Helical gears: advantages and drawbacks

Helical gears operate more smoothly and silently when compared to spur gears. This
difference is due to the oblique manner in which their teeth interact in relation to the
rotational axis. This axis may be parallel, or generally crossed at 90°. In case it is crossed,
helical gears are applied together with a worm gear, even though on these cases, two bevel
gears may alternatively be used.
When two of the teeth move, contact is gradual, beginning at one end of the tooth, and staying
in contact with the gear, which rotates until full contact is achieved. The typical helix angle
ranges from about 15 to 30 degrees. On the other hand, the thrust load varies in direct
proportion to the magnitude of the tangent of the helix angle.
Finally, delving deeper into the available types, we can highlight:
 Crossed-axis helical gears: They are the simplest within the helical gear category.
They produce a screwing or wedging action as a result of a high degree of slide along
the sides of the tooth.
 Parallel-axis helical gears: They are composed of an infinite number of low-thickness,
staggered spur gears. This will result in each tooth being skewed along the side as if it
were a cylindrical helix. When contacting each other, they should have the same helical
angle, but in opposite directions. As a result of the angle of the helix, there is an axial
thrust in addition to the load.
 Double helical, or “herringbone”: They are a right-side and left-side helix
combination. The axial thrust absorbed by the bearings of the helical gears is a
disadvantage.

Advantages of helical gears

 The angled teeth work more gradually, allowing for smoother and more silent gear
operation when compared to spur gears or toothed wheels.
 Helical gears last longer and are ideal for high-load applications, since they have a
higher amount of teeth in contact.
 Load is at all times distributed among several axes, which produces less wear.
 They can transfer motion and power both among parallel and straight-angle axes.

Drawbacks
 One of the disadvantages of these gears is the thrust which results along the gear axis,
which needs to be accommodated by using adequate thrust bearings. There is a
greater degree of sliding friction between the teeth. This produces greater wear during
operation, and the need for lubrication systems.
 The helical gear efficiency is lower due to the contact between its teeth, which produces
axial thrust and generates heat. A greater loss of energy reduces efficiency.
 Higher manufacturing cost than spur gears.
Spur gears: advantages and drawbacks
Spur gears or toothed wheels are the most common type of gear, and are differentiated from
others since their teeth are set up along parallel axes. They are used to achieve large gear
ratios, slow speeds and medium speeds. Spur gears are very useful when motion needs to be
transferred from one shaft to another one that is parallel and close.

Advantages of spur gears

 They can be used to transfer a significant amount of power (up to approximately 50.000
Kw).
 They are very reliable.
 This pieces are the simplest ones to design and manufacture. An actuation project that
involves spur gears can be deployed faster.
 They provide a constant and stable gear ratio.
  A spur gear tends to be more efficient when compared to a helical gear of the same
size.
 Since the tooth is parallel to its axis, no axial force is produced. Therefore, the gear
shafts can easily be mounted with ball bearings.

Drawbacks
 These are low-speed gears.
 They cannot transfer power between non-parallel axes.
 Spur gears generate too much noise when operated at high speeds.
 The wheel’s teeth experience a great amount of stress.
 They cannot be used for transferring energy over long distances.
 They are not as resilient when compared to other types of gears.
As for their applications, it is common to use them in sectors where a slow motion is required
and sound levels are not as important, as is the case of vending or the security system
industry. They also see significant use when transferring motion within a planetary gear motor.
Key points: • High-efficiency helical gears save energy, require less maintenance, and
last longer that worm and spur gears.• Manufacturers that replace low-efficiency gear
reducers with helical gears usually see substantial savings.

Spur-gear surfaces have rolling contact, but the teeth are cut straight across on a face; one or

two teeth are always in contact with another gear. This incomplete face engagement means

spur gears are noisier and vibrate more than helical gears.

Another advantage of helical gears over spur gears is in torque capacity. Spur gears, by design,

are weaker than helical gears because loads are transmitted over fewer teeth. Helical gearing is

machined with angled teeth, then hardened and ground, which is complex but necessary to

achieve a high-efficiency gear mesh. Because teeth are cut at an angle, the gears gradually

mesh. Two or three teeth of each gear are always in contact with other gears. This alleviates the

load on each tooth and creates a smooth transition of forces from one tooth to the next. The

result: less vibration, wear, and noise, and longer life.

Some helical gears are virtually maintenance-free. Tooth profiles are so precise there is

practically no wear — and units packaged in sealed, oil-filled housings may require no oil

changes, which is a boon for the environment as well as the bottom line.

Helical-gear reducers also come in many shapes, sizes, and configurations, letting machine

designers eliminate high-wear and high-maintenance parts such as belts, pulleys, chains, and

sprockets.
So, although worm and spur gears are less expensive, they have much shorter life spans than

helical gears. After about three years they are usually replaced. And frequent replacement

requires more capital and drives up maintenance, downtime, and waste-disposal costs.

Higher quality

Another way to compare performance and efficiency is to look at quality. There are two

common gear-quality indicators that all engineers understand. One is that too much noise and

vibration means low precision and limited life. Rotating machines that are noisy and vibrate

can have any number of quality issues: improperly balanced rotating components; mating

components with excessive tolerances; and components that are not rigid enough, flexing

under load and leading to misalignment.

Noise from helical gearing is approximately 10 to 12 dB(A) lower than that from spur gearing.

In human terms, that means 16 helical gear units generate as much noise as eight worm gears

or a single spur-gear unit.

The second quality indicator is excessive heat. It equates to low efficiency and wasted energy.

Heat generation in rotating machines can also have many causes, including inefficient design,

misalignment, incorrect fits, and seal drag. Unfortunately, low-quality gear reducers are major

contributors to excessive energy consumption. These gearboxes typically get so hot you cannot

keep your hand on them for more than a second or two.