From the Shop

What Are Helical Gears? 5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know

Gears come in many shapes and sizes because different applications require different forms. Spur gears, the most “conventional” type of gear, are not the best gears to use for applications, which require lower stress, quieter running, or smoother interactions.

One of the most popular stand-ins for spur gears are helical gears, which feature elongated teeth, spiraling around the body of the gear and running at an angle to the gear’s axis. Helical gears have their own strengths and challenges—here are a few things you probably didn’t know about them:

  1. Helical gears are quiet. Because the tooth contact in helical gears is gradual, they tend to be quieter than their spur gear counterparts; they don’t produce as much of a whine, especially at high speeds. This makes them ideal for quieter applications.
  2. Helical gears are more durable. That gradual tooth contact has another major advantage; it makes the gears more durable. They’re less likely to experience gradual wear and tear, and as a result, they usually last longer.
  3. You can cross helical gears. Helical gears usually run parallel to each other, but they can also be crossed. If you cross two helical gears, they’re sometimes referred to as skew gears.
  4. End thrust is a problem. One slight disadvantage of helical gears is the fact that they bear lots of thrust along the axis of the gear. Extra tooth friction or thrust bearings can compensate for this pretty easily, but it still requires some extra engineering.
  5. Double helical gears add new complexities. Double helical or herringbone gears look like two typical helical gears, side-by-side, with teeth running on opposing angles. The big advantage of double helical gears is that they don’t have end thrust to compensate for, but they’re also much harder to manufacture.

Are you interested in securing helical, double helical, or herringbone gears for your next project? Contact Federal Gear today, and we’ll send you a quote in less than 24 hours!

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