There are many ways for a gear manufacturer to consider the gears they produce. You can think about the size and shape, the purpose they’re about to be used for, or even the materials they’re made out of. But one of the most efficient ways to categorize gears is based on the relative position of their axes, or the position of the gear based on its rotation.
Axes are important because they control the direction a gear moves, and how that directional motion is translated. The design of a gear is often based on what’s most efficient for that type of rotation, at least in part, so it makes sense to categorize gears based on those types of axis interactions.
These are the three main categories of gears under that description:
- Parallel axes. The first and most commonly understood type of axis setup is when two axes are parallel to one another. Types of gears under this category generally include spur gears (the most “conventional” type of gear), helical gears (which have angled teeth to reduce noise and wear), and internal gears (where the teeth are on the inside of the pitch surface).
- Intersecting axes. Intersecting axes are often perpendicular to each other, and are used to translate rotation to a new direction. Gears here include bevel gears (which feature two gears perpendicular to each other), and miter gears (which are bevel gears with equal numbers of teeth).
- Non-parallel, non-intersecting axes. There are also gears without parallel or intersecting axes, such as screw gears (which are shaped like helical gears, but are offset from one another), and worm gears.
If you’re ready to purchase gears from a manufacturer with more than 100 years of experience, contact Federal Gear today! Our team of experienced engineers is standing by.