Chapter 4

Gears and gearing

Major topics in this chapter

Simple gear trains
Compounded gear trains
Epicyclic gear trains

Objectives
• To be able to distinguish the different types of gears.
• To be able to determine the speed ratios of simple and compounded gear trains.
• To be able to determine the speed ratios of simple and compounded epicyclic gear trains.

4.0 Introduction
Gears are a machine element that is used to transmit rotary motion and transfer power between
machinery shafts. As the shaft rotates, the gears (which pass through the centre of the shafts)
also rotates. Gears of different sizes and arrangement can be used to increase/decrease the rate
of rotation, change the direction of the axis of rotation, and convert rotary motion to linear
motion.
Some of the advantages (compared to pulleys and belt systems) and/or features of gears are
as follow;
• Operates without slip,
• Has a large operating range (in both speeds and torques),
• Able to transmit motion between parallel, intersecting and skewed shafts,
• Have a potentially long life.
In this chapter, we begin by looking into the different types of gears and their classifications.
Next, we attempt to understand the meshing process of two gears and how the involute profile
meets the condition for correct gearing. Finally, we expand on our basic understanding of speed
ratios and analyse gears trains (both simple and epicyclic) and hence determine their relevant
speed ratio.
Gears can be classified according to the orientation of the shafts’ axes, i.e., parallel, inter-
secting and skewed (neither parallel nor intersecting).

112
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 113

Parallel shafts
The meshing gears that are mounted on parallel shafts are known as spur gears. When two spur
gears of different sizes mesh together, the larger gear is called a wheel while the smaller gear
is called a pinion. For spur gears, the teeth lies in parallel to the shaft axes. Figure 6.1 shows a
pair of spur gear and a rack & pinion gear set. Note that the rack and pinion gear system is used
to convert rotary motion into linear motion. While the rack is still considered a gear, it is clear
that the axis of rotation of the rack would lie at infinity.

Figure 4.1 Picture of a pair of spur gear (shown on the left) and a rack & pinion (shown on the right)
[http://www.mech.uwa.edu.au/DANotes/gears]

The contact made between the a pair of spur gear can either be internal or external (See figure
6.2). With the external arrangement, the pinion is located next to the spur gear. Hence the
rotation of the two shafts are opposite in direction. In contrast to the external arrangement, the
pinion must lie inside the wheel to make internal contact. As a result, the rotation of the two
shafts (in the internal arrangement) would be in the same direction.

Figure 4.2 Contact between the gears shown on the left is internal while for those gears shown on the
right, the contact is external. [http://www.engineering.com]

In addition to spur gear, helical gear is also classified under the ‘parallel shafts’ orientation.
However, in contrast to spur gear, the teeth are not parallel to the shaft axes. Instead, they lie
along helices about the axes. The difference in meshing of the helical gears over spur gears
is the former form a gradual contact across the teeth while for the latter, contact is over the
entire teeth. This results is a smaller impact loading when helical gear is used. The benefits of
a helical gear over a spur gear are as follow; less noisy, can withstand a larger load, and have a
longer life.
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 114

Figure 4.3 Picture of a pair of double helical gear [Courtesy of

http://www.mech.uwa.edu.au/DANotes/gears]

Intersecting shafts
Bevel gears are used when the axes of the two shafts intersects at a particlar angle. While they
can also be designed to work at other angles too, most bevel gears operate with the the shafts’
axes at 90◦ apart. Bevel gears have teeth cut on a cone instead of a cylinder blank. An example
of two bevel gears is shown in figure 6.4.

Figure 4.4 An example of a straight bevel gear pair. [Photo courtesy of Emerson Power Transmission
Group]

Similar to spur gears, straight bevel gears too have a large impact loading because the entire
teeth maintain contact at all times. A large impact loading results in noisy gears and a small
range of torque. Hence, when it is necessary to transmit motion quietly through a right angle at
high velocities, spiral bevel gears can be used. Similar to helical gears, spiral bevel gears have
teeth cut in a helix form on the surface of a cone. As a result, spiral bevel gears are less noisy
and have a longer life when compared to straight bevel gears. A practical application of spiral
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 115

bevel gears is the rear axle gearbox of motor vehicles. An example of a pair of spiral bevel gear
is shown below in figure 6.5.

