Lab Manual

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING & BUILT ENVIRONMENT

SUBJECT: EGE 3411 LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS 2
EXPERIMENT 1: GEAR TRAIN
1.0 OBJECTIVE
i.

To determine velocity ratio of simple gear drive

ii.

To observe the directions of rotation of simple gear trains.

2.0 THEORY/INTRODUCTION
A gear train is a set or system of gears to transfer a rotational torque from one part of a
mechanical system to another which used to increased speed, decreased speed and change the
direction of motion of shafts. Different-sized gears are often used in pairs for a mechanical
advantage, allowing the torque of the driving gear to produce a larger torque in the driven gear at
lower speed, or a smaller torque at higher speed.
Gear trains consist of:
i.

Driving gears (driver) attached to the input shaft

ii.

Driven gears (follower) attached to the output shaft

iii.

Idler gears (follower) interposed between the driving and driven gear in order to
maintain the direction of the output shaft the same as the input shaft to increase the
distance between the drive and driven gears.
Examples of gear trains:

i.

Simple gear train

ii.

Compound gear train

iii.

Epicyclic gear train

iv.

Reverted gear train

The gear ratio is the relationship between the numbers of teeth on two gears that are meshed.
The gear ratio of a gear train is the number of teeth on the follower divided by the number of
teeth on the driver.

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Gear ratio = number of teeth of driven gear / number of teeth of driving gear
A simple gear train consists of two or more meshed gears, where the gear shafts are parallel
and there is only one gear on each shaft. Figure 1 shows a simple gear train consisting of 3 gears.

Pinion
A

Gear
Idler

Figure 1: Simple gear train with an idler gear

Notice also that the driver and follower gears now turn in the same direction. In a simple gear
train, the total gear ratio is the product of the gear ratios between the pairs of meshed gears. If the
gears are labeled A, B, and C as shown in the figure below, then the gear ratio is given by:
V r=

n A nB n A
= =
nB nC nC

where:
Vr = velocity ratio
nA = speed of gear A
nB = speed of gear B
nC = speed of gear C
Notice that the idler has no effect on the gear ratio.
3.0 APPARATUS
i.

Simple gear train kit which shown in Figure 2

ii.

A simple arrangement of two spur gears

iii.

A simple arrangement of three spur gears

iv.

Set of weights

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Figure 2: Simple gear train kit

4.0 PROCEDURES
4.1 Simplest Gear Train
1. Choose two spur gears and anchor it to the frame such that the teeth of the gear interlock
each other.
2. The bigger gear is the driver while the smaller is the follower.
3. Count and note the number of teeth for each gear. Then calculate the gear ratio for this
pair of gears.
4. Mark the teeth of both gears that are located beneath the pointer.
5. Rotate the driver by 1 revolution and note the number of revolution that the follower gear
makes.
6. The fraction of a revolution that the follower makes can be calculated by taking the ratio
of the teeth to the ratio of a complete revolution. If the gear ratio has 32 teeth and the
number of teeth from the point to the mark teeth is 10 then the number of revolution that
the gear has made is calculated as follows:
i.
ii.

32teet h=1 revolution

10 teet h=

1
10 revolution
32

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7. Take readings from 1 to 6 revolutions

8. Record your result in Table 1.
9. Wound the cord round the input pulley and hang a hanger at the free end of the cord.
10. Record the revolution per minute of each gear in Table 2.
11. Increase the load on the input pulley and repeat step 10. Repeat for at least 5 load
increments.
4.2

Simple Gear Train 1

1. Choose three spur gears and anchor it to the frame such that the teeth of the gear interlock
each other.
2. The biggest gear is the driver while the two smaller is the followers.
3. Count and note the number of teeth for each gear.
4. Mark the teeth of both gears that are located beneath the pointer.
5. Rotate the driver by 1 revolution and note the number of revolution that the last follower
gear makes (not the intermediate).
6. Take readings from 1 to 6 revolutions for the driver gear and note the corresponding
revolution of the last follower.
7. Record your result in Table 3.
8. Wound the cord round the input pulley and hang a hanger at the free end of the cord.
9. Record the revolution per minute of each gear in Table 4.
10. Increase the load on the input pulley and repeat step 9. Repeat for at least 5 load
increments.
4.3 Simple Gear Train 2
1. Interchange the position of the follower and repeat the steps in Section 4.2, then record
your result in Table 5 and Table 6.

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5.0 RESULTS
5.1 Simplest Gear Train
Number of teeth for the driver

Number of teeth for the follower =

Ratio of follower: driver teeth

Table 1 Speed of driver and follower of simplest gears train

Speed of follower
Speed of
driver

Complete

Incomplete revolution

Total revolution

revolution (a)

No. of

Fraction of

(a) + (b)

rev

teeth
No

Rev (b)
rev

rev

rev
1
2
3
4
5
6

Table 2 Gears rotation of simplest gears train

Load

5.2

Driver Gear Rotation

Direction
RPM

Follower Gear Rotation

Direction
RPM

Simple Gear Train 1

Number of teeth for the driver

Number of teeth for the last follower

Rotation
Ratio

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Ratio of last follower: driver teeth

Table 3 Speed of driver and follower of simple gears train 1

Speed of last follower

Speed of
driver

Complete
revolution (a)

rev
1
2
3
4
5
6

rev

Incomplete revolution
No. of

Fraction of

teeth
No

Rev (b)
rev

Total revolution
(a) + (b)
rev

Table 4 Gears rotation of simple gears train 1

Load

5.3

Driver Gear Rotation

Direction
RPM

Follower Gear Rotation

Direction
RPM

Rotation

Simple Gear Train 2

Number of teeth for the driver

Number of teeth for the last follower

Ratio of last follower: driver teeth

Table 5 Speed of driver and follower of simple gears train 2

Ratio

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Speed of last follower

Speed of
driver
rev
1
2
3
4
5
6

Complete
revolution (a)
rev

Incomplete revolution
No. of

Fraction of

teeth
No

Rev (b)
rev

Total revolution
(a) + (b)
rev

Table 6 Gears rotation of simple gears train 2

Load

Driver Gear Rotation

Direction
RPM

Follower Gear Rotation

Direction
RPM

Rotation
Ratio

6.0 DISCUSSION
i.
ii.

Plot the graph of the speed of follower to the speed of the driver for the three cases.
From the graphs determine the average speed ratio by calculating the slope. Then

iii.

compare it with teeth ratio.

Observe this effect of the idler gears to the system.

7.0 CONCLUSION
i.
ii.
iii.

From the plotted graph, write down your observation and make your conclusion.
Comment on the accuracy of the experiment and ways of improving it.
If a motor is used to drive a certain component of a machine and the motor has a speed of
3000 rpm suggests a gear arrangement so that the component will have a speed of 300
rpm.