Calculating gear teeth & ratios.

In summary, the gears on the crankshaft and the distributor rotate at 1/2 the speed of each other, resulting in the distributor having twice the number of teeth as the crankshaft gear.
  • #1
darrelchong
2
0
1. This is a question that I've asked a few people and have not been able to get a solid explanation to:

The crankshaft gear (A) has 14 teeth. It drives gear (B) with 21 teeth which is on a shaft & on the other end of the shaft is gear (C) with 9 teeth. The distributor is driven off gear (C); calculate the number of teeth on the distributor gear (D).




2. In normal 4 stroke internal combustion engines, the distributor rotates at 1/2 the speed of the crankshaft. This means the distributor gear would have twice the number of teeth of the crankshaft gear (A) but in this case, not true due to the addition of gears (B) & (C).



3. My lecturer has given us a solution to this question, but it's long-winded & confusing & I'm in doubt of it because this is not his field of specialty.

Lecturer's solution:
Given gear (A) = 14 teeth gear (B) = 21 teeth gear (C) = 9 teeth, gear (D) = ?
B/A = 3/2 so 2 revolutions of B = 3 revolutions of A.
If gear A)makes 2 revolutions then gear C makes:
2/3 * 2 = 4/3
2 revolutions of Gear (B) = 2 revolutions of Gear (C) so:
4/3 * 9 = 12.
Answer: 12 teeth.

My solution:
Since the distributor gear (D) should have double the teeth of the crankshaft gear (A) & the ratio provided by gears (B) and (C) is 9/21 then:
28 * 9/21 = 12 teeth.
Answer: 12 teeth.

I don't know if either of these answers are correct or if the approach to the solutions are correct so any logical information will useful and much appreciated, thank you in advance!

 
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  • #2
Nobody?
 
  • #3
This is kind a "gotcha" problem... Gear B is directly attached to gear C via the shaft. One turn of B equals one turn of C.
 
  • #4
You have what is called a compound gear train. It has at least 4 gears on 3 shafts (can have more). The intermediate shaft has 2 gears and ratios can be determined by treating them as simple gear trains as you have done.

Another way is to use the formula in the site below. In your case the gear ratio is 2:1 so enter 2 in the left side of formula and solve for D.
http://www.dynamicscience.com.au/tester/solutions/hydraulicus/gears1compound.htm
This formula can be used for any number of gear sets
 
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1. What is the purpose of calculating gear teeth and ratios?

The purpose of calculating gear teeth and ratios is to determine the relationship between the size and speed of two or more gears in a gear system. This is important for designing and constructing efficient and precise gear systems for various applications, such as in machinery and vehicles.

2. How do you calculate gear ratio?

Gear ratio is calculated by dividing the number of teeth on the driven gear (or output gear) by the number of teeth on the driving gear (or input gear). The resulting number represents the gear ratio, which indicates how many times the driving gear must rotate for the driven gear to complete one full rotation.

3. What is the difference between diametral pitch and module in gear calculations?

Diametral pitch is a measurement of the tooth size and spacing in inches, while module is a measurement of the same in millimeters. While diametral pitch is commonly used in the United States, module is used in most other countries. They can be converted to one another using a simple formula.

4. How do you calculate the number of teeth on a gear?

The number of teeth on a gear can be calculated by dividing the pitch diameter (the diameter of the gear at the point where the teeth mesh) by the diametral pitch or module. This will give the whole number of teeth on the gear. If the result has a decimal, it can be rounded to the nearest whole number or used to calculate the actual number of teeth using a formula.

5. What is the difference between a gear train and a gear reducer?

A gear train is a system of two or more gears that transmit power and motion from one gear to another. A gear reducer is a specific type of gear train that is designed to reduce the speed of rotation while increasing the torque. This is achieved by using gears with different numbers of teeth in the gear train.

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