Bevel gears are special kind of gears that features two shafts that intersect with their splines that are shaped as cones. These gears are often used on shafts and they are commonly spaced adjacent or 90 degrees from each other. They are commonly used as the main mechanism of hand drills due to their ability to operate the chuck without rotating the handle of the drill. A very useful piece of component that can be used various mechanisms.
There are several types bevel gears and they differ according to their geometry and overall design. Each of them has their own features that make them suitable to a specific function. For more information about the different types of bevel gears, you can refer to the list below.
Types of Bevel Gears Sorted According to Their Geometry and Design
- Straight Bevel Gears - This type of bevel gear features a cone-shaped pitch surface. The gear teeth or splines of this type gear straight and tapered towards the apex.
- Spiral Bevel Gears - A spiral bevel gear is a gear built angled curved splines which have graduated and smoothed spline interlocking effect.
- Zerol Bevel Gears - This is a type gear that has a very similar design to straight bevel gears. The only difference they have is that the teeth or splines of this gear are curved instead of being conical. In this gear, the ends of each spline are parallel to the axis, while the middle of the spline is wrapped around the gear.
- Hypoid Bevel Gears - Similar to spiral bevel gears, these gears feature hyperbolic pitch surface instead of conical. Making its main design very similar to a worm drive.
Bevel gears come in a variety of designs and they differ in the geometry of their splines and pitch surfaces. Allowing them to be the suitable components for numerous mechanisms that are used all over the world.