THE ATTRIBUTES OF

LOADED GEAR TOOTH

MODELING By Russell Beach
PART II

OUR IN-DEPTH STUDY OF BEVEL AND HYPOID GEAR

TOOTH LOAD SHARING, LOAD CARRYING, AND MOTION
TRANSMISSION CONTINUES...

40 GEAR SOLUTIONS • JUNE 2005 • gearsolutionsonline.com

 I mentioned in the first installment of this article fine pitch hypoid motion curve at no-load as measured in a

As
(please see May 2005 issue of Gear Solutions maga- Gleason No. 554 Single Flank Tester. The motion error is about
zine), I’m very familiar with the Gleason Loaded Tooth 550 microradians. Figure 18 shows a similar inspection result for
Contact Analysis program and believe that one of its an 11x41 1.25 Module spiral bevel set, with nearly 500 microradi-
great attributes is the insight it gives into the inner ans motion error. Coming back to the straight bevel set, at a
workings of bevel and hypoid gear tooth load sharing, load carry- torque corresponding to the bending stress endurance limit the
ing, and motion transmission. I’d like to sum up some of those motion error is still large, greater than 700 microradians (Figure
insights in the following pages. 19). This is interpreted as meaning the gear lags the theoretically
correct output position by as much as 700 microradians, and then
is accelerated to the theoretically correct position only to fall
Motion Error Viewed as Continuously Varying Ratio behind again by 700 microradians. The angular pitch of the pinion
Consider the LTCA of Figure 16. This is a 12x41 19DP Zerol (10 is 0.571199 radians. The angular pitch of the gear is 0.153248
degree spiral angle) with a large amount of profile crowning, 800 radians. Dividing 0.571199 by 0.153248 gives us the theoretical
microradians. This LTCA was run attempting to model a straight transmission ratio, 3.727:1. If the angular position of the gear is
bevel set with this estimated amount of profile modification. We lagging its correct position at some point in time by 700 microradi-
frequently see relatively large amounts of crowning for the fine ans, then we can consider the ratio at that instant to be
pitch parts in our marketplace. For example, Figure 17 shows a 0.571199/ (0.153248-.0007) = 3.744:1. So the error can be

FIGURE 16

FIGURE 17 Courtesy of The Gleason Works

gearsolutionsonline.com • JUNE 2005 • GEAR SOLUTIONS 41

 FIGURE 18

Courtesy of The Gleason Works

FIGURE 19 understood as a continuous variation in the transmission ratio: for

a uniform (constant) input velocity, the output gear will rotate non-
uniformly. The output gear is continuously speeding up and slowing
down on a pitch-to-pitch basis, hunting the nominal ratio. Where
there is acceleration like this there is an associated force which
can act as a source of objectionable vibration and noise at multi-
ples of tooth mesh frequency. Figure 20 shows an LTCA for the
same ratio and module, but with significantly reduced—possibly
too much—crowning and a small spiral angle. The motion error
changes as the load is increased, with the curves flattening out
before starting to increase again after the torque reaches 50 per-
cent of the endurance torque. This particular application is lightly
loaded, operating below 50 percent of the bending stress
endurance limit for a case-carburized wrought steel gear set.

Influence of Lengthwise Crowning, Contact Build

Position, and Design Cutter Diameter on Motion Error
Figure 21 is an LTCA for a medium pitch 6x38 spiral bevel ratio.
It is revealing to look at the rigid body displaced-position motion
cur ves at the elevated loads. They show an imbalance in the
possible points of contact. There are more points available at the

FIGURE 20

42 GEAR SOLUTIONS • JUNE 2005 • gearsolutionsonline.com

FIGURE 21

Courtesy of The Gleason Works

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gearsolutionsonline.com • JUNE 2005 • GEAR SOLUTIONS 43

 Courtesy of The Gleason Works
FIGURE 22
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toe and less at the heel, where the engagement phase of tooth

