While spur gears have been the conventional gear shape that has been around for so long, they are not necessarily the most popular or widely used gear in the industry. They are contending for that honour with helical gears. Like spur gears, helical gears also have a cylindrical shape but they have teeth wrapped around their exterior in a helix shape – hence, the name.

 

Helical gears’ rise to popularity comes from their ability to perform the tasks spur gears cannot.

 

In fact, when used improperly, spur gears have the tendency to get more damaged and produce louder noises when running at high speeds.

 

Here are some useful facts about helical gears that are perhaps not as obvious:

 

• They are perfect for low-noise applications: Unlike spur gears with teeth that gnash together in a more colliding manner, the teeth contact of helical gears happens in a sliding action, which looks and sounds smoother. As such, they are quieter than spur gears.

 

• They can also be called skew gears: It may seem immutable that the teeth of a helical gear run parallel with each other since they are angled. However, in some cases, they can also run against each other in non-parallel and non-intersecting axes or shafts. When used in this way, helical gears become skew gears or are known as crosshead helical gears.

 

• They can be more challenging to manufacture: While a standard helical gear is easy to produce, double helical gears, wherein two helical gears are stacked on top of each other with their slanting teeth meeting in opposite angles, can be more difficult to manufacture. However, these types of helical gears eliminate the thrust problem that standard helical gears have.

 

If you are looking for helical gears suitable for your project, look no further than True Gear & Spline Ltd and we’ll help you find the best gear you need.