Durability of polymer gear-paired with steel gear manufactured by wire cut electric discharge machining and hobbing

In the recent years, utilization of non-standard gears have increased due to the improved load carrying capacity and improved durability. However, these non standard gears are manufactured by non-conventional manufacturing process including wire cut electric discharging machining (WEDM). Standard gears are manufactured by conventional machining process, hobbing. This work reported the performance of injection molded polymer gear paired with a steel gear manufactured by conventional hobbing and wire cut electric discharge machining process. WEDM steel gear surface exhibited poor surface topology and higher hardness when compared to that of conventional machined steel gear. Measured net surface temperature of polymer gear at various loads (2-3 Nm) confirmed a temperature rise of 10-15°C when paired with WEDM gear compared to that of hobbed and ground gear. Polymer gear paired with WEDM exhibited inferior fatigue performance when compared to the polymer gear paired with hobbed and ground gear.