Introduction

Gears are machine elements used to transmit rotary motion between two shafts, normally with a
constant ratio. The pinion is the smallest gear and the larger gear is called the gear wheel.. A rack
is a rectangular prism with gear teeth machined along one side- it is in effect a gear wheel with an
infinite pitch circle diameter. In practice the action of gears in transmitting motion is a cam action
each pair of mating teeth acting as cams. Gear design has evolved to such a level that throughout
the motion of each contacting pair of teeth the velocity ratio of the gears is maintained fixed and the
velocity ratio is still fixed as each subsequent pair of teeth come into contact. When the teeth
action is such that the driving tooth moving at constant angular velocity produces a proportional
constant velocity of the driven tooth the action is termed a conjugate action. The teeth shape
universally selected for the gear teeth is the involute profile.

Consider one end of a piece of string is fastened to the OD of one cylinder and the other end of the
string is fastened to the OD of another cylinder parallel to the first and both cylinders are rotated in
the opposite directions to tension the string(see figure below). The point on the string midway
between the cylinder P is marked. As the left hand cylinder rotates CCW the point moves towards
this cylinder as it wraps on . The point moves away from the right hand cylinder as the string
unwraps. The point traces the involute form of the gear teeth.

The lines normal to the point of contact of the gears always intersects the centre line joining the
gear centres at one point called the pitch point. For each gear the circle passing through the pitch
point is called the pitch circle. The gear ratio is proportional to the diameters of the two pitch
circles. For metric gears (as adopted by most of the worlds nations) the gear proportions are based
on the module.

m = (Pitch Circle Diameter(mm)) / (Number of teeth on gear).

In the USA the module is not used and instead the Diametric Pitch d pis used

d p = (Number of Teeth) / Diametrical Pitch (inches)

 Profile of a standard 1mm module gear teeth for a gear with Infinite radius (Rack ).
Other module teeth profiles are directly proportion . e.g. 2mm module teeth are 2 x this profile

Many gears trains are very low power applications with an object of transmitting motion with minium
torque e.g. watch and clock mechanisms, instruments, toys, music boxes etc. These applications do
not require detailed strength calculations.

Standards
• AGMA 2001-C95 or AGMA-2101-C95 Fundamental Rating factors and Calculation Methods for
involute Spur Gear and Helical Gear Teeth
• BS 436-4:1996, ISO 1328-1:1995..Spur and helical gears. Definitions and allowable values of
deviations relevant to corresponding flanks of gear teeth
• BS 436-5:1997, ISO 1328-2:1997..Spur and helical gears. Definitions and allowable values of
deviations relevant to radial composite deviations and runout information
• BS ISO 6336-1:1996 ..Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears. Basic principles,
introduction and general influence factors
• BS ISO 6336-2:1996..Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears. Calculation of
surface durability (pitting)
• BS ISO 6336-3:1996..Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears. Calculation of tooth
bending strength

• BS ISO 6336-5:2003..Calculation of load capacity of spur and helical gears. Strength and quality
of materials

If it is necessary to design a gearbox from scratch the design process in selecting the gear size is not
complicated - the various design formulea have all been developed over time and are available in
the relevant standards. However significant effort, judgement and expertise is required in designing
the whole system including the gears, shafts , bearings, gearbox, lubrication. For the same duty
many different gear options are available for the type of gear , the materials and the quality. It is
always preferable to procure gearboxes from specialised gearbox manufacturers

Terminology - spur gears

• Diametral pitch (d p )...... The number of teeth per one inch of pitch
circle diameter.
• Module. (m) ...... The length, in mm, of the pitch circle diameter per
tooth.
• Circular pitch (p)...... The distance between adjacent teeth measured
along the are at the pitch circle diameter
• Addendum ( h a )...... The height of the tooth above the pitch circle
diameter.
 • Centre distance (a)...... The distance between the axes of two gears in
mesh.
• Circular tooth thickness (ctt)...... The width of a tooth measured along
the are at the pitch circle diameter.
• Dedendum ( h f )...... The depth of the tooth below the pitch circle
diameter.
• Outside diameter ( D o )...... The outside diameter of the gear.
• Base Circle diameter ( D b ) ...... The diameter on which the involute
teeth profile is based.
• Pitch circle dia ( p ) ...... The diameter of the pitch circle.
• Pitch point...... The point at which the pitch circle diameters of two gears
in mesh coincide.
• Pitch to back...... The distance on a rack between the pitch circle
diameter line and the rear face of the rack.
• Pressure angle ...... The angle between the tooth profile at the pitch
circle diameter and a radial line passing through the same point.

