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You should also acquaint yourselves with the standard features and terminology of gears
and splines. The ANSI standards for gears (B6.1, B6.7) and splines (B92.1) are a good
place to start, as is Machinery’s Handbook (1992, pp. 1787–2065). The AGMA standards
are another source of good information for terms, symbols, equations, and definitions.
The following figure (taken from ANSI B92.1) illustrates a spline with standard
dimensions and definitions.
Why should an involute profile be used in the design of a gear or spline tooth? Why not a
straight edge? Some of the more important reasons:
● The form of the basic rack tooth is straight-sided and therefore relatively simple.
Thus, it can be accurately made. As a cutting tool, the rack tooth imparts high
accuracy to the cut gear or spline tooth.
● One cutter can generate all gear or spline tooth numbers of the same pitch.
● The relative rate of motion between driven and driving gears having involute
tooth curves is established by the diameters of their base circles.
● Contact between intermeshing involute teeth on a driving and driven gear is along
a straight line that is tangent to the two base circles of these gears. This is called
the “line of action.”
While several techniques can be used to create the involute tooth profile in Pro/
ENGINEER, this article focuses on using datum curves by equation. The benefits of this
method are that the involute curve profile is based on the exact geometric equations, it is
highly flexible in terms of the types of gears and curves that can be created, and it
requires no additional Pro/ENGINEER modules (like ASX, AAX, BMX, etc.). In
addition, the datum curve by equation technique allows you to use either Cartesian or
cylindrical coordinate systems to create the involute curve profile. Finally, the curves
generated by the methodology presented herein are automatically truncated at the
major diameter, without the need for any additional operations (to trim the curve to
size).
Why are there so many equations in this article? It’s great to know the final answer to a
problem, but if you don’t know how you got to the solution, then you won’t be able to
properly apply it. Additionally, the derivations of the equations validate the formulae
that will be used in the relations editor to create the involute profile.
The trick is to know when to use Cartesian or cylindrical coordinates in creating the
datum curve by equation.
● Use the cylindrical coordinate method if you want the easiest and most versatile
method of involute creation, or if you have to use polar coordinates.
● Use Cartesian coordinates if you have to have the equations in terms of X, Y, and
Z only.
Simply put, using the cylindrical coordinate system will be easier and quicker in most
cases.
The first step is to define terms and set up a sketch with the variables. The figure below
presents a basic idea of what is involved in determining the equations for the involute
datum curve.
Ri = Base dia./2
Ro = Major dia./2
Sα = arc length
Start_angle = angle from the horizontal axis to the start of the involute curve
For simplicity, we will assume a start angle of 0° and remove it from the formulae.
Substitute and simplify the equations to get XR and YR in terms of Ri and β. Start by
substituting for Xc and SR in the original equation for XR:
Take the equations for XR and YR, above, and plug them into the equation for RO:
Substitute for the identity, and combine like terms (which add to 0). The equation for Ro
becomes:
We need to define a term, α, in terms of Ri and Ro, so that we can solve the parametric
equation for the creation of the datum curve. We also need to evaluate β over its full
range (from Ri to Ro) to derive the involute curve, so we multiply by “t” in the equation
(t varies linearly from 0 to 1):
Substituting for β:
We need the parametric equations for X and Y (and Z) in terms of Ri and α. We will use
XR and YR as the basis, substituting α for β (and multiplying the α terms by 360/2*π
because we need degrees here):
So, the relation equations used in creating the involute profile datum curve will be:
solve
for α
Z=0
Remember that all variables (α, Ro, Ri) must be predefined. Since we don’t know α yet,
just preset it to a value of 1 using parameters, or set it to 1 before the involute curve
equations in the relation equation editor.
If we include a start angle of some value other than 0°, the equations become:
solve
for α
Z=0
Ri = Base dia./2
Ro = Major dia./2
θ = angle from start of involute to any point on the involute between Ro and Ri
α = angle from a point on the involute to the tangent point on base circle
Start_angle = angle from the horizontal axis to the beginning of the involute curve
The geometry associated with the involute curve in a cylindrical coordinate system is
shown below.
The following equations are based on the geometry of the involute setup:
The relationship between SR and SRo varies linearly, so if we denote a variable t that
goes from 0 to 1 as R goes from 0 to Ro, then:
We need to find β in terms of Ri and Ro. Start with the equation for SR found previously:
As in the case for the equations for Cartesian involute curves, we still want the curve to
be 2-D and planar, so:
Z=0
We need to make the equations parametric based on Ro and Ri and t (which varies
linearly from 0 to 1), so we create a variable γ, similar to the α term in the Cartesian
Coordinate equations, but based on SR instead of β:
So, the relation equations used in the creation of the involute profile datum curve will be:
Solve
for γ
Z=0
As with the Cartesian coordinate method, remember to predefine γ, Ro, and Ri before
solving the relations.
(Click to enlarge)
2. Create the base cylinder geometry. Use the major_dia parameter as the OD of the
cylinder.
(Click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
3. Make sure you have a coordinate system already established. It should be located on
the centerline axis at one end of the cylinder you have created. (It helps if the coordinate
system has the Z direction along the centerline axis.) Create the involute datum curve by
using Datum Curve, By Equation. Choose a cylindrical coordinate system.
(Click to enlarge)
4. Create a datum curve (by sketch) that represents the entire cut for the tooth profile.
Create a centerline, and then mirror the involute curve to make the two sides of the cut.
Set the two curves apart by using a construction arc at the pitch diameter to represent
the circular space width. Dimension the arc as a perimeter by selecting the angular
dimension and choosing Convert, To Perimeter from the Edit dropdown menu.
Make the top and bottom sides of the cut using an arc and selecting the end points to be
symmetric about the centerline.
(Click to enlarge)
5. OK the section. Then extrude a cut axially along the cylinder based on the profile of
the datum curve in Step 4.
(Click to enlarge)
6. Pattern the cut axially around the cylinder. Voila! Your gear/spline is now ready for
use!
(Click to enlarge)
5. Shigley and Mishke, Mechanical Engineering Design, 5th ed., 1989, pp. 527-584