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Suggested Technique for Creating a Cylindrical Gear with
Helical Teeth
For a detailed explanation on creating gear teeth with involute profiles refer to the Suggested Technique for Creating an Involute Gear.
It is not trivial to model a cylindrical gear with helical teeth, however, with the implementation of additional design features, such as listed
below, this task can be simplified.
Variable Section Sweeps: This feature allows the user to create a feature by sweeping a section along the selected trajectories
by controlling the section's orientation, rotation, and geometry along the trajectory.

Patterning of Copied Features: This allows for simple patterning of the copied feature using the single angular dimension
associated with it, and eliminates tedious design work that would be necessary in order to create a section that will maintain its
design intent when rotated about the center axis of the gear.
Note
The technique described here may not necessarily be the fastest way to create
the desired model, and the formulas used within this technique were derived
from a geometrical method and will result in gear geometry slightly less than
100 % accurate. This Suggested Technique is only to describe how to create
gear models with the help of relations, and curves derived from relations. In
individual applications it is indispensable that functions and relations are used
that correspond with the design intent of the geometry that has to be created,
and not with the ones which are used here. It is the responsibility of the
technical designer to utilize the correct formulas for the desired application.
At the end of the document you can find the sample files for downloading.
Cylindrical gear with helical teeth
Overview
Create the base cylindrical protrusion. 1.
Create a datum curve from equation radially positioned with respect to the base protrusion. The definition of this curve includes
the bevel angle Betta to the front surface of the cylinder. If a coordinate system was created on the center axis of the gear, where
the z-axis is aligned to the center axis, the curve can be described by the following formula (cylindrical coordinates). THICKNESS is
the face width of the gear and RT is the pitch radius:
2.
========================================
GAMMA = 2 * asin ( (THICKNESS*tan(BETTA))/(2.0*RT) )
z = THICKNESS*( t - 0.5)
r= RT
theta = GAMMA*(t -0.5)
========================================
Create the tooth profile as a surface using a variable section sweep. 3.
Create a solid Variable Section Sweep using Normal to Traj with a section type of Constant. This feature finishes the solid
geometry of the gear tooth.
4.
Create a copy of the tooth rotated about the center axis of the gear by selecting Feature > Copy > Move > Dependent > Done,
select the tooth, Done Sel > Done > Rotate > Crv/Edg/Axis, select the center axis, Okay, and enter an angle of rotation,
Done Move > Done > Ok.
5.
Pattern the copied feature at an angle about the center axis. Note that the original feature cannot be patterned, this would have
entailed a higher degree of design work in terms of flexible placement references and datum planes created on the fly that would
allow for the gear tooth section to be solved correctly no matter what angle the gear tooth was at in a rotational pattern.
6.
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So far, only an overview of the steps to create the final gear model have been presented. The final form of the model will only be
apparent at the end of the modeling when all relations have been created and evaluated. The final model will be controlled using
the parameters ZA (Number of Teeth), M (Module), and BETTA (Helical angle).

