an angle
Spiral : Helical at an angle

Rack and pinion gears

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 30

 Gear Selection
Need to decide:
1. Suitable diametral pitch
2. Pressure Angle
3. Number of teeth on each gear

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 31

 Commercially Available Gears

Number of Teeth for

Commercially
Available Gears

MEE 341 Chap 9 Lecture 4 32

 Example 5
A gear reducer is used on a concept for a small trolling motor for fishing boats. The
gears must transmit 5 hp from an electric motor at 900 rpm to the propeller at 320
rpm. Select a set of gears to accomplish this task.

1. Determine a suitable diametral pitch and pressure angle.

2. Use the required velocity ratio to iterate and determine appropriate number of
teeth (confirm that these gears are commercially available).
3. Calculate the pitch diameters and center distance.