Gears

By Zach Pugliam
What is a Gear
A gear is a machine component which is used to transmit mechanical power from
one shaft to another by engaging it teeth.

Gears are one of the most used method of mechanical power transmission in
machines. Power transmission by gears have almost 100% efficiency.
Advantages of gears
● It is a positive drive hence velocity remains constant
● Provisions for changing velocity ratios can be made with the help of a gear
box
● Its efficiency is very high
● It can be used even for low speeds
● It can transmit high torque values
● It is compact in construction
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 the power transfer in shafts which are parallel to each
other. They have straight teeth as shown in the image above.
Helical Gears
Helical gears are almost the same as spur gears, but the teeth are slanted to
increase contact area between the gears. This allows them to hold more than
normal spur gears.
Bevel gears
Bevel gears transmit the spinning motion perpendicular to the input shaft.
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 note one thing that worm can
rotate the Gear but reverse is not true.
Types of Gear Trains
1. Simple Gear Train
2. Compound gear train
3. Reverted Gear Train
Simple Gear Train
Characteristics of simple gear train

● Gears are in the form of series

● Axes of gears remains fixed
● Each gear is mounted on different shaft
Compound gear train
Characteristics of compound gear train

● All the characteristics are same as simple gear train except that more than
two gears can also be mounted on a single shaft
Reverted Gear Train
Characteristics of reverted gear train

● All the characteristics of the reverted gear train are same as compound gear
train except that the axis of shafts on which first and last gear is mounted
coincides.
Planetary or epicyclic gear train
Characteristics of planetary or epicyclic 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. There is a gear
that has teeth facing inward with a center gear and orbiting gears.
Gear Train Pull