If you have ever heard a suspicious grinding or screeching noise rumble from your equipment, your gears likely need immediate maintenance. One of the most common issues manufacturers find in their gears is gear misalignment.

However, these issues are manageable with the use of a technique known as gear crowning. To learn more about the concept of gear crowning and how this technique works, continue reading our guide.

What Is Gear Crowning?

Gear crowning is a common method to reduce high vibration noise and misalignment in gears. When manufacturers crown gears, they essentially refine and shave the width of teeth along the axis. Changing the thickness of gears modifies the gear teeth edges not supported by aligned shafts.

When these teeth are better centered, they avoid intersecting near the extreme ends of their teeth. Gear crowning is a popular method to apply to gears because the process is simple, cost effective, and proactively protects gears from damage.

What Is It Used For?

Gear crowning is a simple method to maintain your machinery and is highly beneficial for equipment longevity. Crowning is used mainly to reduce the noise and vibration of running gears.

Although loud noises may not seem like a harmful side effect to equipment, high vibrations can wear heavily on gears over time. Gear crowning is also used to fix misalignments inside gearboxes to prolong the life of worn gears. Since gear teeth are modified to allow less contact and tension where teeth are not perfectly aligned, gears retain less inevitable damage.

Mainly bevel gears utilize the concept of gear crowning. This technique can be applied to straight bevel gears, bevel spline gears, hypoid spiral bevel gears, and miter bevel gears.

If your machinery or equipment is experiencing issues with loud grinding noises or intense vibrations, gear crowning could be a simple and practical solution to inspect your gears and reduce these noises and vibrations. Whether your gears are misaligned or need their tooth thickness modified to offset the center of their loads, these mechanical errors could lead to significant damage to your machinery if not examined properly.

Here at Power Transmission Group, we offer gear crowning and custom manufacturing services to address any of your mechanical needs. To learn more about how we can service any of your manufacturing and equipment concerns, browse our website for more information.