Characteristics, Manufacturing, and Testing Methods of Polymer Gears: Review

During the years, numerous studies have been conducted to maximize gear performance and optimize gear mass, as vital elements of the power transmission. Because of this need, as well as overcoming the problems associated with the use of metal gears (noise, wear, high cost), gears made of polymer materials were taken into consideration. This paper aims to provide a review of the relevant literature, focusing on the parameters which affect the lifetime of polymer gears. The polymer materials that are currently used in gears manufacturing are: Polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polyoxymethylene (POM), nylon, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyamide 66 (PA66) (in this form and with additives), and others. An overview of the different manufacturing processes of polymer gears with guidelines for their application is given. Also, an account of the performance tests of polymer gears, which were conducted on devices specially developed for the needs of experiments, is given. The analysis of the test results showed that the lowest noise level is with PA gears, wear is maximum for ABS and minimum for POM gears. The future goal of the research is to evaluate the parameters of polymer gears, by comparing their performance with classic metal gears, which would enable the use of polymer gears for a wide range of engineering applications.