Surface design and tooth contact analysis of an innovative modified spur gear with crowned teeth

Abstract

An innovative modified spur gear with crowned teeth and its generating mechanism are proposed in this study. The main purpose of tooth surface modification is to change line contact to point contact at the middle of gear tooth surfaces in order to avoid edge contact resulting from possible unavoidable axial misalignment. Moreover, the surface of one gear tooth can be generated with just one cutting process, thereby facilitating easy manufacturing. Based on gearing theory, the model for surface design is developed. A tooth contact analysis (TCA) model for the modified gear pair is also built to investigate meshing characteristics, so that transmission errors (TEs) under assembly errors can also be studied. Examples are included to verify the correctness of the models developed and to demonstrate gear characteristics.