CNC THREAD GRINDING meshing takes place for this case. The motion error cur ve even-
tually takes on a ramp shape at high load, indicative of impact
loading. The torsional wind-up has effectively placed the engag-
ing tooth “out of position” for a smooth hand-off. The engaging
Jewelers Machinists Co. Inc.
tooth experiences a concentrated, localized contact correspon-
is a reliable thread grinding
house with over 50 years ding to the gear member top heel edge striking the pinion heel
of customer satisfaction. dedendum. Might moving the build-position contact toward the
toe offer some benefit? This was investigated in Figure 22 and
We offer the following resulted in an imbalance of potential contact points again. This
capabilites: time the contact runs off the toe end of the teeth as the teeth
• 20" max thread length disengage. The load “falls off” the end of the disengaging tooth
• 10" max O.D. and is absorbed by the teeth remaining in contact. In both
• 36" between centers cases, the calculated contact ratio for the design is not achieved
• Any thread form as “all possible points of contact” are never realized. Rather
• Multiple start threads than a position change, the design of Figure 23 features a reduc-
• "J" threads tion in the length of the initial tooth bearing (greater lengthwise
• Any lead crowning). The rigid body displaced-position motion cur ves show
• Variable pitch threads a better balance. The contact no longer concentrates at the heel
edge. “All possible points of contact” and therefore the calculat-
Member AGMA ed contact ratio can potentially be reached. The motion cur ves in
general exhibit greater motion error at the lower torques but not
a ramp form at elevated load. For a design with a given basic
Jewelers Machinists Co. Inc. cutter diameter in a housing of given stiffness, there is an opti-
Since 1947 ~ Over Fifty Years of Customer Satisfaction
400 Columbus Avenue, North Babylon, NY 11703
mum tooth bearing length and build position considering motion
smoothness and avoidance of concentrated contact loads.
(631) 661-5020 • FAX # (631) 661-3559
The choice of “design cutter diameter” determines the nominal
www.jewelersmachinist.com lengthwise curvature of the gear teeth. It is important to mention

44 GEAR SOLUTIONS • JUNE 2005 • gearsolutionsonline.com

 Courtesy of The Gleason Works
FIGURE 23

Courtesy of The Gleason Works

FIGURE 24

gearsolutionsonline.com • JUNE 2005 • GEAR SOLUTIONS 45

 FIGURE 25

FIGURE 26
A) LENGTHWISE PATH OF CURVATURE DEVELOPMENT B) CONVENTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
TOE END
7*36 7 X 36 11:24 COAST SIDE # 7*36 7 X 36 17:2 COAST SIDE EDGE
CONTACT
ALFA 0.599769 SS 0.054877 DQ -0.072172 THETA 0.818189 ALFA 0.599673 SS 0.054877 DQ -0.073615 THETA 0.764522 ZONE
DLSIG -0.000000 DXGR 0.000005 DXPR 0.000009 ER 0.400001 DLSIG -0.000000 DXGR 0.000001 DXPR 0.000008 ER 0.399997
TORQUE (LB-IN) 0 100 150 200 250 280 300 400 TORQUE (LB-IN) 0 100 150 200 250 280 300 400
MAX. APPLIED PRESSURE/1000 (PSI. TOE TO HEEL) MAX. APPLIED PRESSURE/1000 (PSI. TOE TO HEEL)
ENGAGING 0 0 0 109 216 250 269 289 3 TEETH ENGAGING 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 285
0 220 267 302 331 347 357 394 ENGAGED 0 0 265 416 500 520 531 3 575
0 318 343 366 387 399 406 442 2 TEETH 0 0 290 404 479 517 540 616 PEAK
0 366 386 404 421 431 438 468 ENGAGED 0 176 278 354 420 458 482 592
0 374 413 429 444 453 459 487 0 235 295 340 383 409 427 515
0 366 420 448 459 468 473 498 0 270 316 352 383 399 409 468
0 359 412 451 470 478 483 508 0 306 341 371 397 412 421 2 457
0 346 397 438 473 486 491 514 PEAK 0 311 351 381 406 419 427 465
0 338 388 428 462 481 488 512 0 342 367 390 411 421 429 468
0 331 380 418 444 458 467 498 0 346 383 402 420 430 437 469
0 306 347 380 409 424 434 475 3 TEETH 0 337 387 411 427 436 442 470
0 247 301 341 373 390 401 447 ENGAGED 0 329 373 400 426 434 439 3 463
0 157 247 297 335 355 366 417 2 TEETH 0 321 356 382 407 420 429 455
0 0 170 249 296 318 331 387 ENGAGED 0 309 341 369 394 407 416 453
0 0 0 176 254 281 297 359 0 298 333 361 386 399 407 445
0 0 0 105 203 293 259 331 0 293 330 359 384 397 405 2 442
0 0 0 0 135 195 221 306 0 282 325 357 383 396 404 445
0 0 0 0 0 134 177 283 0 295 335 366 388 405 413 448
0 0 0 0 0 0 119 265 0 225 320 368 402 421 429 463
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 243 0 0 262 345 392 414 426 473 HEEL END
EDGE
DISENGAGING 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 204 DISENGAGING 0 0 0 296 369 398 413 3 471 CONTACT
ZONE
PLOT: TYPE GO, NP, OR END 1.2 2.1 0 0 0 0 0 271 315 423
314 AVG. 401 AVG. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 352
No edge contacts PLOT: TYPE GO, NP, OR END 1.5 2.2
292 AVG. 466 AVG.

