Computer-Based Selection of Balanced-Life Automotive Gears

THIS PAPER describes balanced-life concept of gear design — in which the gear and pinion are designed to fail simultaneously. An example is presented to show how this concept allows a combination of minimum size and maximum capacity in gas turbine application. Various reasons for failure and factors in long gear life are discussed. The author analyzes the calculations needed and their programming for a digital computer.

Calculating gear designs for production is a time consuming, demanding task to do manually. The use of the computer has changed this — and brought about better gear design by making it possible to study more detailed analyses to evolve optimum solutions.

This paper was the Sixth L. Ray Buckendale Lecture, presented at the 1960 SAE Annual Meeting.