What are helicle gears?

Answer 1

helical gears offer a refinement over spur gears. The leading edges of the teeth are not parallel to the axis of rotation, but are set at an angle. Since the gear is curved, this angling causes the tooth shape to be a segment of a helix. The angled teeth engage more gradually than do spur gear teeth. This causes helical gears to run more smoothly and quietly than spur gears. Helical gears can be meshed in a parallel or crossed orientation. The former refers to when the shafts are parallel to each other; this is the most common orientation. In the latter, the shafts are non-parallel. For a crossed configuration the gears must have the same pressure angle and normal pitch, however the helix angle and handedness can be different. The relationship between the two shafts is actually defined by the helix angle(s) of the two shafts and the handedness, as defined: : : Where β is the helix angle for the gear. The crossed configuration is less mechanically sound because there is only a point contact between the gears, whereas in the parallel configuration there is a line contact. Quite commonly helical gears are used with the helix angle of one having the negative of the helix angle of the other; such a pair might also be referred to as having a right-handed helix and a left-handed helix of equal angles. The two equal but opposite angles add to zero: the angle between shafts is zero -- that is, the shafts are parallel. Where the sum or the difference (as described in the equations above) is not zero the shafts are crossed. For shafts crossed at right angles the helix angles are of the same hand because they must add to 90 degrees.