Convex gears
Convex gears
Most of the gears currently in production are classified simply as convex, mainly to distinguish them from those intended for use with worm screws that instead have an inwardly excavated profile, when observed along the cutting line and from conical torques.
Our company, Officine Meccaniche Zanatta deals with the production of different types of convex gears, with curvatures and degrees of precision that can be defined in discrete steps and the possibility of having very deep bulges.
We provide all our customers with a long experience in the sector, an optimised CNC machine fleet and the use of tungsten carbide milling cutters and other very hard materials that allow us a degree of precision significantly higher than commercial standards.
What is the use of convex gears?
Usually, this type of gear is coupled to other gear wheels with a similar profile, or to horizontal or curved racks to convert the direction of motion. They are produced in various materials and can have both straight and rounded side planes, depending on the type of application.
These are typically transmission elements, also intended for use with a chain, which we produce up to compatibility with 2.5-inch steps and which, however, can also be equipped with an integral bushing. This in turn can implement different functions, such as hooks or motion transformation pins.
In our catalogue, you can find many types of general convex section gears ready, that is, available in standard sizes and for ordinary applications, but our company with its suppliers of high-quality raw materials such as C45 alloys, 18NiCrMn5, 39NiCrMo3, AISI 303, AISI304 or nylon, is always ready to offer you alternatives with significantly higher than average performance.
Our projects are oriented to allow you to choose also different types of starting metal alloys with a single design, such as simple, alloyed and stainless steels, synthetic, or other types of metal on request.
We offer you an extremely competitive alternative concerning the sintered part and the diecast, both for precision and for the delivery times for the lots, with an accurate check by instrumental and optical means of the characteristics for achieving the plate data with the least possible error.
Components designed for heavy duty
Convex gears designed for load-intensive applications must guarantee certain specific characteristics, mainly related not only to the transmission ratio, where a pair of two components determine a change of speed but also to silence because the mechanisms must produce the least possible noise.
Low noise means reduced vibrational stimulation for the entire structure, maintenance of the breakage stress linearity rate and better performance for users, especially with heavy machines. This minimises the annoying phenomena for the operators but above all the risk of entering the non-linear zone, with unpredictable results in many cases and often destructive.
This can only be done by using machinery with a high degree of precision and carrying out optimisations on the most important points, i.e. the energy exchange surfaces, i.e. the living parts of the teeth and the edges, both on the top and bottom lands.
All the details implemented must guarantee a good coupling and the necessary space to contain the lubricant in your machine. It can be oil or grease and it is a parameter that must be taken into account and eventually, our engineers will be happy to suggest you for improving your device’s performance.
Design for all sectors
Our convex gears can be used in different sectors, from civil to industrial, including risk areas such as 1 and 2 in petrochemical plants, provided of course to choose the correct alloy and specify the characteristics in the design phase.
We perform cutting for components intended for the automotive sector, also heavy-duty such as mass transport and excavation machines for heavy industry, with the possibility of reaching also considerable diameters of 3,200 mm. Each project will also be evaluated the needs of detail and possibly aim at weight reduction with lightening interventions of the body of the wheel.
In addition to the gears, you can always count on the availability of different profile racks and all the support and connection elements for your high-quality products, 100% Made in Italy.
We offer you the possibility to select two main types of teeth, according to the type of transmission selected and the space at your disposal. You can choose to have gears with straight teeth, where all the ridges are parallel to each other and made up of segments, or with a helical profile, to have a better degree of transmission.
For your designs, moreover, you can always ask us what are the types available in the catalogue, a strategy that allows you to save a lot on prices, adapting your project to commercial components and thus also enjoying the possibility of placing massive orders and seeing them delivered in an extremely short time.
We will provide you with all the specifications available for our machines and possibly the files to be used in your process simulations, to reduce the operating load for your technicians, but above all to obtain the best result at the lowest cost.
With us you can count on convex gears from module 0.5 to module 30, strictly checked individually or by sample, depending on the type of batch.
Optimisation for your gears’ characteristics
A fundamental element in the characteristics of the gears is the teeth’s depth or better, that percentage, based on material, application and diameter.
In the design phase, some elements may be difficult to predict. Our technicians are at your disposal for specific insights that allow you to optimise the outgoing project and therefore obtain a more appropriate margin.
Depending on the amount of force it transmits, these cannot be too low or too high, because the risks are on the one hand of losing alignment and damaging the component, with a slipping process, for example, if the downstream stage is loading and the motor is poorly sized, or with the breakage of the teeth if they are too high.
The problem related to oversized teeth is also the difficulty of correct coupling with considerable energy losses and an increase in the noise emitted, which by law must fall within a very strict range.
When you propose your projects to us we will always verify that these characteristics are respected and if there is room for improvement, because in this way there will be less need for subsequent rework.
For each gear, we can also carry out various post-cut annealing operations, to reduce the lattice discontinuities on the surface after the removal of the material which is done exclusively using tungsten carbide blades and low-temperature processes, but which still leaves surface marks.
In addition, we are also available for processes such as annealing in a reduced environment, used in many cases to eliminate defects related to welds and possibly for galvanising or surface passivation with carburisation.
For individual parts or entire production batches, we provide our internal verification laboratory for tests and we allow you to have an extremely scrupulously verified degree of precision with standard and updated equipment and to obtain the result you want.
This is thanks to the fact that our technicians will personally handle checking that everything is in optimal condition, carrying out the milling and reducing the oscillations of parameters of the individual pieces for your precision convex gears.
A high-quality service shall include many additional guarantees compared to those provided by generalist companies, which expose you to the use of low-quality components, poor accuracy of measurements and problems that once mounted on your machine can make you feel seriously about your budget and your reputation as a manufacturer.
Entrust us with your convex gears
If you are looking for a company that can offer you a large supply of convex gears, both standard and custom, but also offer you individual pieces for prototyping at competitive costs, contact us immediately by phone or email.
Our representatives will clarify all the specifications of our productions and will offer you a free quote without commitment for the different types of intervention, allowing you to optimise your operational flow.
With Officine Meccaniche Zanatta you have the certainty of being able to count on a leading company in the sector, which has been working in precision mechanics for many years and produces low-noise gears with excellent tolerances, also thanks to the internal verification mechanisms carried out by our technicians.