The analytical method of gear design is calculation-intensive and it is usually difficult to achieve optimum backlash and interference-free involute profile that are required to generate geometrical compatibility in a pair of meshing gears when design procedure is entirely based on this method. Some amount of backlash is often required in the assembly of gears but excess backlash can lead to increase vibration and wear of the gear assembly. Also, interference-risk profile can result in undercutting of gear tooth. This paper optimized a spur external involute-profile gear by developing an application for the modeling of its geometrical compatibility using Matlab®. The application uses existing models to test for interference and a proposed model to determine effective backlash in a gear. The backlash values resulting from the application are more confined and the model is applicable to a wider range of modules suggested by American Gear Manufacturers Association. Simulation of the gear-set in Solidworks® for kinematic geometry presents an interference-free tooth contour and an effective backlash.
In sand casting, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printing by using Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) filament is one of the innovative foundry technologies being adopted to substitute traditional pattern making. Several literatures have reported the influence of process parameters such as raster angle and print speed on some mechanical properties of FDM-printed, PLA-prototypes used in other applications. This study investigated the effects of interior fill, top solid layer, and layer height on the compressive strength of rapid patterns for sand casting application. Different values of the process parameters were used to print the pre-defined samples of the PLA-specimens and a compression test was performed on them. The coupled effects of the process parameters on compressive strength were investigated and the optimum values were determined. Interior fill of 36%, layer height of 0.21 mm and top solid layer of 4 were found to produce a FDM-printed, PLApattern that sustained a compaction pressure of 0.61 MPa. A simulation analysis with ANSYS ® to compare failure modes of both experiment and model shows a similarity of buckling failure that occurred close to the base of each specimen.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.