Bevel Gear
Bevel Gears for Right-Angle Power Transmission
Engineered for demanding right-angle drives, our straight and spiral bevel gears offer superior performance and reliability.
- High Torque Right-Angle Transmission
- Straight & Spiral Gear Options
- Hardened & Lapped for Durability
- Supplied in Guaranteed Matched Sets
Manufacturing Capabilities
We manufacture custom bevel gear sets from your drawings to ensure precise fit and function. Spiral bevel gears are recommended for high-speed, high-load applications requiring smooth, quiet operation.
| Gear Types | Straight Bevel Gears, Spiral Bevel Gears |
| Module Range | 1 to 12 Module |
| Maximum Diameter | Up to 800mm (31.5 inches) |
| Shaft Angle | Typically 90° (custom angles available on request) |
| Materials | Alloy Steels (EN19, EN24, EN353, 16MnCr5, 20MnCr5, SAE 8620) |
| Heat Treatment | Case Carburizing, Hardening & Tempering |
| Finishing | Precision Grinding and/or Lapping for matched sets |
| Quality Standard | To AGMA/DIN standards, based on application needs |
Common Industrial Applications
Our robust bevel gear sets are integral to machinery across various sectors:
- Automotive Differentials
- Machine Tool Spindles & Drives
- Printing Presses
- Cooling Towers & Fan Drives
- Industrial Robotics
- Material Handling & Conveyor Systems
- Marine Propulsion Systems
- Agricultural Machinery
Understanding Bevel Gear Parameters
Key terms for specifying bevel gears, which operate on intersecting shafts. Unlike spur gears, bevel gears have a conical geometry, introducing unique parameters.
| Term | Definition & Use |
|---|---|
| Gear Ratio | Ratio of teeth on the gear to teeth on the pinion. Determines speed/torque change. |
| Shaft Angle (Σ) | The angle between the two intersecting gear shafts, typically 90°. |
| Pitch Cone | The imaginary cone on which the tooth profiles are based. The pitch angles of mating gears must sum to the shaft angle. |
| Cone Distance (A) | The distance from the cone apex to the outer edge of the teeth. Must be the same for both gears in a set. |
| Module / DP | Defines the tooth size, measured at the large end (heel) of the gear tooth. Must match for both gears. |
| Contact Pattern | The area where mating teeth make contact. Controlled by lapping, it's critical for load distribution and gear life. |
| Mounting Distance | A critical dimension from the cone apex to a locating surface on the gear, ensuring correct meshing. |
Why Lapping is Critical for Spiral Bevel Gears
After heat treatment, minor distortions can occur in the gear teeth. Lapping is a finishing process where the gear and pinion are run together with an abrasive compound. This smooths the tooth surfaces and perfects their geometry, creating an ideal "contact pattern." A good contact pattern ensures the load is distributed evenly across the tooth, leading to quieter operation, lower stress, and significantly longer service life. This is why we always supply bevel gears as factory-matched and lapped sets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Straight bevel gears have straight teeth and are ideal for moderate speeds and loads. Spiral bevel gears have curved teeth, which engage gradually, resulting in smoother, quieter operation and a higher load capacity, making them suitable for demanding, high-speed applications like automotive differentials.
Bevel gears are manufactured and lapped (a fine finishing process) as a pair (pinion and gear). This ensures a perfect tooth contact pattern, minimizes noise, and maximizes efficiency and lifespan. Using gears from different sets will result in poor performance and rapid wear.
Use a bevel gear for efficient right-angle power transmission (90-98% efficiency) where high gear ratios are not the primary goal. Use a worm gear for high gear ratios (e.g., 20:1 to 100:1) in a compact, right-angle setup, especially if self-locking properties are needed. Worm gears have lower efficiency.
The Shreeji Gears Advantage
Our expertise in right-angle drive technology ensures your machinery performs reliably.
Right-Angle Drive Expertise
We understand the unique challenges of bevel gears, from managing axial thrust loads to ensuring precise shaft alignment. We select the right alloy steels and hardening processes to handle the complex forces inherent in right-angle power transmission, guaranteeing a robust and reliable gear set.
Advanced Lapping & Matching
A bevel gear is only as good as its contact pattern. Our advanced manufacturing includes Gleason cutting and a critical lapping process. We meticulously lap each gear and pinion pair together to create the perfect tooth surface and contact, drastically reducing noise and maximizing gear life.
Matched Set Guarantee
We never sell a bevel pinion or gear individually. Every set we produce is born together, heat-treated together, and lapped together. This commitment to providing factory-matched sets guarantees performance, simplifies your assembly, and eliminates the risk of premature failure from mismatched components.
A Deeper Dive into Bevel Gear Technology
Understanding the principles behind bevel gears is key to selecting the right type for your application.
What is a Bevel Gear?
A bevel gear is a type of gear characterized by its cone-shaped pitch surface. Its primary function is to transmit power between two shafts that intersect, typically at a 90-degree angle. This ability to change the direction of rotation while also potentially altering speed and torque makes them essential in a wide variety of industrial and automotive machinery.
Straight vs. Spiral Bevel Gears
- Straight Bevel Gears: These are the simplest form, with straight teeth that, if extended, would pass through the cone's apex. They create an abrupt, full-length tooth contact, making them suitable for lower-speed applications (< 5 m/s) where noise is not a major concern.
- Spiral Bevel Gears: These have curved teeth at an angle, resulting in gradual, overlapping tooth engagement. This is analogous to the difference between a spur gear and a helical gear. The result is significantly smoother, quieter operation with higher load-carrying capacity, making them the standard for high-performance applications.
Thrust Loads and Bearing Considerations
A crucial aspect of bevel gear design is that they generate significant axial thrust forces on both the gear and the pinion. These forces push the gears away from each other and must be properly supported by appropriate bearings (e.g., tapered roller bearings) and a rigid housing. Our engineering team can provide guidance on the expected thrust loads for your specific gear set to ensure proper system design.
"The custom spiral bevel gear set for our differential assembly was a perfect fit. The quality of the machining and lapping was evident in the low noise levels during testing. Shreeji Gears is our go-to partner."— R&D Manager, Automotive Component Supplier
Get a Fast, Accurate Quote
Provide your gear set specifications for a competitive, no-obligation quote.
For the fastest service, please email your technical drawing to support@shreejigears.com. If you don't have a drawing, include these key parameters for your gear set:
- Gear Type: (Straight or Spiral)
- Gear Ratio or Tooth Counts (Pinion & Gear)
- Module or Diametral Pitch (DP)
- Shaft Angle (e.g., 90°)
- Material & Required Hardness
- Bore Sizes & Keyway Details
- Required Quantity (Sets)