Procedure

Create a new part using the "mmns_part_solid" template. 1.
Define the following parameters: 2.
========================================.
THICKNESS (Real Number) = (Face Width) 20
ZA (Integer) = (Number of Teeth) 16
BETTA (Real Number) = (Bevel Angle) 20
M (Real Number) = (Module) 4
========================================.
Create a cylindrical protrusion with a Both Sides depth of 20 mm (d1) and a diameter of 30 mm (d0) (Figure 1). 3.
Figure 1
Define the following relations: 4.
========================================
/* RT = > Pitch Radius
RT = ZA*M/2
/*ALPHA => Pressure Angle
ALPHA = 20
/* ev_alpha = > Involute of the Pressure Angle
ev_alpha = tan(ALPHA) - PI*ALPHA/180
/*RG => Base Radius
RG = RT * cos(ALPHA)
/* RF => Dedendum or Minor Radius
RF = RT - M*(1 + 0.25 )
/*RK => Addendum or Major Radius
RK = RT + M
/*Dedendum or Minor Diameter
D0=RF*2
/*Face Width
D1=THICKNESS
/*Radial Tooth position
POS = RG -M*3/2
HT = RK -RG + M*5/4
/*Angle to Rotate the Copied Tooth
COPY=360/ZA
/*Angle Used to Pattern the Copied Tooth
PATTERN=COPY
========================================
Create a curve from equation (see figure 2). This curve will be used later for a variable section sweep trajectory and as a
reference for creating the profile of the tooth. Select Insert > Datum > Curve > From Equation > Done, select the
default coordinate system, Cylindrical, and enter the following equation:
5.
========================================
GAMMA = 2 * asin ( (THICKNESS*tan(BETTA))/(2.0*RT) )
z = THICKNESS*( t - 0.5)
r= RT
theta = GAMMA*(t -0.5)
========================================
Save changes to the equations, close the editor, OK, and regenerate the model.
Suggested Technique for Creating a Cylindrical Gear with Helical Teeth http://www.ptc.com/cs/cs_23/howto/agf5923/agf5923.htm
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Figure 2
Create a variable section sweep surface with an involute profile. Select Feature > Create > Surface > New > Advanced
> Done > Var Sec Swp > Done > Pivot Dir > Done > Plane, select datum plane FRONT, Okay > Sketch Trajectory,
select datum plane Front, Okay > Default. Use curve the from equation created in step 5 as a sketcher reference and
sketch the origin trajectory as shown in figure 3. Modify the dimension values, entering the parameter HT for the height
dimension of the sketched line and the parameter POS for the radial position dimension:
6.



Figure 3
You do not need to define further trajectories, the section of the plane will be a simple straight line symmetric about the
center axis created using the upper flat surface as a sketch reference (Figure 4). Select Sketch > Done > Done > Done.
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Figure 4
This section, a sketched line symmetric about the center axis using the upper flat surface as a sketch reference, will be
controlled along the origin trajectory by sketcher relations. Create the sketcher relations shown below to make sd4, the
thickness of the gear profile, dependent on the radius RY (there may be a warning of a probable error, this may be
disregarded):
========================================
RY = RG -M + trajpar* (RK + M/8 - (RG -M))
SG = 2*RG*(PI/(2*ZA) + EV_ALPHA)
if RY < RG
sd4 = RY*SG/RG
ELSE
ALPHA_Y = acos(ZA*M*cos(ALPHA) /(RY *2 ) )
EV_Y= tan( ALPHA_Y ) - PI*ALPHA_Y/180
sd4= 2*RG*(PI/(2*ZA) + EV_ALPHA - EV_Y)
ENDIF
========================================
Complete the surface feature (Figure 5).
Figure 5
Create a solid variable section sweep with the previously created surface as the constant section. Select Feature > Create
> Protrusion > Advanced > Done > Var Sec Swp > Done > NrmToOriginTraj > Sketch Traj, select datum plane
TOP, Okay > Default. Select the top and bottom flat surfaces of the base protrusion as sketcher references. Sketch a line
on DTM RIGHT where the start point is aligned to the side of the base protrusion at which the involute surface was created
and end the line at the opposite surface, Sketch > Done > Select Traj, select the curve from equation created in step 5
as the X-trajectory, Done Sel > Done > Done > Sketch > Edge > Use, select the boundary of the involute surface with
7.
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the loop option (Figure 6).
Figure 6
Select Sketch > Done > Section type > Define > Constant > Done > Ok. The resulting
geometry is displayed in figure 7.
Figure 7
To be able to pattern the tooth around the cylindrical protrusion, you must transform it with the help of the copy
functionality. Select Feature > Copy > Move > Dependent > Done, select the tooth, Done Sel > Done > Rotate >
Crv/Edg/Axis, select the axis of the base protrusion, Okay, enter the parameter COPY for an angle, Done Move > Done
> OK. The results are displayed below (Figure 8).
8.



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Figure 8
Pattern the copied tooth selecting the angular dimension from the copied tooth and enter the parameter PATTERN for an
angle and 5 for a temporary number of pattern instances.
9.
Add the following relations to drive the number of teeth on the gear where P## is the dimension symbol for the number of
pattern instances, then regenerate the model:
10.
========================================
/* Number of Teeth
P## = ZA - 1
========================================
The gear geometry shown in figure 9 can now be parametrically controlled using the parameters ZA (Number of Teeth), M
(Module), and BETA (Helical angle).
Figure 9
Download Finished Files for this Technique
Copyright 2007, Parametric Technology Corporation