The study on the design of spiral bevel gear sets with circular-arc contact paths and tooth profiles

In this paper, the spiral bevel gear sets which can be manufactured by cup-shape grinder or milling cutter on a general purpose four-axis milling machine is proposed. The general meshing constraint equation of bevel gear sets was first presented in our previous publication to be followed again as a continuation of designing and constructing solid model. In order to derive the meshing constraint equation of bevel gear sets with point-contact characteristics, the degeneration condition is set. Because of occurrence of just one contact point in each instant, there exists a contact path on each tooth surface. After configuring the designed parameters, the contact path can be designed as an approximate to circular-arc curve. Finally, the torus surface is used to construct the tooth surface. According to the idea described in this paper, a new approach of manufacturing the spiral bevel gear is developed. The major merit of this spiral bevel gear is only single axis motion has to be controlled during the cutting process. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.