The aim of the study was to apply such a specialized tooth contact analysis method, well-used within the steel gear community, to a polymer gear application to assess what modifications need be made to these models for them to be applicable to polymer gears.

This paper presents an original method to compute the loaded mechanical behavior of polymer gears. Polymer gears can be used without lubricant, have quieter mesh, are more resistant to corrosion, and are lighter in weight. Therefore their application fields are continually increasing. Nevertheless, the mechanical behavior of polymer materials is very complex because it depends on time, history of displacement and temperature. In addition, for several polymers, humidity is another factor to be taken into account. The particular case of polyamide 6.6 is studied in this paper.

In the hypercompetitive race to increase automobile efficiency, Metaldyne has been developing its balance shaft module line with Victrex PEEK polymer in place of metal gears. The collaborative product development resulted in significant reductions in inertia, weight and power consumption, as well as improvement in noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) performance.