Operating Characteristics of Plastic Gear Paired with Steel Gear Coated with Solid Lubricant.

Abstract

By exchanging one of a pair of steel gears for a plastic gear, nonlubricant operation can be realized, and noise can be reduced. However, the plastic gear is greatly abraded by the hard tooth flank of the steel gear. In order to reduce this wear, we investigated the effect of coating on the teeth of the steel gear with a solid lubricant. We were concerned that this coating may be removed from the tooth flank by wear during long periods of operation. In order to confirm this, an operation test was carried out using a steel gear coated with a solid lubricant and a polyacetal gear. We investigated not only the dependence of tooth wear on time and roughness of the tooth flank, but also the effect of coating on the steel gear with the solid lubricant. We compared the results with those obtained for a pair comprised of a hobbed steel gear and the polyacetal gear.