that this curvature interacts with the stiffness of the gearset sup-
porting structure, or housing, having an influence on the suitability Lengthwise Path of Contact Designs
of the displaced-position motion curves (see reference 1). Figure For many years “lengthwise path of contact” gear developments—
24 shows the resultant motion curves for two medium pitch sometimes called “high bias developments”—have been used with
designs that have very similar TCA initial conditions (pattern success for applications that are highly loaded, for applications
length, profile crowning, and path of contact angle) and are subject subject to large assembly tolerances, and for applications subject
to the same LTCA default deflections with load. One design is to high deflection under load. The term “lengthwise path” refers to
based on a 9” cutter diameter and the second design is based on a tooth development where the path of contact proceeds to run
a 6” cutter diameter. The displaced-position motion curves are bet- more nearly parallel to the root line of the gear. The lengthwise
ter balanced for the 6” cutter design, as evidenced by the path is used in combination with a judicious choice of profile
smoother motion curves at peak torque. crowning to control the sensitivity to assembly tolerances and

46 GEAR SOLUTIONS • JUNE 2005 • gearsolutionsonline.com

 FIGURE 27 Courtesy of The Gleason Works
“LTCA CAN LEAD TO A
BETTER UNDERSTANDING
OF HOW GEARS WORK,
AND IT’S A USEFUL
TOOL FOR ANYONE
DESIGNING OR
DEVELOPING BEVEL
OR HYPOID GEARS.”

Conclusion
Various factors influence the optimization of a gear design so that
it carries load and transmits motion with the lowest contact stress
and with the least displacement error. LTCA can be used effectively
to demonstrate the complex relationship between these factors. It
is hoped that this paper will lead to a better understanding of how
gears work and prove to be a useful tool to anyone designing or
developing bevel or hypoid gears.

deflections. Control, in this instance, means to keep the load safely

within the boundaries of the teeth to avoid excessive load concen- REFERENCES
trations. In Figure 25a we see a hypoid LTCA for a 5:1 ratio with
about 200 microradians initial motion error and a lengthwise path 1) “The Effect of the Cutter Radius on Spiral Bevel and Hypoid
of contact. In this example the pinion convex flank is driving the Tooth Contact Behavior,” Theodore J. Krenzer, The Gleason
gear concave flank so the contact starts on the gear addendum at Works (AGMA 129.21), 1976
the toe end, progresses along the gear profile into the dedendum,
and then transfers at the heel end. Compare this LTCA with that of 2) “Understanding Tooth Contact Analysis,” The Gleason
the more conventional development of Figure 25b. A characteristic Works, 1981
apparent in the high bias development is that the edge contacts
have been eliminated. The contact pressure tables for these two 3) “Tooth Contact Analysis of Spiral Bevel and Hypoid Gears
examples are given for comparison in Figure 26. The contact pres- Under Load,” Theodore J. Krenzer, The Gleason Works, 1981
sures for the lengthwise path design at elevated torques are less in
the engaging and disengaging portions of the contact, the peak con- 4) “Theory of 6-Axis CNC Generation of Spiral Bevel and
tact pressures are less and the average is less. A caution is to limit Hypoid Gears,” The Gleason Works, 1989
the path of contact angle so that, at full load, the contact does not
enter or exit along an inside or an outside edge of the teeth. A sec- 5) “Phoenix II – The Future of Bevel Gear Cutting and
ond high bias LTCA example, a spiral bevel set with a large number Grinding,” Dr. Hermann J. Stadtfeld, The Gleason Works
of teeth and a small amount of initial motion crowning, appears in
Figure 27. The contact is well confined inside the tooth boundaries 6) “The Ultimate Motion Graph,” Dr. Hermann J. Stadtfeld and
with no edge contact. The smooth motion curves show the benefit Uwe Gaiser, The Gleason Works, 1999
of having several pairs of teeth in contact.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Russell Beach is vice president of sales for the Nissei Corporation of America. He can be reached at [email protected], or go to
[www.gearconsulting.com]. The company’s Web site is [www.nissei-usa.com].

gearsolutionsonline.com • JUNE 2005 • GEAR SOLUTIONS 47