• Whole depth...... The total depth of the space between adjacent teeth.

Spur Gear Design

 The spur gear is is simplest type of gear manufactured and is generally used for transmission of
rotary motion between parallel shafts. The spur gear is the first choice option for gears except when
high speeds, loads, and ratios direct towards other options. Other gear types may also be preferred
to provide more silent low-vibration operation. A single spur gear is generally selected to have a
ratio range of between 1:1 and 1:6 with a pitch line velocity up to 25 m/s. The spur gear has an
operating efficiency of 98-99%. The pinion is made from a harder material than the wheel. A gear
pair should be selected to have the highest number of teeth consistent with a suitable safety margin
in strength and wear. The minimum number of teeth on a gear with a normal pressure angle of 20
desgrees is 18.

The preferred number of teeth are as follows

12 13 14 15 16 18 20 22 24 25 28 30 32 34 38 40 45 50 54 60
64 70 72 75 80 84 90 96 100 120 140 150 180 200 220 250

Materials used for gears

Mild steel is a poor material for gears as as it has poor resistance to surface loading. The carbon
content for unhardened gears is generally 0.4%(min) with 0.55%(min) carbon for the
pinions. Dissimilar materials should be used for the meshing gears - this particularly applies to alloy
steels. Alloy steels have superior fatigue properties compared to carbon steels for comparable
strengths. For extremely high gear loading case hardened steels are used the surface hardening
method employed should be such to provide sufficient case depth for the final grinding process
used.

Material Notes applications

Ferrous metals
Large moderate
Low Cost easy to machine with high
Cast Iron power, commercial
damping
gears
Power gears with
Cast Steels Low cost, reasonable strength medium rating to
commercial quality
Power gears with
medium rating to
Plain-Carbon Steels Good machining, can be heat treated
commercial/medium
quality
Highest power
Heat Treatable to provide highest strength requirement. For
Alloy Steels
and durability precision and high
precisiont
Corrosion resistance
with low power
Stainless Steels (Aust) Good corrosion resistance. Non-magnetic
ratings. Up to
precision quality
Low to medium
Hardenable, Reasonable corrosion power ratings Up to
Stainless Steels (Mart)
resistance, magnetic high precision levels
of quality
Non-Ferrous metals
Light duty instrument
Light weight, non-corrosive and good
Aluminium alloys gears up to high
machinability
precision quality
Brass alloys Low cost, non-corrosive, excellent low cost commercial
machinability quality gears. Quality
 up to medium
precision
For use with steel
Excellent machinability, low friction and
Bronze alloys power gears. Quality
good compatability with steel
up to high precision
Ligh weight low load
Light weight with poor corrosion
Magnesium alloys gears. Quality up to
resistance
medium precision
Special gears for
Low coefficient of thermal expansion.
Nickel alloys thermal applications
Poor machinability
to commercial quality
Special light weight
High strength, for low weight, good
Titanium alloys high strength gears
corrosion resistance
to medium precision
High production, low
Di-cast alloys Low cost with low precision and strength quality gears to
commercial quality
High production, low
Sintered powder alloys Low cost, low quality, moderate strength quality to moderate
commercial quality
Non metals
Long life , low load
Acetal (Delrin Wear resistant, low water absorbtion bearings to
commercial quality
High production, low
Phenolic laminates Low cost, low quality, moderate strength quality to moderate
commercial quality
Long life at low loads
Nylons No lubrication, no lubricant, absorbs water
to commercial quality
Special low friction
PTFE Low friction and no lubrication gears to commercial
quality

Equations for basic gear relationships

It is acceptable to marginally modify these relationships e.g to modify the addendum /dedendum to
allow Centre Distance adjustments. Any changes modifications will affect the gear performance in
good and bad ways...

