Mutually Different Tooth Surface Contact Characteristics of a Noncircular Face Gear with Intersecting Axes

The noncircular face gear (NFG) with intersecting axes is composed of a spur gear and a NFG, which can realize the reduced and variable-speed integrated transmission between any intersecting axes. To study the contact characteristics of NFG with intersecting axes, the mutually different tooth surface mathematical model of the NFG with intersecting axes was established, and a tooth surface analysis method based on rotational projection was innovatively proposed. By using this method, the distribution characteristics of contact traces on different tooth profiles can be accurately compared through establishing the comparison reference of the middle plane on gear teeth. At the same time, the effects of installation errors and eccentricity on the contact characteristics of tooth surface were analyzed in detail. Results demonstrate that the change in the same kind of installation error has the same effect on the offset direction of the contact traces on each gear tooth. Under the same installation error, changing the eccentricity of the NFG will cause different changes in the offset of the contact traces on each gear tooth. Finally, a gear transmission device of NFG with intersecting axes was designed and manufactured. The correctness of the contact model and the analysis results were proven by the gear pair rolling experiment, which provides a theoretical basis for the design and installation of NFG with intersecting axes.