Quality Control of Tooth Contact of Gear using Infrared Ray Imagery

Abstract

We propose a non-contact method using infrared ray thermography for measuring gear tooth contact to focus attention on the heat generated on the tooth surface at meshing. First, the radiation performance of the gear tooth surface and the effect of lubrication oil were investigated. Then, the reliability of this technique was evaluated by comparing with the observation result of tooth contact with red lead which is traditional red paint for industrial use. Finally, the possibility of evaluating the meshing transmission error was shown. The results show this technique is effective for monitoring the contact pattern and confirming the surface pressure.

Keywords

• gear
• spiral bevel gear
• thermography
• tooth contact
• meshing transmission error