GEARS

Introduction to
Engineering and
Technology Concepts
GEARS
• A wheel with a number of
teeth wrapped around the
circumference.
• When two gears are meshed
together, the rotation of
driver and follower are
always opposite.
GEARS vs. PULLEYS
• Gears do not “creep” or “slip”
• Gears change direction of
motion
• Mechanical advantage is
calculated by counting
number of teeth
GEARS
• Common uses include:
– Transmit motion
– Change direction of motion
– Magnify output speed
– Magnify output force
GEAR USES

You can see effects 1, 2 and 3 in the figure above.

In this figure, you can see that the two gears are
rotating in opposite directions, that the smaller
gear is spinning twice as fast as the larger gear,
and that the axis of rotation of the smaller gear
is to the right of the axis of rotation of the larger
gear.
GEAR TYPES
• Spur Gears

• Idler Gear
GEAR TYPES
GEAR TYPES
GEAR TYPES
GEAR TYPES
GEAR TRAINS
A series of 2 or more gears
is called a gear train.
In a gear train we have a gear known
as the driver and one known as the
follower .
Driver - is the gear that has the
force or motion input.
Follower - is the gear that results in
the force or motion output.
GEAR TRAINS

Gear Ratio = Driver : Follower

For example, if a motor is attached to a

gear with 60 teeth and this gear is then
attached to a gear with 20 teeth that drives
a wheel, our gear ratio is 60:20, or more
accurately 3:1
GEAR TRAINS

If the driver is smaller than

the follower, force is
multiplied.
If the driver is bigger than the
follower, speed is multiplied.
GEAR TRAINS

The purple gear in the train is actually made in two

parts. A small gear and a larger gear are
connected together, one on top of the other. Gear
trains often consist of multiple gears in the train.
GEAR TRAINS
GEAR TRAINS
GEAR TRAINS
Calculating Speed Change
• Sd X T d = S f X T f
Sd= Speed of Driver
Td = Teeth of Driver
Sf = Speed of Follower
Tf = Teeth of Follower

• Sd = Sf X (Tf ÷ Td)
GEAR TRAINS
A driver gear is moving at a
rate of 500 rpm. If the driver
gear has 10 teeth and the
follower has 5 teeth, how
fast is the follower going?
GEAR TRAINS
A driver gear is moving at a
rate of 300 rpm. If the driver
gear has 15 teeth and the
follower has 50 teeth, how
fast is the follower going?
GEAR TRAINS
Calculating Force Change
(Mechanical Advantage)

MA = Tf ÷ Td
GEAR TRAINS
A driver gear is moving at a
rate of 500 rpm. If the driver
gear has 10 teeth and the
follower has 5 teeth, what
is the mechanical
advantage?
GEAR TRAINS
A driver gear is moving at a
rate of 300 rpm. If the driver
gear has 15 teeth and the
follower has 50 teeth, what
is the mechanical
advantage?
GEAR TRAINS
Number of Teeth
• Gear A = 32
• Gear B = 8
• Gear C = 8
• Speed or Force
Multiplier?
GEAR TRAINS

If a force of 10N is applied to the driver, what

is the turning force that results on the shaft
of the follower?
GEAR TRAINS

If a force of 110N is applied to the driver,

what is the turning force that results on the
shaft of the follower?