GEAR

A gear is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, which mesh with another toothed part to
transmit torque, in most cases with teeth on the one gear being of identical shape, and often
also with that shape on the other gear. Two or more gears working in a sequence are called a
gear train or, in many cases, a transmission; such Gear arrangements can produce a
mechanical advantage through a gear ratio and thus may be considered a simple machine.

SPUR GEAR

Gears having cylindrical pitch surfaces are called cylindrical gears. Spur gears belong to the
parallel shaft gear group and are cylindrical gears with a tooth line which is straight and
parallel to the shaft. Spur gears are the most widely used gears that can achieve high accuracy
with relatively easy production processes. They have the characteristic of having no load in
the axial direction (thrust load). The larger of the meshing pair is called the gear and smaller
is called the pinion.

Spur gears are a type of cylindrical gear, with shafts that are parallel and coplanar, and teeth
that are straight and oriented parallel to the shafts. They’re arguably the simplest and most
common type of gear – easy to manufacture and suitable for a wide range of applications.

Spur gears are the most commonly used gear type. They are characterized by teeth which are
perpendicular to the face of the gear. Spur gears are by far the most commonly available, and
are generally the least expensive.

 Teeth is parallel to axis of rotation.

 Transmit power from one shaft to another parallel shaft.
 Least expensive

The teeth of a spur gear have an involute profile and mesh one tooth at a time. The involute
form means that spur gears only produce radial forces (no axial forces), but the method of
tooth meshing causes high stress on the gear teeth and high noise production. Because of
this, spur gears are typically used for lower speed applications, although they can be used at
almost any speed.

Spur gears can be made from metals such as steel or brass, or from plastics such as nylon or
polycarbonate. Gears made of plastic produce less noise, but at the expense of strength and
loading capability. Unlike other gear types, spur gears don’t experience high losses due to
slippage, so they generally have high transmission efficiency. Multiple spur gears can be used
in series (referred to as a gear train) to achieve large reduction ratios.

There are two primary types of spur gears: external and internal. External gears have teeth
that are cut on the outside surface of the cylinder. Two external gears mesh together and
rotate in opposite directions. Internal gears, in contrast, have teeth that are cut on the inside
surface of the cylinder. An external gear sits inside the internal gear, and the gears rotate in
the same direction. Because the shafts are positioned closer together, internal gear
assemblies are more compact than external gear assemblies. Internal gears are primarily used
for planetary gear drives.

Spur gears are generally seen as best for applications that require speed reduction and torque
multiplication, such as ball mills and crushing equipment. Examples of high-speed applications
that use spur gears – despite their high noise levels – include consumer appliances such as
washing machines and blenders. And while noise limits the use of spur gears in passenger
automobiles, they are often used in aircraft engines, trains, and even bicycles.