topic Design Gears in Inventor Forum

Design Gears

modracek — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 23:59:27 GMT

I used the Spur Gear Design macro in an assembly, and was not pleased with the results. I did not double check the software before we had them made, so I had to spend a couple of hours on a mill putting a 45 on the end of each tooth to make them work.

How can I prevent this going forward? Obviously double checking the results of the software's calculations would have caught the error, but what information did I enter incorrectly? I am attaching the gears to this post so you can see the teeth do not mesh properly.

Re: Design Gears

Mark.Lancaster — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 02:07:19 GMT

@modracek

First when you share files here in the forum... You also indicate what version of Inventor you're using.

Second.. Just posting the assembly file is no good to us. It only contains the links to the components that make it up. You need to post all related files.

Also to add.. So it sounds like you never check your designs.. Sounds more like a bad engineering workflow in my opinion and perhaps not the fault of the software.

Re: Design Gears

modracek — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 02:12:38 GMT

Thanks, here are the parts done in Inventor 2017. We are working on developing better checks and balances on the design workflow. We is me and checks and balances is me checking me, so clearly its a management issue.

Im not blaming the software, im all but certain there is some unchecked box I have been unable to locate. I dont use the forum to complain, only to learn 🙂

Re: Design Gears

JDMather — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 15:42:47 GMT

Inventor (and SolidWorks) does not create involute toothform gears by default.

They use the Wellman's Odontograph simplified method to create "cosmetic" gears for visual purposes.

Because most gears are purchased off-the-shelf, a simplified cosmetic representation is good enough.

@modracek

If you need precise toothforms then you need to go an extra step.

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-forum/design-accelerator-spur-gears/td-p/4605217

Re: Design Gears

Barry1Lau — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 17:36:33 GMT

I'm interested in generating a model that I can run thru my MasterCAM and actually make a gear on a wire EDM. Is the model created by Inventor accurate enough to do that?

Re: Design Gears

JDMather — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 17:45:57 GMT

@Barry1Lau wrote:

... Is the model created by Inventor accurate enough to do that?

As noted above - if you want a precise gear toothform shape you can get it by following this extra step

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-forum/design-accelerator-spur-gears/td-p/4605217?nobounce

There is also another way defining true Involute curve, but it is a bit involved process.