Meshing performance investigations on face worm gear drive with the variable worm cone angle

This article aims to reveal the meshing performance on face worm gear drive with the variable worm cone angle and to verify the feasibility of using a cylindrical worm as a replacement for the spiroid worm in face worm gear drive. The meshing functions and tooth surface equations are derived in the given coordinate system, as well as the meshing performance equations of induced normal curvature, lubrication angle, and relative entrainment velocity are presented. The influences of worm cone angle variation on the three metrics are analyzed under the design parameters, and it combined with simulation analysis to verify its correctness. The results of the analysis show that as the decreases of worm cone angle, the meshing characteristic between the tooth profiles on both sides of the transmission has an asymmetric feature. The magnitude of variation of the three metrics that assess the performance of meshing is not obvious, indicating that it is possible to replace the spiroid worm drive with a face worm gear with cylinder worm in some working conditions in the future.