Addendum h a = m = 0.3183 p
Base Circle diameter Db = d.cos α
Centre distance a = ( d g + d p) / 2
Circular pitch p = m.π
Circular tooth
ctt = p/2
thickness
Dedendum h f = h - a = 1,25m = 0,3979 p
Module m = d /n
Number of teeth z=d/m
Outside diameter D o = (z + 2) x m
Pitch circle diameter d = n . m ... (d g = gear & d p = pinion )
Whole depth(min) h = 2.25 . m
Top land width(min) t o = 0,25 . m

Module (m)
 The module is the ratio of the pitch diameter to the number of teeth. The unit of the module is milli-
metres.Below is a diagram showing the relative size of teeth machined in a rack with module
ranging from module values of 0,5 mm to 6 mm

The preferred module values are

0,5 0,8 1 1,25 1,5 2,5 3 4 5 6 8 10 12 16 20 25 32 40 50

Normal Pressure angle α

An important variable affecting the geometry of the gear teeth is the normal pressure angle. This is
generally standardised at 20o. Other pressure angles should be used only for special reasons and
using considered judgment. The following changes result from increasing the pressure angle

• Reduction in the danger of undercutting and interference

• Reduction of slipping speeds
• Increased loading capacity in contact, seizure and wear
• Increased rigidity of the toothing

• Increased noise and radial forces

Gears required to have low noise levels have pressure angles 15o to17.5o

Contact Ratio

The gear design is such that when in mesh the rotating gears have more than one gear in contact
and transferring the torque for some of the time. This property is called the contact ratio. This is a
ratio of the length of the line-of-action to the base pitch. The higher the contact ratio the more the
load is shared between teeth. It is good practice to maintain a contact ratio of 1.2 or greater. Under
no circumstances should the ratio drop below 1.1.

A contact ratio between 1 and 2 means that part of the time two pairs of teeth are in contact and
during the remaining time one pair is in contact. A ratio between 2 and 3 means 2 or 3 pairs of
teeth are always in contact. Such as high contact ratio generally is not obtained with external spur
gears, but can be developed in the meshing of an internal and external spur gear pair or specially
designed non-standard external spur gears.

(Rgo2 - Rgb2 )1/2 + (Rpo2 - Rpb2 )1/2 - a sin α

contact ratio m =
p cos α

R go = D go / 2..Radius of Outside Dia of Gear

R gb = D gb / 2..Radius of Base Dia of Gear
R po = D po / 2..Radius of Outside Dia of Pinion
R pb = D pb / 2..Radius of Base Dia of Pinion
 p = circular pitch.
a = ( d g+ d p )/2 = center distance.

Spur gear Forces, torques, velocities & Powers

• F = tooth force between contacting teeth (at angle pressure angle α to pitch line
tangent. (N)
• F t = tangential component of tooth force (N)
• F s = Separating component of tooth force
• α= Pressure angle
• d 1 = Pitch Circle Dia -driving gear (m)
• d 2 = Pitch Circle Dia -driven gear (m)
• ω 1 = Angular velocity of driver gear (Rads/s)
• ω 2 = Angular velocity of driven gear (Rads/s)
• z 1 = Number of teeth on driver gear
• z 2 = Number of teeth on driven gear
• P = power transmitted (Watts)
• M = torque (Nm)

• η = efficiency

Tangential force on gears F t = F cos α

Separating force on gears F s = F t tan α

Torque on driver gear T 1 = F t d 1 / 2

Torque on driver gear T 2 = F t d 2 / 2

Speed Ratio =ω 1 / ω 2 = d 2 / d 1 = z 2 /z 1

Input Power P 1 = T1 .ω 1

Output Power P 2 =η.T 1 .ω 2

Spur gear Strength and durability calculations

Designing spur gears is normally done in accordance with standards the two most popular series are
listed under standards above:

The notes below relate to approximate methods for estimating gear strengths. The methods are
really only useful for first approximations and/or selection of stock gears (ref links below). —
Detailed design of spur and helical gears is best completed using the standards. Books are
available providing the necessary guidance. Software is also available making the process very
easy. A very reasonably priced and easy to use package is included in the links below (Mitcalc.com)

The determination of the capacity of gears to transfer the required torque for the desired operating
life is completed by determining the strength of the gear teeth in bending and also the durability i.e
of the teeth ( resistance to wearing/bearing/scuffing loads ) .. The equations below are based on
methods used by Buckingham..
Bending

The basic bending stress for gear teeth is obtained by using the Lewis formula

σ = Ft / ( ba. m. Y )

• F t = Tangential force on tooth

• σ = Tooth Bending stress (MPa)
• b a = Face width (mm)
• Y = Lewis Form Factor
• m = Module (mm)

Note: The Lewis formula is often expressed as

σ = Ft / ( ba. p. y )

Where y = Y/π and p = circular pitch

When a gear wheel is rotating the gear teeth come into contact with some degree of impact. To
allow for this a velocity factor is introduced into the equation. This is given by the Barth equation
for milled profile gears.