Figure 4.5 An example of a spiral bevel gear pair. [Photo courtesy of Emerson Power Transmission
Group]

Skewed shafts
When the shafts are neither parallel nor intersecting, the shafts are said to be skewed. For such
situations, the two types of gears are as follow;
i. Spiral gears (rarely used as the range of torque is small), and
ii Worm and Wheel (most common).
Worm and wheel gear system is usually used when a large reduction in speed is required.
Another interesting feature of the worm and wheel gear system is that while the worm can
easily turn the gear, the gear cannot turn the worm. This is because the angle on the worm is so
shallow that when the gear tries to spin it, the friction between the gear and the worm holds the
worm in place. This feature is called ‘self locking’ and is useful for machines such as conveyor
systems, whereby the self locking feature can act as a brake for the conveyor when the motor is
not turning.

Figure 4.6 Picture of a worm & wheel gear system [Photo courtesy of http://www.engineering.com]
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 116

4.1 Speed (or gear) ratio

Let us consider two circular disks (as shown in figure 6.1) that are rolling about each other. If
one disk is rotated, friction will cause the other disk to rotate too. From insight, it is clear that
the rotation of the disks is opposite in direction.

Figure 4.7 Two disks in rotation.

The velocity at the point of contact, v, is identical for both disks. The expression for v is as
follow;

v = ω1 r1 = ω2 r2 ,
ω1 r2
∴ = − . (4.1)
ω2 r1
Equation 6.1 states the speed ratio of the two disks as a function of the relative size of the two
disks. Note also that the above ratio has a negative sign to indicate that the direction of the two
disks is opposing one another.
In practice, smooth discs are rarely used to transmit power. This is because the discs tend to
slip, and hence can’t be used to transmit large amount of torque. We can turn the circular disks
into gears by adding teeth into the disks.

Constant velocity gear ratio

In order for any gear system to maintain a constant velocity gear ratio, the tooth profile must
obey the Fundamental Law of Gearing as stated below;

‘For a pair of gears to transmit a constant angular velocity ratio, the

shape of their contacting profiles must be such that the common normal
passes through a fixed point on the line of centres’

The fundamental law of gearing can be shown schematically as follow in Figure 4.8.
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 117

Figure 4.8 Schematic of two gears with the common normal line drawn.

Note that the fixed point on the line joining the centres of the two gears is known as the pitch
point. As it is the point dividing the line joining the two centres of the gears, its position would
determine the gear (or speed) ratio of the gearing system. The dashed circular lines found in
Figures 4.8 and 4.9 are known as the pitch circle. The pressure angle is defined as the angle
between the common normal at the point of contact and the common tangent to the pitch circles.

Figure 4.9 Schematic of two gears with the common normal line drawn.

4.2 The involute

The two tooth profiles that meet the condition of correct gearing are the cycloidal and involute
profiles. The involute profile has advantages of
1. being easy to manufacture, and
2. does not require close tolerance between shaft locations.
Figure 4.10 shows how an involute profile is created. The path AK generated as line MN
rolls about the circle (without slipping) is the involute. Alternatvely, it is also the path generated
as a ‘cord’ unwinds from the circumference of a circle.
The involute has the property that any point on the involute, the normal will always be
tangential to the base circle. Therefore, the involute meets the condition for correct gearing.
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 118

Figure 4.10 Diagram of an involute.

4.3 Gear ratios

When the position of the various gears are fixed in space, it is simple matter to calculate the
overall gear ratio. For this course, the gear ratio is defined as follow:
Input speed
Gear ratio = Output speed (4.2)

The gear ratio in terms of pitch circle diameter, D, is as follow;

ω1 D2
ω2 = −D 1
(4.3)

If two gears are to mesh, the teeth must be of the same size on each gear. Therefore, the
number of teeth then must be proportional to the circumference (and hence the diameter too).
Three different methods are used to define tooth size. They are as follow;
• Module

Module = Diameter
Number of teeth

D1 D2
= .
N1 N2
• Diametral Pitch

Diametral pitch = Number of teeth

Diameter

N1 N2
= .
D1 D2
• Circular Pitch
Circumference
Circular pitch = Number of teeth
There are some simple relationships between these three ratios:
1
Module = ,
Diametral pitch
Circular pitch = π × Module,
π
Diametral picth = .
Circular pitch
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 119

4.4 Simple gear trains

A gear train usually implies that the number of gears that are meshing consists of two gears or
more. If every shaft has only one gear each, the gear train is called a simple gear train.
The diagram shown below is a simple gear train system. Find the speed ratio.

