Computerized tooth profile generation and analysis of characteristics of elliptical gears with circular-arc teeth

This study describes rack cutters with circular-arc profile teeth to generate elliptical gears which rotate about one of their foci. A mathematical model for elliptical gears with circular-arc teeth is developed according to gear theory. The influence of the design parameters, such as the number of teeth, gear module, pressure angle at the pitch point and the major-axis, are investigated. The effects of the circular-arc radius of the rack cutter on both the undercutting of teeth and on pointed teeth of the generated circular-arc elliptical gear are also studied. Three numerical examples are presented to elucidate the generation of gear tooth profiles using the proposed mathematical model, and to investigate the phenomena of tooth undercutting and pointed teeth.