Unit-6

Metrology of Gears

6.1. Gear Terminology.

6.2 Errorsin Spur Gears.
6.3 Measurement of Tooth Thickness by Gear Tooth Vernier Caliper.
6.4 Measurement of Pitch.
6.5 Measurement of Backlash.

Gears are machine elements that transmit motion by means of successively engaging
teeth. The gear teeth act like small levers. Gears are the main elements in a transmission
system. It is needless to say that for efficient transfer of speed and power, gears should
conform perfectly to the designed profile and dimensions. Misalignments and gear runout
will result in vibrations, chatter, noise, and loss of power. Therefore, one cannot understate
the importance of precise measurement and inspection techniques for gears.

Types of Gears
The common types of gears used in engineering practices are described in this section. The
information provided here is very brief, and the reader is advised to read a good book on
‘theory of machines’ to understand the concepts better.
Spur gears These gears are the simplest of all gears. The gear teeth are cut on the
periphery and are parallel to the axis of the gear. They are used to transmit power and motion
between parallel shafts.

Helical gears The gear teeth are cut along the periphery, but at an angle to the axis of
the gear. Each tooth has a helical or spiral form. These gears can deliver higher torque since
there are more number of teeth in a mesh at any given point of time. They can transmit
motion between parallel or non-parallel shafts.

Herringbone gears These gears have two sets of helical teeth, one right-hand and the
other left-hand, machined side by side.
 Worm and worm gears A worm is similar to a screw having single or multiple start
threads, which form the teeth of the worm. The worm drives the worm gear or worm wheel to
enable transmission of motion. The axes of worm and worm gear are at right angles to each
other.

Bevel gears These gears are used to connect shafts at any desired angle to each other.
The shafts may lie in the same plane or in different planes.

Hypoid gears These gears are similar to bevel gears, but the axes of the two
connecting shafts do not intersect. They carry curved teeth, are stronger than the common
types of bevel gears, and are quiet-running. These gears are mainly used in automobile rear
axle drives. A gear tooth is formed by portions of a pair of opposed involutes.

Rack and pinion The rack is like a spur gear whose axis is at infinity
GEAR TERMINOLOGY
By far, the involute tooth profile is most preferred in gears. A clear understanding of
the various terminologies associated with gears is extremely important before an attempt is
made to learn about inspection and measurement of gears. The following are some of the key
terminologies associated with gears, which have been illustrated in Figure below.
Base circle It is the circle from which the involute form is generated. Only the base
circle of a gear is fixed and unalterable.
Outside circle It marks the maximum diameter of the gear up to which the involute
form is extended. It is also called the addendum circle. In addition, it is the diameter of the
blank from which the gear is cut out.
Pitch circle It is the imaginary circle on which lies the centres of the pitch cylinders
of two mating gears.
Root circle It is the circle corresponding to the minimum diameter of the gear profile.
However, the involute profile is limited only up to the base circle of a spur gear.
Addendum It is the radial distance between the addendum circle and the pitch circle.
Dedendum It is the radial distance between the pitch circle and the root circle.
Face The portion of tooth lying between the addendum circle and the pitch circle is
called the face.
Flank The portion of tooth lying between the pitch circle and the dedendum circle is
called the flank.
Circular pitch (p) It is the distance between corresponding points of adjacent teeth
measured along the pitch circle.

Diametrical pitch (P) It is expressed as the number of teeth per unit diameter of the
pitch circle.

p = circular pitch
P = diametral pitch
N = number of teeth
D = pitch diameter
Module It is simply the metric standard for pitch. It is the linear distance (in
millimeters) that each tooth of the gear would occupy if the gear teeth were spaced along the
pitch diameter. Accordingly, if the pitch circle diameter of the gear is D and the number of
teeth is N, then the module m is given by D/N and is expressed in millimeters. In order to
ensure interchangeability and smooth meshing of gears, standard modules are recommended.
These standards are also useful for the design of gear cutting tools. The Indian Standards
Institute has recommended the following modules (in mm) in order of preference:

First choice 1, 1.25, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20

Second choice 1.125, 1.375, 1.75, 2.25, 2.75, 3.5, 4.5, 5.5, 7, 9, 11, 14, 18
Third choice 3.25, 3.75, 6.5

Tooth thickness It is the arc distance measured along the pitch circle from its
intercept with one flank to that with the other flank of the same tooth.
 Base pitch It is the distance measured around the base circle from the origin of the
involute on the tooth to the origin of a similar involute on the next tooth. Base pitch = Base
circumference/Number of teeth.

MEASUREMENT OF GEAR ELEMENTS

A number of standard gear inspection methods are used in the industry. The choice of
the inspection procedure and methods not only depends on the magnitude of tolerance and
size of the gears, but also on lot sizes, equipment available, and inspection costs. While a
number of analytical methods are recommended for inspection of gears, statistical quality
control is normally resorted to when large quantities of gears are manufactured. The
following elements of gears are important for analytical inspection:
1. Runout
2. Pitch
 3. Profile
4. Lead
5. Backlash
6. Tooth thickness

Measurement with Gear Tooth Callipers

This is one of the most commonly used methods and perhaps the most accurate one. Figure
below illustrates the construction details of a gear calliper. It has two vernier scales, one
horizontal and the other vertical. The vertical vernier gives the position of a blade, which can
slide up and down. When the surface of the blade is flush with the tips of the measuring
anvils, the vertical scale will read zero. The blade position can be set to any required value by
referring to the vernier scale.
It is clear that tooth thickness should be measured at the pitch. Now, the blade
position is set to a value equal to the addendum of the gear tooth and locked into position
with a locking screw. The calliper is set on the gear in such a manner that the blade surface
tightly fits with the top surface of a gear tooth. The two anvils are brought into close contact
with the gear, and the chordal thickness is noted down on the horizontal vernier scale.

Measurement of Pitch
Pitch is the distance between corresponding points on equally spaced and adjacent
teeth. Pitch error is the difference in distance between equally spaced adjacent teeth and the
measured distance between any two adjacent teeth. The two types of instruments that are
usually employed for checking pitch are discussed in this section.
Pitch-measuring Instruments These instruments enable the measurement of chordal
pitch between successive pairs of teeth. The instrument comprises a fixed finger and a
movable finger, which can be set to two identical points on adjacent teeth along the pitch
circle. The pitch variation is displayed on a dial indicator attached to the instrument, as
shown in Fig. below. In some cases, the pitch variation is recorded on a chart recorder, which
can be used for further measurements. A major limitation of this method is that readings are
influenced by profile variations as well as runout of the gear.

Measurement of Backlash
If the two mating gears are produced such that tooth spaces are equal to tooth
thicknesses at the reference diameter, then there will not be any clearance in between the
teeth that are getting engaged with each other. This is not a practical proposition because the
gears will get jammed even from the slightest mounting error or eccentricity of bore to the
pitch circle diameter. Therefore, the tooth profile is kept uniformly thinned, as shown in Fig.
below. This results in a small play between the mating tooth surfaces, which is called a
backlash.
We can define backlash as the amount by which a tooth space exceeds the thickness
of an engaging tooth. Backlash should be measured at the tightest point of mesh on the pitch
circle, in a direction normal to the tooth surface when the gears are mounted at their specified
position. Backlash value can be described as the shortest or normal distance between the
trailing flanks when the driving flank and the driven flank are in contact. A dial gauge is
usually employed to measure the backlash. Holding the driver gear firmly, the driven gear
can be rocked back and forth. This movement is registered by a dial indicator having its
pointer positioned along the tangent to the pitch circle of the driven gear.