K v = 6,1 / (6,1 +V )

V = the pitch line velocity = d.ω/2

Note: This factor is different for different gear conditions i.e K v = ( 3.05 + V )/3.05 for cast iron, cast
profile gears.

The Lewis formula is thus modified as follows

σ = K v.Ft / ( ba. m. Y )

Surface Durability
This calculation involves determining the contact stress between the gear teeth and uses the Herz
Formula

σ w = 2.F / ( π .b .l )

σ w = largest surface pressure

F = force pressing the two cylinders (gears) together

l = length of the cylinders (gear)
b = halfwidth =
 d 1 ,d 2 Are the diameters for the two contacting cylinders.
ν ,ν
1 2 Poisson ratio for the two gear materials

E 1 ,E 2 Are the Young's Modulus Values for the two gears

To arrive at the formula used for gear calculations the following changes are made
F is replaced by F t/ cos α
d is replaced by 2.r
l is replaced by W
The velocity factor K v as described above is introduced.
Also an elastic constant Z E is created

When the value of E used is in MPa then the units of Cp are √ MPa = KPa The resulting formula for the
compressive stress developed is as shown below

The dynamic contact stress χ c developed by the transmitted torque must be less than the allowable
contact stress Se...

Note: Values for Allowable stress values Se and ZE for some materials are provided at Gear Table

r1 = d1 sin α /2
r2 = d2 sin α /2
Important Note: The above equations do not take into account the various factors which are integral to
calculations completed using the relevant standards. These equations therefore yield results suitable for
first estimate design purposes only...
Design Process
To select gears from a stock gear catalogue or do a first approximation for a gear design select the gear material
and obtain a safe working stress e.g Yield stress / Factor of Safety. /Safe fatigue stress

• Determine the input speed, output speed, ratio, torque to be transmitted

• Select materials for the gears (pinion is more highly loaded than gear)
• Determine safe working stresses (uts /factor of safety or yield stress/factor of safety or Fatigue strength /
Factor of safety )
• Determine Allowable endurance Stress Se
• Select a module value and determine the resulting geometry of the gear
• Use the lewis formula and the endurance formula to establish the resulting face width
• If the gear proportions are reasonable then - proceed to more detailed evaluations
• If the resulting face width is excessive - change the module or material or both and start again

The gear face width should be selected in the range 9-15 x module or for straight spur gears-up to 60% of the
pinion diameter.

Internal Gears
Advantages:
 1. Geometry ideal for epicyclic gear design
2. Allows compact design since the center distance is less than for external gears.
3. A high contact ratio is possible.
4. Good surface endurance due to a convex profile surface working against a concave surface.

Disadvantages:

1. Housing and bearing supports are more complicated, because the external gear nests within the internal
gear.
2. Low ratios are unsuitable and in many cases impossible because of interferences.
3. Fabrication is limited to the shaper generating process, and usually special tooling is required.

Lewis form factor.

Table of lewis form factors for different tooth forms and pressure angles

No Load Near Tip of Teeth Load at Near Middle of Teeth

Teeth 14 1/2 deg 20 deg FD 20 deg Stub 25 deg 14 1/2 deg 20 deg FD

Y y Y y Y y Y y Y y Y y

10 0,176 0,056 0,201 0,064 0,261 0,083 0,238 0,076

11 0,192 0,061 0,226 0,072 0,289 0,092 0,259 0,082

12 0,21 0,067 0,245 0,078 0,311 0,099 0,277 0,088 0,355 0,113 0,415 0,132

13 0,223 0,071 0,264 0,084 0,324 0,103 0,293 0,093 0,377 0,12 0,443 0,141

14 0,236 0,075 0,276 0,088 0,339 0,108 0,307 0,098 0,399 0,127 0,468 0,149
15 0,245 0,078 0,289 0,092 0,349 0,111 0,32 0,102 0,415 0,132 0,49 0,156

