Understanding gears and

Gear Trains.
By: Andrew Harsh
What is a Gear
A gear is a machine component, which is used to transmit mechanical power from
on shaft to the other by successively engaging its teeth.

Gears are one of the most used method of mechanical power transmission in the
machines.
Advantages of Gear Drive
● It is positive drive hence velocity remains consistent
● Provisions for changing velocity ratios can be made with the help of gear box
● Its efficiency is very high
● It can transmit high torque values
Disadvantages of Gear Drive
● They are not suitable when shafts are distant
● At high speeds noise and vibration happens
● It requires lubrication
● It has no flexibility
Spur Gears
Spur gears are used for power transfers in the shafts which are parallel to each
other. They have straight teeth as shown to the right.
Helical Gears
Helical gears are almost the same as spur gears but the have inclined teeth for
uniform and silent teeth meshing. Power transmitting capacity of helical spur gears
is more than that of normal spur gears
Spiral Bevel Gears
Spiral bevel gears are used for power transmission in the shafts which are
perpendicular to each other. Due to spiral teeth they provide uniform and silent
teeth engagement. It has more power transmitting capacity than zero bevel gears
Worm Gears
Sometimes this type of gear arrangement is also known as worm and wheel. Here
the long rod having spiral is the worm. We should not one thing that the worm can
rotate the gear but reverse is not ture
Types of Gear Trains
Simple gear train

Compound gear train

Reverted gear train

Simple Gear Train
Gears are in the form of series

Axes of gears remain fixed

Each gear is mounted of a different shaft

Compound Gear Trains
All the characteristics are the same as simple gear train except that more than two
gears can also be mounted on a single shaft.
Reverted Gear Train
All the characteristics of the reverted gear train are the same as the compound
gear train except that the axis of the shafts on which first and last gear is mounted
coincides.
Planetary Gear Train
As the name suggests, it is a type of gear train in which at least axis of one of the
participating gear’s shafts rotates with respect to others.