Characteristics of a new type of cylindrical worm gear drive

Abstract

A new type of cylindrical worm gear drive is presented. The worm is ground by a grinding wheel whose profile consists of two circular arcs, and the obtained worm profile is concave. The teeth of the gear are processed by a hob whose generator surface is identical to the worm surface. In order to compare the operating characteristics of the new type and of the commonly use worm gear drives, the tooth contact analysis, the load distribution calculation, and the termoelastohydrodynamic lubrication analysis of different types of worm gears have been carried out. The obtained results show the advantages of the new type of worm gear. The results of the load distribution calculation and EHD lubrication analysis are also used for the optimization of the design parameters of the new type of worm gear drive.