16 0,255 0,081 0,295 0,094 0,36 0,115 0,332 0,106 0,43 0,137 0,503 0,16

17 0,264 0,084 0,302 0,096 0,368 0,117 0,342 0,109 0,446 0,142 0,512 0,163

18 0,27 0,086 0,308 0,098 0,377 0,12 0,352 0,112 0,459 0,146 0,522 0,166

19 0,277 0,088 0,314 0,1 0,386 0,123 0,361 0,115 0,471 0,15 0,534 0,17

20 0,283 0,09 0,32 0,102 0,393 0,125 0,369 0,117 0,481 0,153 0,544 0,173

21 0,289 0,092 0,326 0,104 0,399 0,127 0,377 0,12 0,49 0,156 0,553 0,176

22 0,292 0,093 0,33 0,105 0,404 0,129 0,384 0,122 0,496 0,158 0,559 0,178

23 0,296 0,094 0,333 0,106 0,408 0,13 0,390 0,124 0,502 0,16 0,565 0,18

24 0,302 0,096 0,337 0,107 0,411 0,131 0,396 0,126 0,509 0,162 0,572 0,182

25 0,305 0,097 0,34 0,108 0,416 0,132 0,402 0,128 0,515 0,164 0,58 0,185

26 0,308 0,098 0,344 0,109 0,421 0,134 0,407 0,13 0,522 0,166 0,584 0,186

27 0,311 0,099 0,348 0,111 0,426 0,136 0,412 0,131 0,528 0,168 0,588 0,187

28 0,314 0,1 0,352 0,112 0,43 0,137 0,417 0,133 0,534 0,17 0,592 0,188

29 0,316 0,101 0,355 0,113 0,434 0,138 0,421 0,134 0,537 0,171 0,599 0,191

30 0,318 0,101 0,358 0,114 0,437 0,139 0,425 0,135 0,54 0,172 0,606 0,193

31 0,32 0,101 0,361 0,115 0,44 0,14 0,429 0,137 0,554 0,176 0,611 0,194

32 0,322 0,101 0,364 0,116 0,443 0,141 0,433 0,138 0,547 0,174 0,617 0,196

33 0,324 0,103 0,367 0,117 0,445 0,142 0,436 0,139 0,55 0,175 0,623 0,198

34 0,326 0,104 0,371 0,118 0,447 0,142 0,44 0,14 0,553 0,176 0,628 0,2

35 0,327 0,104 0,373 0,119 0,449 0,143 0,443 0,141 0,556 0,177 0,633 0,201

36 0,329 0,105 0,377 0,12 0,451 0,144 0,446 0,142 0,559 0,178 0,639 0,203

37 0,33 0,105 0,38 0,121 0,454 0,145 0,449 0,143 0,563 0,179 0,645 0,205

38 0,333 0,106 0,384 0,122 0,455 0,145 0,452 0,144 0,565 0,18 0,65 0,207

39 0,335 0,107 0,386 0,123 0,457 0,145 0,454 0,145 0,568 0,181 0,655 0,208

40 0,336 0,107 0,389 0,124 0,459 0,146 0,457 0,145 0,57 0,181 0,659 0,21

43 0,339 0,108 0,397 0,126 0,467 0,149 0,464 0,148 0,574 0,183 0,668 0,213

45 0,34 0,108 0,399 0,127 0,468 0,149 0,468 0,149 0,579 0,184 0,678 0,216

50 0,346 0,11 0,408 0,13 0,474 0,151 0,477 0,152 0,588 0,187 0,694 0,221

55 0,352 0,112 0,415 0,132 0,48 0,153 0,484 0,154 0,596 0,19 0,704 0,224

60 0,355 0,113 0,421 0,134 0,484 0,154 0,491 0,156 0,603 0,192 0,713 0,227

65 0,358 0,114 0,425 0,135 0,488 0,155 0,496 0,158 0,607 0,193 0,721 0,23

70 0,36 0,115 0,429 0,137 0,493 0,157 0,501 0,159 0,61 0,194 0,728 0,232

75 0,361 0,115 0,433 0,138 0,496 0,158 0,506 0,161 0,613 0,195 0,735 0,234

80 0,363 0,116 0,436 0,139 0,499 0,159 0,509 0,162 0,615 0,196 0,739 0,235

90 0,366 0,117 0,442 0,141 0,503 0,16 0,516 0,164 0,619 0,197 0,747 0,238

100 0,368 0,117 0,446 0,142 0,506 0,161 0,521 0,166 0,622 0,198 0,755 0,24

150 0,375 0,119 0,458 0,146 0,518 0,165 0,537 0,171 0,635 0,202 0,778 0,248

200 0,378 0,12 0,463 0,147 0,524 0,167 0,545 0,173 0,64 0,204 0,787 0,251
300 0,38 0,122 0,471 0,15 0,534 0,17 0,554 0,176 0,65 0,207 0,801 0,255

Rack 0,39 0,124 0,484 0,154 0,55 0,175 0,566 0,18 0,66 0,21 0,823 0,262