Gears
Gears are used to transfer motion and power from one moving parts to another. Two or more gears working in tandem are called a transmission and can produce a mechanical advantage through a gear ratio and thus may be considered a simple machine. The most common situation is for a gear to mesh with another gear, however a gear can also mesh a non-rotating toothed part, called a rack, thereby producing translation instead of rotation.
There are generally four different purposes for gears:
- To reverse the direction of rotation
- To increase or decrease the speed of rotation
- To move rotational motion to a different axis
- To keep the rotation of two axis synchronized
There are many different types of gears, including:
- Helical
- Spur
- Bevel
- Pinion
- Worm
- Hypoid
