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MethodstoMinimizeGearBacklash
MotionSystemDesign
StephenJ.O'Neil,MicroMoElectronicsInc.
Fri,2002030112:00
Areyourpositionersmissingthemarkbecauseofgearbacklash?Herearesomewaystogetridofthislost
motion.

Backlash,aclearancebetweenmatinggearteeth,isbuiltintospeedreducerstoletthegearsmeshwithout
bindingandtoprovidespaceforafilmoflubricatingoilbetweentheteeth.Thispreventsoverheatingand
toothdamage.

Ontheotherhand,thesameclearancecauseslostmotionbetweenreducerinputandoutputshafts,making
itdifficulttoachieveaccuratepositioninginequipmentsuchasinstruments,machinetools,androbots.For
theseapplications,therearethreebasicwaystoreduceoreliminatebacklash:precisiongears,modified
gears,andspecialdesignsthatusecomponentsotherthangears.

Precisiongears

Variablessuchasmanufacturingerrors,mountingtolerances,andbearingplayoftenincreasetheamountof
backlashinaspeedreducer.Precisionspeedreducersminimizesuchimperfectionsbyincorporatingclose
toleranceparts.Typically,theycombinehardenedprecisiongears(uptoAGMAquality14),ABECquality5
bearings,andmachinedhousingswithclosetolerancesonbearingbores.

Gearmakerscutprecisiongearsinsmallquantities(nomassproduction)sotheycanusespecialmachining
techniquesormatchingofpartstominimizedimensionalvariations.Carefulhandlingandpackaging
preventssmallimperfections,chips,gouges,gritordirtthatalsowouldaffectthedimensions.

Precisionreducerstypicallylimitbacklashtoabout2degandareusedinapplicationssuchas
instrumentation.Higherprecisionunitsthatachievenearzerobacklashareusedinapplicationssuchas
roboticsystemsandmachinetoolspindles.

Modifieddesigns

Geardesignscanbemodifiedinseveralwaystocutbacklash.Somemethodsadjustthegearstoasettooth
clearanceduringinitialassembly.Withthisapproach,backlasheventuallyincreasesduetowear,which
requiresreadjustment.Otherdesignsusespringstoholdmeshinggearsataconstantbacklashlevel
throughouttheirservicelife.They'regenerallylimitedtolightloadapplications,though.

Commondesignmethodsincludeshortcenterdistance,springloadedsplitgears,plasticfillers,tapered
gears,preloadedgeartrains,anddualpathgeartrains.
Thesimplestandmostcommonwaytoreducebacklashinapairofgearsistoshortenthedistancebetween
theircenters.Thismovesthegearsintoatightermeshwithloworevenzeroclearancebetweenteeth.It
eliminatestheeffectofvariationsincenterdistance,toothdimensions,andbearingeccentricities.To
shortenthecenterdistance,eitheradjustthegearstoafixeddistanceandlocktheminplace(withbolts)or
springloadoneagainsttheothersotheystaytightlymeshed.

Fixedassembliesaretypicallyusedinheavyloadapplicationswherereducersmustreversetheirdirectionof
rotation(bidirectional).Though"fixed,"theymaystillneedreadjustingduringservicetocompensatefor
toothwear.Bevel,spur,helical,andwormgearslendthemselvestofixedapplications.Springloaded
assemblies,ontheotherhand,maintainaconstantzerobacklashandaregenerallyusedforlowtorque
applications.

Splitgearing,anothermethod,consistsoftwogearhalvespositionedsidebyside.Onehalfisfixedtoa
shaftwhilespringscausetheotherhalftorotateslightly.Thisincreasestheeffectivetooththicknesssothat
itcompletelyfillsthetoothspaceofthematinggear,therebyeliminatingbacklash.Inanotherversion,an
assemblerboltstherotatedhalftothefixedhalfafterassembly.Splitgearingisgenerallyusedinlightload,
lowspeedapplications.

