Modelling and simulation of a new worm gear drive having point-like contact

Abstract

The modelling and simulation of a worm gearing generated by an intermediary generating helicoid with a circle profile in the axle plane is considered. The goals of the paper are to verify the viability of such a worm gearing and to determine the proper parameters of a machinable construction. For the modelling and for the analysis of contact patterns the software Surface Constructor was applied. First the original theory behind the software is introduced and then its application to modelling gear types with point-like connection is explained. After a short overview of the capabilities of the software, two sample tasks are introduced: the generation of the gear surfaces of a hypoid gearing and the detailed description of modelling the novel worm gear drive with point-like contact. The modelling of the worm gearing proves that such a type is viable and machinable. The main advantage of the construction in comparison to other modified worm gearing types is the lack of transmission error, owing to the point-like connection. Due to this feature, the gearing tolerates misalignment well.