Basic Characteristics of Plastic Gears Lubricated with Water.

Abstract

Recently, plastic gears have become to be used also in water, but according to the kinds of plastics, there are some which show a great deal of wear when they are used in water. However, it is considered also that in water or in the place where moisture exists, water performs lubricating action, and wear decreases as compared with the case without lubricathon. At present, the report which can answer this problem, and can become the design data for the plastic gears lubricated with water is scarcely found. Due to the situation like this, in this study, the nylon gears and polyacetal gears which have been used widely as plastic gears were operated in water and with small quantity of water drops, and the various characteristics such as the wear of the teeth, the change of the tooth profile, the roughness of the tooth surfaces and so on due to the difference of the bathing water quantity were examined.