Gear trains are a series of gears that transfer power and can be found in almost any mechanical device. They can perform tasks that require greater force and can use different types of gears. The amount of energy each gear can transfer depends on the number of teeth and size. Gear trains are one of the oldest and most practical means of transferring mechanical power and will likely continue to be in common use.
A gear train is a series of gears that work together. This gear set can be powered in a number of ways and is effective for changing one form of power to another to perform whatever function is needed. Gear trains can be found on almost any mechanical device and vary in size depending on their function.
An early evolution of simple machines, the gear train incorporates both wheel and lever. When multiple gears are used together, they can perform tasks that require greater force than can be provided by one gear alone. For example, a small gear that a motor turns can turn a larger one. The larger gear is capable of moving larger objects than the smaller gear is capable of, but due to the use of small gears to power its rotation, the large gear does not need a motor bigger and less efficient to operate.
Traditionally different names are given to the gears of a train. The gear that supplies the power source to the gear train is called the driver, while the final gear of the train that receives the power is called the driven gear. Gears between these two are referred to as idlers.
The amount of energy each gear is capable of transferring depends on the number of teeth and size. Each gear in a gear train reverses the direction of the rotation it receives. These two factors must be considered since the amount of force and direction of force received by the driven gear must be of the precise type needed by the device being powered.
In order to get the correct final amount and direction of power, many different types of gears can be used in a gear train. Along with the typical rounded spur gears, which are essentially wheels with rows of teeth inside them, are rack and pinion gears that transfer energy from a spur gear to a belt or screw. Bevel gears are also common. These are thicker versions of spur gears and are used to transfer energy from a spur gear at a 90 degree angle. Spur gears can be nested inside each other to transfer rotary energy into rotary energy.
A gear train is one of the oldest and most practical means of transferring mechanical power. From the first water wheels to modern combustion engines, they are used in nearly every mechanical environment and can work alongside technology that is thousands of years newer and older. Even as other forms of older technology become obsolete and are replaced with new, more complex forms, it is likely that gear trains will continue to be in common use.
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