Spur gears are simple and common, used to translate motor speed into torque. They work in pairs, with the smaller gear turning more to rotate the larger gear. They are inexpensive but noisy and limited by their need for parallel shafts.
A spur gear is the simplest and most common type of gear. It is essentially a disc with a set of uniform teeth protruding along the outer edge. The spur gear is used in many everyday devices, from the tiny plastic ones in hand-wound toys to the large metal versions used in industrial washing machines.
The purpose of any gear is to translate the speed of a motor into the rotational force, or torque, required to operate a device. The process of converting speed to torque is known as gear reduction because the motor speed is fed into the gears and then reduced before being sent to the spinner. The rotational force of a set of gears is usually written as a ratio.
At least two gears must work together to achieve gear reduction. A small gear and a larger gear are placed side by side with their teeth meshing. A spur gear must always be installed on a shaft parallel to the shaft of its companion spur gear for the teeth to engage properly. Other types of gears, such as helical and bevel gears, can operate at different angles.
The shaft attached to the smaller gear is rotated by a motor, which turns the gear. Since the teeth of the small gear are interlocked with the teeth of the larger gear, the first gear cannot turn without also rotating its partner. The important point here is that because first gear is smaller than second, it has to turn more than once in order for second gear to complete one full rotation. Therefore, the motor speed becomes rotational force. A series of multiple gears can be used to further increase gear reduction.
Spur gears have an advantage over other types of gears because they have a simple design and are inexpensive to manufacture. They can be made from any hard material, from plastic to steel, but have several drawbacks when it comes to functionality. When two spur gears rotate together, they tend to make a lot of noise. This is because the teeth strike quickly. At high speeds, spur gears make a whining noise that makes them unsuitable for use in devices where noise is a consideration. The other drawback of spur gears is that they must be installed on parallel shafts, which creates some design limitations.
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