ω1 ω1 ω2 ω3 ω4
= ( )( )( )( )
ω5 ω2 ω3 ω4 ω5
D2 D3 D4 D5
= (− )(− )(− )(− )
D1 D2 D3 D4
N2 N3 N4 N5 N5
= (− )(− )(− )(− ) =
N1 N2 N3 N4 N1
It is clear that the speed ratio depends on:
1. Number of teeth in the first and last gears only, and
2. Number of gears in the train ( affects the sign)
Another example of a simple gear train is shown in the diagram below;

Find the gear ratio.

ω1 ω1 ω2 ω3 ω4
= ( )( )( )( )
ω5 ω2 ω3 ω4 ω5
N2 N3 N4 N5 N5
= (− )(− )(− )(+ ) = −
N1 N2 N3 N4 N1
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 120

4.5 Compound gear trains

In contrast to a simple gear train, there may be more that one gear per shaft in a compound gear
train. This implies that the multiple gears would also be rotating in the same direction, and have
the same magnitude too.
An example of a compound gear train

Note that gears 2 and 3 are compounded, i.e., rigidly connected together, and therefore they
would rotate at the same speed.To calculate the speed ratio, we first have to note the path of
motion, i.e.,

1→2→3→4

ω1
Speed ratio = ,
ω4
ω1 ω2 ω3
=
ω2 ω3 ω4
N2 N4
= (− )(1)(− )
N1 N3

Unlike the simple gear train, a compound gear train involves each of the gears in the speed
ratio.

4.6 Epicyclic gear trains

Epicyclic gear trains are characterised by the fact that the centre line of some gears are not fixed
in space. These gears are called planet gears. The centre lines move in a circular path about
the central axis of the gear train.
Epicyclic gears have significant advantages over fixed-axes gear trains;

• The arrangement is compact, i.e., not bulky.

• The gears are constantly in mesh.
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 121

• The load is shared between several gears.

• Reverse is available without the need for an additional shaft.
• Load can be applied gradually.
• Several gear ratios can be obtained.

Side view of a simple epicyclic gear train (simplified)

Frontal view of a simple epicyclic gear train (simplified)

From the two diagrams above, it is clear that similar to the ring, the arm is also rotating
about the central axis. Note that there are three shafts that may act as input or output for the
gear train.

• Shaft attached to the sun gear,

• Shaft attached to the arm, and

• Shaft attachd to the ring.

Since there are three shafts involved, it is necessary to define the motion of one of them in
order to calculate the ratio of the other two. For example, the ring gear may be held stationary,
and therefore, the ratio of the speed of the sun to the speed of the arm can be calculated.
First, we would have to find the relationship of the gears in terms of the number of teeth.
Use geometry to establish the relations between the gears in terms of size.
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 122

Note that the teeth must be of the same size in order for the gears to mesh, i.e., the module
is identical for all the gears. Therefore, we can subtituting the module equations into the geo-
metrical relationship and hence find an expression in terms of the number of teeth;

Now that we have found the relationship between the gears in terms of teeth number, what
about the gear train relationship? It is clear that the normal relationships for gear ratios and
teeth numbers do not apply. This is because the centre lines of the planets are not fixed in space.
The former only apply when the centres are fixed in space.
Since it is the arm (or carrier) that is causing the centre of the planet to move in space, it is
a good idea to write the angular velocities of the gears relative to the arm.
Then the arm would appear to be stationary, while the angular velocities of the various gears
will change and become those that are relative to the arm.
The angular velocity of the gears (relative to the ground) is shown schematically below;

The angular velocity of the gears (relative to the arm) is shown schematically below;
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 123

In the above diagram, the arm has become ‘stationary’.

If the arm now appears to be stationary, the angular velocities of the gears (writ-
ten relative to the arm) would follow the normal relationship with respect to the
number of teeth and the (relative) rotational speeds.