Inanotherdesign,onegearinamatingpairhasapieceofelasticmaterialrunningthroughthecenterofthe
gearteeth.Thisplasticfillerextendsslightlybeyondtheprofileofthemetalteethtotakeupbacklashfor
loadswithinthecapacityoftheplastic.Backlasheventuallyincreasesduetodeformationandwearofthe
material,however.
Taperedhelicalandspurgearsprovideanotherapproach.Thesegearshaveteethcutataslightangleto
provideataperedtoothform.Anassembleradjuststhetoothclearancebymovingthegearsrelativetoeach
otherinanaxialdirection.

Oneofthemoresophisticatedwaystocontrolbacklashiscalledgeartrainpreloading.Atorsionspringor
weightonthelastdrivengearinasystemloadsonesideofthemeshingteethtoeliminatetoothclearance.
Thespringorweighttravel,however,limitstheamountofrotationofthelastgear.Forunlimitedrotation,
anauxiliarymotorcanprovidetheloadratherthanaspringorweight.

Thismethodisespeciallyusefulforgeartrainswithmanystages,wherebacklashiscumulative.Spring
loadedversionsworkbestinlowtorque,unidirectionaldrives.
Aparticularlyeffectivesolutionforminiaturespurgearsystemsconsistsofdualpathgeartrainswith
identicalgearsmountedinparallel.Thegeartrainsarewoundagainsteachother(rotatedinopposite
directions)toforcematingteethtogether.Thenamotorshaftwithpiniongearisinsertedintothegearhead
tomaintainapreloadontheteeth.Itactslikeaspringloadonthegeartraineventhoughthereisnospring.
Thismethodprovideszerobacklashoperationwithoutspeciallydesignedgears.However,itdoublesthe
numberofgearsneededinasystemandinvolvesadditionalassemblytime.

Specialdesigns

Forapplicationsneedingzeroorverylowbacklash,considerspecialtypesofspeedreducersthattransmit
motionwithcomponentsotherthantraditionalgears.Examplesincludeharmonic,cycloidal,epicyclic,and
tractiondrives.Thesedevicescostmoreandtheysuitapplicationswhereperformanceoutweighscost
concerns.Harmonicdrives,alsocallednutatingsystems,useelasticdeflectionofaflexiblesplinetotransmit
motion.Theycanreducebacklashto1arcminorless,although10to15arcminismorecommon.

Harmonicdrivesofferratiosof5:1to10,000:1andsustainpeaktorqueto500,000lbin.Flatharmonic
drivesareavailableforlimitedspaceapplications.Combinedwithpancakemotorandintegratedencoder,
suchdrivesoperateinroboticandautomationapplications,mainlyforintegralhorsepowerdrives.Despite
theseadvantages,backlashincreaseswithwear.
Cycloidaldrives,andsimilarballreducersorrotatingballgears,havenogearing.Instead,theytransmit
torquethroughpreloadedballs,rollers,orpinsfromonemovingplatetoanother.Thesedevicesprovide
zerobacklashandlownoise,butneedtheirpreloadsretightenedinservicetostaybacklashfree.They
operatesmoothly,withstandhighshockloadsandvibration,andhaveefficienciesupto95%.Typicallythey
matewithpneumaticorelectricactuators.

Epicyclicdrivescontainanoffcenterdiskonaninputshaftthatgeneratesepicyclicmotionandturns
planetarygearswithinastationaryinternalgear.Someversionshavenoteeth.Thesedrivesofferhigh
stiffness,lowinertia,and0.5to5arcminofbacklash.

Tractiondrivestransmittorquethroughcompressivelyloadedinputandoutputrollers.Theyareused
mostlyinlargemachinerysuchaselevators,locomotives,andhelicoptertransmissions.

StephenJ.O'Neilisvicepresident,advancedresearch&planning,MicroMoElectronicsInc.,
Clearwater,Fla.IllustrationsarebasedonAGMA917B97(Rev.ofAGMA370.01),DesignManualfor
ParallelShaftFinePitchGearing,fromtheAmericanGearManufacturersAssociation.

SourceURL:http://machinedesign.com/motioncontrol/methodsminimizegearbacklash