At Federal Gear, we manufacture many types of gears, each of which are best suited for a different purpose. In addition to standard spur gears, and their close counterparts helical gears, we’re also known for creating bevel gears. These are special types of gears where two different shaft axes intersect at an angle, and where the pitch surface is shaped like a cone.
So why would you use a bevel gear, and what would you use it for?
The Advantages
The biggest benefit to using bevel gears is their mechanical advantage; you can increase or decrease the tooth ratio between the drive and any accompanying wheels to correspondingly increase or decrease the force. Bevel gears also perform a few functions that their counterparts can’t, simply because they’re able to change your operating angle (thanks to their perpendicular layout).
How They’re Used
So how are bevel gears used in different applications?
You likely have at least one item in your house that relies on a bevel gear for its main operation. For example, bevel gears are commonly used in differential drives, which you might find in an automobile. You’ll also find bevel gears in power drills, since it’s one of the most efficient ways to translate power from vertical to horizontal rotation.
There are, however, many different sub-types of bevel gears to consider. Straight bevel gears offer straight, tapering teeth and feature shafts that are both perpendicular and in the same plane. Spiral bevel gears feature curved teeth at an angle, much like helical gears, to allow for gradual contact. There are also zerol bevel gears (where the spiral angle is equal to zero), hypoid bevel gears (with hyperbolic pitch surfaces and non-intersecting gear axes), and mitre gears (which feature gears with equal numbers of teeth).
If you’re in need of bevel gears, or you’re ready to learn more, contact Federal Gear today!