Thus, relative to the arm, (which now appears stationary) we write - (for example for external
teeth);
ω1
   
N2
=−
ω2 arm N1
Note: each of the rotational speeds is written relative to the arm.
Let us apply the relative velocity method to a simple epicyclic gear train
Assuming that the sun is the input while the ring is the output, we would have to form the
quotient of the angular speed of the sun to the angular speed of the ring. Both are measured
relative to the arm.
Consider the path sun → planet → ring. The gear ratio is as follow;
ωsun ωsun
   
=
ωring arm ωring arm
First consider the left hand side of the equation. The angular speed of the sun relative to the arm
is given as follow;
ωsun − ωarm ,
and the angular speed of the ring relative to the arm is given as
ωring − ωarm

Therefore the left hand side of the equation becomes;

ωsun − ωarm
LHS =
ωring − ωarm
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 124

Now let’s consider the right hand side of the equation. Since the arm appears to be stationary,
the right hand side becomes as follow;
ωsun ωS ωP
 
= ,
ωring arm ωP ωR
NP NR
= (− )(+ )
NS NP
Note that the planet and ring rotate in the same direction relative to the arm. The ring has
internal teeth. Equating both sides of the equation produces

ωS −ωA
ωR −ωA = − NNRS (4.4)

All simple epicyclic gear trains can be solved using this equation. It is a normal equation for a
simple gear train, except that the gear speeds are now written relative to the arm.
Example 1

The sun in a simple epicyclic gear train has 40 teeth, and the planet has 20 teeth. The ring gear
is held stationary while the sun gear rotates at 100 rpm in the clockwise direction. Find the
speed of the arm.

Step 1 First find the number of teeth present in all the gears.
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 125

Step 2 Consider the path from sun → planet → ring

Step 3 Having found the number of teeth and the equation for the gear ratio, we can determine
its value.

Therefore, the arm rotates in the same direction as the sun, but at 1/3 the speed of the sun.
Example 2

The sun in a simple epicyclic gear train has 40 teeth, and the planet has 20 teeth. The ring gear
is held stationary while the sun gear rotates at 100 rpm in the clockwise direction. Find the
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 126

speed of the arm.

Step 1 From geometry, we can find the relation of the gears in terms of their diameters. We can
then find the number of teeth in the ring gear as all the gears have the same module (condition
for gears to mesh).

Step 2 From example 1, we have found that the equation for the gear ratio, i.e., the ratio of the
angular speed of the sun (relative to the arm) to the angular speed of the ring (again relative to
the arm) is as follow;
ωS − ωA NR
= − . (4.5)
ωR − ωA NS

Case 1. The sun gear is made stationary, i.e., ωs = 0. Find the following the two gear ratios;
ωR /ωA and ωP /ωA .

Case 2. Instead of the sun gear, the ring gear is made stationary, i.e., ωs = 0. Find ωS /ωA .
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 127

4.7 Compound epicyclic gear train

We will consider a number of different compound epicyclic gear trains, to illustrate the method
of analysis. Note that the actual approach adopted will depend in each case on the detail of the
configuration. Therefore, it is important to understand the basic concepts which can be adapted
to suit a particular configuration.
Similar to the previous section on simple epicyclic geaer train, here we will examine the
relationships that allow us to calculate the number of teeth in the various gears, and carry out
some typical calculations of gear ratios.
Example 1 A compound planet gear and two sun gears.

The planet gears are rigidly connected together with a shaft. The planets and shaft are free to
rotate in the housing connected to the arm.

Step 1. From geometry, find the relationship of the gears in terms of diameter. Note that the
distance between the centre line of the planet gears, and the centre line of the sun gears is fixed.

Step 2. Since the gears have the same module, therefore, we can find the relationship of the
gears in terms of the number of teeth.

Step 3. In determining the gear ratio, we may consider either path; (S1 → P1 → P2 → S2 ) or
(S2 → P2 → P1 → S1 )
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 128

If we consider path (S1 → P1 → P2 → S2 ), the gear ratio is as follow;

Example 2. Compounded planets with sun and ring.

Step 1. Use geometry to find the equation for the gears in terms of the pitch circle diameter.
Again, recall that the vertical distance between the two centre lines is fixed.
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 129

Step 2. For teeth of the same module, we can write the expression for the number of teeth by
using the the geometrical relationship.

