Contact pattern

Contact pattern of the bevel gear of a multi-stage 1500 kW gearbox, clearly visible the red paint and the free areas where the tooth flanks wear

The contact pattern is a term used in mechanical engineering to describe the power transmission of tooth flanks. Since the flanks usually do not touch over the entire surface when gear wheels mesh, the force is only transmitted over part of the tooth flanks.

The contact pattern of a gear unit under load can be recorded with the help of an oil-resistant paint that is applied to the gear wheels before the start of the test. At the speed and load provided during operation (preferably the nominal power ), deviations in the toothing and the bearings at the stressed points due to abrasion become clear.

If there are deviations from the optimal contact pattern, z. B. Shims on the shafts can be exchanged for washers of other sizes until the gears are correctly positioned to each other.

literature

• Gustav Niemann, Burkhard Neumann, Hans Winter: Machine elements: design, calculate and design in mechanical engineering; a textbook and workbook. 2nd Edition. Springer, 1982, ISBN 3-540-10317-1 .