What are Gears? Gears are wheels or cylinders with teeth that mesh with the teeth of other gears to transmit motion Gears are used in everything from automobiles to small toys

Functions of Gears Transfer Motion Change Direction Increase/Decrease Speed Increase/Decrease Torque Torque is turning or twisting force. Ex: A longer wrench gives you more torque and makes it easier to loosen a bolt or screw. Change Planes of rotation

Drivers & Followers A driver is the gear which is being turned by a power source (motor or your hand). A follower is turned by the driver. motor motor Follower Driver Follower Driver Idle

Spur Gears Transfer motion within a plane (a straight line) Most common gear Spur gears are made in many different sizes and from a number of different materials Steel, plastic, etc. Spur gears are generally identified by the number of teeth they have

Spur Gears Gears are attached to axles which run through the center of the gear Gears must be positioned just right, so that they do not push on each other but the teeth will still turn the other gear Meshing gears turn in opposite directions.

Lego Spur Gears Common sizes are 8, 16, 24, and 40 tooth Correct Spacing Horizontal 40 and 24- 3 holes between axles 40 and 8- 2 holes between axles Vertical 40 and 24- 2 studs and 1 plate between studs holding axles 24 and 16- 1 stud between studs holding axles Gears can be placed in a number of other combinations diagonally, but none other vertically or horizontally

Gears Mesh The teeth on gears mesh together so that 1 tooth on 1 gear pushes past 1 tooth on a second gear. 1 turn of the driver will turn the follower around 1 time. Driver: 40 tooth gear Follower: 40 tooth gear

Gearing Down Smaller gear is the driver Larger gear is the follower The driver (smaller gear) has to turn around multiple times to get the follower (larger gear) to turn around once Gearing down gives you a slower speed (because it takes multiple turns of the driver to turn the follower once) Gearing down also gives you more torque Driver: 8 tooth Follower: 40 tooth The driver has to turn around 5 times to get the follower to turn once

Gearing Up Larger gear is the driver Smaller gear is the follower The driver (larger gear) has more teeth so the follower (smaller gear) turns around multiple times for each full turn of the driver Gearing up gives you higher speed (because it takes only 1 turn of the driver to make the follower turn multiple times) Gearing up is like 21st gear on a 21 speed bike - you go faster but more torque is necessary Driver: 40 tooth Follower: 8 tooth When the driver turns around 1 time the follower turns around 5 times.

Gear Ratios Each gear tooth on the driver turns one tooth on the follower We want to be able to talk about the speed of gears in mathematical terms Gear Ratios tell us how many times faster or slower the follower is rotating with respect to the driver Gear Ratios are expressed in terms of the number of teeth on the follower over the number of teeth on the driver. Gear Ratio =

Gear Ratios: 2 of the same size gears Driver: 40 tooth gear Follower: 40 tooth gear Which reduces to which is sometimes expressed as 1:1 No Change in Speed

Gear Ratios: Gearing Down Driver: 8 tooth Follower: 40 tooth Which reduces to which can also be expressed as 5:1 The follower is 5 times slower than the driver

Gear Ratios: Gearing Up Driver: 40 tooth Follower: 8 tooth Which reduces to which can also be expressed as 1:5 The follower is 5 times faster than the driver

Idle Gears When a gear is placed directly between two others, that gear does not affect the gear ratio. The gear ratio is computed using the driver and the last gear in the gear train. The idle gear has no effect on a gear train except to change the direction of rotation Which gear is the idler? If a motor is attached to the axle with the green gear on it, which gear is the driver? Which is the follower?

Other Gears Bevel Gears Rack and Pinion Meshing at 90 degree angles Linear motion

Double Bevel Gears Work as Spur & Bevel Gears Sizes: 12, 20, 36 tooth

Crown Gear Transfer motion in between planes (at angles) Lego crown gear changes axis of rotation by 90 degrees Crown gears can mesh with other crown gears and spur gears as well Used in gumball machines, egg beaters

Worm Gear Inclined plane 1 turn of the work gear moves by 1 tooth of any other gear Spur Gear cannot turn worm gear

Knob Wheel Not a true gear Only works with another knob wheel Can function like a gear – transfer rotary motion

Compound Gearing Can change the speed of your follower by changing the gear configuration Use two gears on an axle to get a larger gear ratio in your gear train When a gear train similar to the one at right is used, the ratios of the meshing gears are multiplied to find the overall gear ratio

Compound Gear Ratios The Lego gear train on the last slide had two sets of gears, each had a ratio of 40:8 (or 5:1). What is the ratio of the gear train? Answer… Try this one… 8 to 40, then 24 to 40, then 24 to 24 What is the overall gear ratio of this Gear train? If the 8 tooth gear is the driver and the last 24 tooth gear the follower, is the gear train geared up or down?

Gear Ratios Answer to the last question is 25:3 This means that for every 25 times you turn the driver, the follower will turn three times If your driver is larger, your follower will turn more. If your driver is smaller your follower will turn fewer times Remember the idle gears? They can be ignored when computing gear ratios