Straight Bevel Gears vs. Spiral Bevel Gears

 

Bevel gears are indispensable to industry because of their unique ability to transmit motion between perpendicular axes. Their applications are far and wide, including being used in the automotive and manufacturing industries. In today’s post, let’s take a closer look as to how straight bevel gears differ from spiral bevel gears.

 

Noise/Vibration

As the name suggests, a straight bevel gear has straight teeth like a spur gear that are cut along the axis on a cone. For this reason, it can be quite noisy as the teeth of the mating gears collide upon making contact.

 

On the other hand, a spiral bevel gear has spiral teeth that are cut in a spiral curve across the pitch cone. Unlike its straight counterpart, the teeth of two mating spiral bevel gears come in contact more gradually and do not collide. This results in less vibration, and quieter, smoother operations.

 

Loading

Due to the sudden contact of the teeth with straight bevel gears, it is subject to impact or shock loading. Inversely, the gradual engagement of the teeth with spiral bevel gears results in a more gradual buildup of the load.

 

Axial Thrust

Because of their cone shape, bevel gears produce axial thrust force — a type of force that acts parallel to the axis of rotation. A spiral bevel gear exerts more thrust force on bearings thanks to its ability to change the direction of thrust with the hand of the spiral and its rotation directions.

 

Manufacturing Cost

Generally, the conventional method of manufacturing a spiral bevel gear has higher costs compared to that of a straight bevel gear. For one thing, a straight bevel gear has a much easier design that is quicker to execute than that of its spiral counterpart.

 

Despite their difference, both types of bevel gears make up crucial parts in many machines. The design of every bevel gear offers unique advantages to specific applications. True Gears offers professional bevel gear cutting services using our Gleason Coniflex gear generators. Get in touch with us today to make a custom order!