Guidelines for the development of the quality of aircraft bevel gears

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to present a method for the analysis of the quality of the bevel gear at the development level.

Design/methodology/approach

A non-commercial aircraft bevel gear design support system was developed. The system utilises matrix and vector calculi to model the technological machining systems and to analyse the contact of the designed pair. Both the technological model and the design model offer the possibility of manipulating the calculated parameters. This enables independent selection of the pinion/gear engagement, making it possible to achieved the desired contact pattern (its shape, position and size) and/or minimise motion transmission deviation. This article presents an analysis of the meshing of the aircraft transmission designed in two variants.

Findings

The newly developed non-commercial transmission design support system offers the capability to freely adjust mesh quality indicators. The first step is to perform automated technological calculations for a specific geometry of gear members, on the basis of which gear and pinion flanks are developed. Then, numerical models of tooth flanks are configured in the designed pair, and tooth mesh quality is verified. Quality indicators are provided in the form of summary contact pattern and the motion graph. In the subsequent step, changes are made to basic geometry of pinion tooth flank. After satisfactory mesh indicators have been reached, the transmission is tested for assembly errors and additional corrections are made to the geometry of the pinion tooth surface, as required. The above methodology guarantees that the assumed quality indicators are achieved on the physically cut transmission.

Practical implications

Fast preparation of the technology with guaranteed high mesh quality is a significant factor in the competitiveness of an industrial plant which implements a new bevel gear in its manufacturing activities.

Originality/value

The visualisation of the results of the use of the application allows the user to easily interpret the analysed contact pattern and take appropriate decisions as to the necessity of making corrections.

Citation

Pisula, J.M. and Plocica, M. (2015), "Guidelines for the development of the quality of aircraft bevel gears", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 87 No. 2, pp. 110-119. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-07-2014-0105