Bevel gears have a conical shape on the tooth bearing faces, and the shaft axes intersect. They are usually mounted on trees that are at a 90 degree angle to each other. They are capable of translating one direction of force into another, with the ability to change direction and even angles of operation. The uniqueness of bevel gears gives them many advantages, such as the ability to change operating angles and mechanical advantages.
They are not obscure pieces of equipment that only see the light of day every now and then – the average Jane and Joe will have used many machines that run on bevel gears. Here are some examples of the many applications of bevel gears in everyday machines:
1. Hand drills
Perhaps the most famous use of bevel gears is in hand drills. In fact, if you simply watch a hand drill in action, you can see the bevel gears at work, transforming the vertical rotation of the handle into the horizontal rotation of the drill. It's a simple process, but it leads to the success of many other processes. Bevel gears on hand drills also help increase the speed of the original rotation, allowing hand drills to work at the power level they do.
2. Car
In particular, bevel gears are used in differential transmissions found in automobiles. The differential drive used in cars is designed to drive a pair of wheels, allowing them to turn at different speeds. A differential transmission includes at least three bevel gears, which work together to transmit speed, power and rotation.
3. Mechanical garage doors
The mechanism in electric garage doors that allows them to open on command uses bevel gears – the gears allow the doors to roll, rotate and open. The gears are positioned at a 90 degree angle to each other, so that when the doors are lifted with vertical force, the gears convert the direction of force to horizontal, allowing the doors to slide along the ceiling.
As you can see, bevel gears have important applications in our daily lives. Without them, the basic functions and machinery we take for granted will not work.
