ZK-type dual-lead worm and worm gear drives: Contact teeth, contact ratios and kinematic errors

Contact ratio is an important gear design parameter for gear bending and contact stresses. A higher contact ratio may reduce the stresses and kinematic errors of the gear set. In this study, we calculate the kinematic error of the ZK-type dual-lead worm gear set by applying the tooth contact analysis (TCA) method. Two kinds of contact ratios, the instantaneous contact teeth (ICT) and the average contact ratio (ACR), are investigated and calculated by applying TCA method. ICT is an important design parameter for a dual-lead worm gear set when the gear set is used in a machine subjected to large impact forces. ACR is also a useful design factor for assessing gear tooth strength and dynamic load. If gear surface elastic deformation 3 mu m is allowed for the worm gear set, the ICT may have 2, 3 or 4 teeth and the ACR reveals that the ZK-type dual-lead worm gear drive is a high-contact-ratio gear set. It is found that this type of worm gear set with a shorter center distance assembly can increase the value of ACR during the gear meshing. Illustrative examples presented herein demonstrate the effects of gear parameters on contact teeth, contact ratios, average contact ratios and kinematic errors under various conditions.