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Classifications of Plastic Gears
Dec 29, 2022
Teresa
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Gears whose main function is to transmit motion and power play a pivotal role in mechanical equipment. Compared with metal gears, plastic gears have many advantages such as light weight, low running noise, good wear resistance, good self-lubricating, corrosion resistance, easy molding, low manufacturing cost, and flexible design. Compared with the molding and manufacturing methods of traditional metal gears, plastic gears have great differences in their types and properties, and the molding and manufacturing methods are also very different.
Gears are key parts used to transmit motion and power in mechanical equipment. With the rapid development of mechanical manufacturing technology, the applicability of metal gears in manufacturing and application gradually cannot keep up with the development speed of modern manufacturing. Metal gears are processed by cutting, grinding and other forming technologies, which have machining errors, high cost, and great difficulty in fabrication and installation. With the continuous emergence of new materials, the application of plastic gears is becoming more and more extensive.
Plastic gear can be seen in the fields of toys, medical equipment, electronic appliances, national defense and military, aerospace and other fields. Compared with metal gears, plastic gears have light weights, low running noises, good wear resistance, and good self-lubrication performance. They can be processed and mass-produced through various methods such as molding, additive manufacturing, and machining. Metal gear does not have these advantages. The plastic that constitutes the plastic gear has the function of lubrication, which can reduce the friction coefficient of the tooth surface between the meshing gears and achieve the effect of lubrication, saving costs and reducing maintenance costs. In addition, some smaller plastic gears are more convenient to equip than metal gears, but plastic gears also have many disadvantages. They will be limited by the performance of plastics. The tooth surface’s strength of plastic gears is poor, and failures or even broken gears will occur to varying degrees in the meshing process of the gears; the deformation resistance of plastic gears will change with the increase in temperature; the thermal conductivity of plastic gears is worse than that of metal gears. In the meshing process of two gears polymer-metal gears or polymer-polymer gears, a lot of heat will be generated due to friction and other reasons, but the heat cannot be dissipated from the polymer gear teeth. The gears are permanently deformed by the increase in temperatures.
From the perspective of replacing steel with plastic, it is necessary to use suitable materials to replace metal, reduce the weight of the product, but not reduce its strength, improve corrosion resistance, dielectric properties, and can give full play to designability and self-lubricating performance of plastic gears. To improve the strength of gears, reinforcement materials for improving strength and thermal performance such as glass fiber and carbon fiber can be added to plastic gears. The mechanical properties of the plastic gears added with fibers are significantly enhanced, which can increase the service life of the plastic gears in the meshing process. This paper investigates and summarizes the research on the development of plastic gear materials, molding technology, and failure detection and evaluation, aiming to provide useful technical references for the updated development and research of plastic gears.
Gears are key parts used to transmit motion and power in mechanical equipment. With the rapid development of mechanical manufacturing technology, the applicability of metal gears in manufacturing and application gradually cannot keep up with the development speed of modern manufacturing. Metal gears are processed by cutting, grinding and other forming technologies, which have machining errors, high cost, and great difficulty in fabrication and installation. With the continuous emergence of new materials, the application of plastic gears is becoming more and more extensive.
Plastic gear can be seen in the fields of toys, medical equipment, electronic appliances, national defense and military, aerospace and other fields. Compared with metal gears, plastic gears have light weights, low running noises, good wear resistance, and good self-lubrication performance. They can be processed and mass-produced through various methods such as molding, additive manufacturing, and machining. Metal gear does not have these advantages. The plastic that constitutes the plastic gear has the function of lubrication, which can reduce the friction coefficient of the tooth surface between the meshing gears and achieve the effect of lubrication, saving costs and reducing maintenance costs. In addition, some smaller plastic gears are more convenient to equip than metal gears, but plastic gears also have many disadvantages. They will be limited by the performance of plastics. The tooth surface’s strength of plastic gears is poor, and failures or even broken gears will occur to varying degrees in the meshing process of the gears; the deformation resistance of plastic gears will change with the increase in temperature; the thermal conductivity of plastic gears is worse than that of metal gears. In the meshing process of two gears polymer-metal gears or polymer-polymer gears, a lot of heat will be generated due to friction and other reasons, but the heat cannot be dissipated from the polymer gear teeth. The gears are permanently deformed by the increase in temperatures.
From the perspective of replacing steel with plastic, it is necessary to use suitable materials to replace metal, reduce the weight of the product, but not reduce its strength, improve corrosion resistance, dielectric properties, and can give full play to designability and self-lubricating performance of plastic gears. To improve the strength of gears, reinforcement materials for improving strength and thermal performance such as glass fiber and carbon fiber can be added to plastic gears. The mechanical properties of the plastic gears added with fibers are significantly enhanced, which can increase the service life of the plastic gears in the meshing process. This paper investigates and summarizes the research on the development of plastic gear materials, molding technology, and failure detection and evaluation, aiming to provide useful technical references for the updated development and research of plastic gears.