Step 3. Let’s consider the path S1 → P1 → P2 → R2 .

The gear ratio (written relative to the arm) is as follow;

Example 3
In the compound epicyclic gear train shown, all teeth have the same module. The driving gear,
A, has 14 teeth, the ring gear, C, has 100 teeth, and ring gear, E, has 98 teeth. Gear C rotates at
1 rpm anticlockwise while gear A rotates clockwise at 100 rpm. What is the speed of E?
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 130

First find the number of teeth in gear B.

Next, we can find the number of teeth in gear D.

We need to calculate the output speed (E), but since our calculations will require the arm speed,
we have two unknowns and only one equation! Therefore, we must first calculate the arm speed.

Let’s consider path A → B → C (relative to the arm)

We know that the sun gear A rotates 100rpm clockwise, and the ring gear C rotates at 1 rpm
anticlockwise. The gear ratio is as follow;
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 131

Now that we have found the arm speed, we can next determine the speed of the planet gear B.
There are several possibilities! Perhaps path A → B (relative to the arm)?

What if we have used path C → B? Would we still get the same answer as the previous path of
A → B?
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 132

It is clear that the path doesn’t really matter at all! Are you convinced?

To find the speed of the output, E, a possibility of the path is A → B → D → E (as usual, relative
to the arm)

Let’s check our results by considering an alternative path, i.e., E → D (relative to the arm).
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 133

In case you are not totally convinced yet, let’s check our results again by considering another
alternative path, i.e., C → B → D → E (relative to the arm)

Example 4
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 134

A compound epicyclic gear train consists of two compounded planets, P1 and P2 , a sun gear, S,
and two ring gears, R1 and R2 . The common carrier (arm) for the planets is free to rotate on
the input shaft. All gears have the same module. Find the gear ratio given that ring Gear 1 is
stationary and the number of teeth are as follows:
Gear Teeth
S 10
P2 35
P1 34
R1 79
R2 80
As a first step, let’s check the number of teeth in the simple epicyclic train.

Next, we check the teeth number on the other side. Note that the shafts’ axes are in parallel,
i.e., distance between the sun’s and the planets’ centre lines must be fixed.
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 135

Having checked that the number of teeth is right, we can proceed to derive the gear ratio. If
we had considered only the simple epicyclic gear train (S1 P2 R2 ), we would not be able to find
the required gear ratio (input/output). This is because we do not know the speed of the carrier
(arm), C1 (which is free to rotate on the input shaft) yet.
Let’s consider the path S → P2 → P1 → R1 . As usual, the path must be relative to the carrier (or
arm)
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 136

Now that we have found the arm speed (sort of), we can try to find the output speed. Let’s
consider the path S → P2 → R2 , all relative to the arm (as usual)

Assuming that the input speed is 552 rpm, the arm speed and the output speed are as follow;

How about the speed of the planets? Which path can we use? There are a couple of options for
the path, i.e., S → P2 or R2 → P2 or R1 → P1 . However, regardless of the path, each should give
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 137

the same result!

Let’s try R1 → P1 (relative to the arm)

Let’s try a different path, S → P2 to check our results.

CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 138

Is it possible, for a given input, to rotate the ring gear R1 at some particular speed, so that the
output, R2 , is stationary? We will attempt to find out now. Lets set the input speed at say 1000
rpm.

Since we know the rotational speeds of S and R2 , we can consider the path S → P2 → R2 (relative
to the arm) in order to find the arm speed.

Now that we have found the arm speed, we can consider the speed of the ring gear R1 . We
would use the path as follow; S → P2 → P1 → R1 .
CHAPTER 4. GEARS AND GEARING 139

4.8 Summary on the analysis of gear trains

1. The number of teeth in the gears always has something to do with the geometry of the gear
train,
2. The rotational speeds of the gears (in epicyclic gear trains) are always written relative to the
arm,
3. Observe how the gear train works to get an idea on where to start the analysis,
4. In particular, look to see where there is information given or required about rotational speeds,
5. Decide on a path that makes sense, and will use the information about rotational speeds,
6. The path does not necessarily have to start at the input and go to the output.