Performance Evaluation of Lubricated Polymer Gears

Abstract

Injection molded polymer gears are being widely utilized as they offer several advantages, such as lightweight, good damping capacity, easy production, low manufacturing cost, and good mechanical properties for low and moderate-load applications. Many works have been earlier attempted to improve mechanical properties by incorporating fiber reinforcement. In this work, an attempt has been made to investigate the potential of using oil lubrication for performance improvement. In addition, the present study also aims to check the feasibility selective laser sintering (SLS) process and elastomeric material (thordon SXL) for gearing application. The sliding contact performance of these materials was also investigated using pin on disc configuration. The surface durability of the test gear was investigated using a house-developed gear rig at various loading conditions and a constant rotational speed under dry and lubricated conditions by observing the thermal response of gear teeth, lubricant temperature, periodically monitoring gear teeth surface, and failure morphology.