As mentioned in my last blog, Formula 1 gearboxes are now highly integrated into the overall car design. The days of a “spec” transmission from a t...

[starbox] Much of my engineering practice is working with companies that design machines only once in a while. I enjoy working with the people on ...

At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, so-called mechanics were tasked with devising the precise methods that would make mass production possible. The result was the first generation of machine tools, which in turn required improved tooling and production methods.

A finite elements-based contact model is developed to predict load distribution along the spline joint interfaces; effects of spline misalignment are investigated along with intentional lead crowning of the contacting surfaces. The effects of manufacturing tooth indexing error on spline load distributions are demonstrated by using the proposed model.

[starbox] Recently I learned that it took over 20 years for the gear industry to agree on its first “standard” tooth form — and that was after s...

Involute spline couplings are used to transmit torque from a shaft to a gear hub or other rotating component. External gear teeth on the shaft engage an equal number of internal teeth in the hub. Because multiple teeth engage simultaneously, they can transmit much larger torques than a simple key and keyway assembly. However, manufacturing variations affect the clearance between each pair of mating teeth, resulting in only partial engagement.

The complete Industry News from the November/December 2005 issue of Gear Technology.

Introducing backlash into spline couplings has been common practice in order to provide for component eccentric and angular misalignment. The method presented here is believed to be exact for splines with even numbers of teeth and approximate for those with odd numbers of teeth. This method is based on the reduction of the maximum effective tooth thickness to achieve the necessary clearance. Other methods, such as tooth crowning, are also effective.