Um die Funktionalität von Getrieben über die Lebensdauer zu gewährleisten, muss der auftretende Verschleiß und die Temperaturentwicklung berücksichtigt werden. Die Oberflächenstruktur ist einer der wichtigsten Faktoren für das Einlaufverhalten. In diesem Beitrag werden die Auswirkungen verschiedener prozessbedingter Oberflächenstrukturen von Stahlritzeln auf das thermische und tribologische Einlaufverhalten eines Stahl-Polyamid-Getriebes untersucht.

Ursprüngliche Morphologie des PA66-Rads und Bereich zur Lokalisierung des Verschleißes

Polyamide

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Thermoplaste

Tribologie

Betriebsausrüstung / Betriebsmittel

Getriebe

Maschinenelemente

Effekt der Oberflächenstruktur auf das Einlaufverschleißverhalten von Stahl-Polyamid-Getrieben

Bislang musste zur Auslegung von Kunststoffzahnrädern die Zahnweite punktuell und manuell vor, während und nach der Getriebeprüfung vermessen werden. Ein neu entwickelter In-situ-Getriebeprüfstand ermöglicht die Untersuchung von Zahnverformung und Verschleißverhalten während der Getriebeprüfung.

Zahnradverschleiß: Darstellung des Materialabtrags an den Zahnflanken am Beispiel einer Zahnradpaarung gemäß VDI 2736 Baugröße 1

16:9

In-situ-Getriebeprüfung für die anwendungsnahe Untersuchung spritzgegossener  Kunststoffzahnräder

Zahnräder

Halbzeuge und Zwischenprodukte

Kunststoff-Halbzeuge

Messtechnik

Verschleißprüfgeräte

Werkstoffprüfung

Prüfen von Kunststoffen

Zahnradmessgeräte

Form- / Oberflächenmesstechnik

Inline- / Online-Messsysteme

Qualitätssicherung

Qualitätssicherung Kunststoff

Inline-Messtechnik

Mikrometergenau auf den Zahn gefühlt

Getrieben durch nötige Energie- und Kosteneinsparungen finden Kunststoffe vermehrt Anwendung als Primärkomponenten in tribologischen Systemen. Der Trend zeichnet sich durch stete Forschung und Entwicklung hinsichtlich der Effektivität unterschiedlicher Materialkombinationen zur Reduktion von Reibung und Verschleiß aus, wobei die reibinduzierte Wärme zu den größten Herausforderungen zählt.

Gezielte Nutzung der chemischen Umwandlung von Magnesiumhydroxid — ein neuer Ansatz für die Polymertribologie

Mit der Akquisition des Polyamid-Geschäfts von Solvay hat BASF die Wertschöpfungskette für technische Thermoplaste gestärkt. Neue Impulse kommen vor allem aus der Kreislaufwirtschaft.

Chemisches Recycling: Pyrolyseöl aus Kunststoffabfällen, neu synthetisiertes Polymer und eine mehrschichtige Lebensmittelverpackung (v.l.n.r.). Mit mechanisch aufbereiteten Abfallstoffen wären solche Anwendungen nicht möglich

16:9(1)

Die BASF engagiert sich gemeinsam mit ihren Kunden für chemisches Recycling

Polybutylenterephthalat

Messe K-Kunststoffmesse

kunststoffe.de

Kunststoff-Recycling

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Vorwärts im Verbund

Im Automobilbau konkurrieren unterschiedliche Antriebstechnologien: Verbrennungs- und Elektromotoren. Darüber hinaus ist das Interesse an Brennstoffzellen groß.Alle drei Technologien wurden auf der Tagung Kunststoffe automotive Powertrain diskutiert.

Wie sich eine Ökobilanz für Bauteile und die unterschiedlichen Fahrzeuge erstellen lässt, erklärte Milan Jovanović, Leiter der Lebenszyklusanalyse bei BMW, auf der Tagung

Kunststoffe automotive Powertrain: Umstrittenes PA 66 und Ökobilanz von Fahrzeugen

Automotive

Elektronik

Brennstoffzelle

Stromversorgung

Streifinger, Florian

Verbände, Institutionen, Messen

Dienstleistungen

Brennstoffzellen

Mobilität

Was bewegt das Automobil?

Auf den ersten Blick stand die K in diesem Jahr ganz klar im Zeichen von Recycling und Kreislaufwirtschaft. Abseits dieser Themen waren aber auch in klassischen Kunststoffbereichen wie Automotive viele Neuerungen zu besichtigen.

Im Konzeptfahrzeug VisionVenture von Hymer wurden insgesamt 22 Materialien von BASF verwendet. Vor allem für die Lackierung und die scheinbar aus massivem Schiefer bestehende Wandverkleidung des Badezimmers im Camper kommen spannende Neuentwicklungen zum Einsatz 

Automobiltrends auf der K 2019

Elektromobilität

Polyurethan-Schaumstoffe (PUR)

Polyurethan

Elektromobilität und ein Konzeptfahrzeug

Mit umfangreichen und spezifischen Modifikationen der Eigenschaften können Kunststoffe klassischen Metallbauteilen immer mehr Anwendungen abluchsen.

Bild 1. Grivory G5V weist im Vergleich zum bereits bekannten Grivory GV zwischen 60 °C und 100 °C deutlich bessere mechanische Eigenschaften auf

Quelle: Ems-Chemie, © Tabelle: Kunststoffe

Zwei neue Polyamid-Typen sollen technische Bauteile wirtschaftlicher machen

Technische Kunststoffe

Kunststoff

Bauwesen

Baustoffe

Fortschrittlicher Metallersatz

Die weltweite Marktsituation ist bei PA 6 und PA 66 sehr unterschiedlich. Bei PA 66 und beim Vorprodukt Adiponitril (ADN) kommt es immer wieder zu Lieferengpässen. Das führt zu teilweise drastischen Preiserhöhungen. Deshalb setzen immer mehr Anwender auf Alternativen zu PA 66.

Hochvoltstecker aus orange eingefärbtem Durethan BKV45FN04 kommen u. a. in Elektrofahrzeugen zum Einsatz. Für Kunststoffe bei Li-Ionen- Batterien ist oft eine UL94-V-0-Klassifizierung notwendig

20:7

Polyamid (PA)

PA-6-Compounds ersetzen PA 66

Bei einer Pkw-Federunterlage können mit einem Sandwich-Schäumverfahren Gewicht, Materialverbrauch und Herstellkosten signifikant gesenkt werden - bei gleicher Festigkeit.

Die Hartkomponente der Federunterlage wird mit dem sogenannten SmartFoam-Verfahren hergestellt. Der Querschnitt zeigt links ein korrekt hergestelltes Bauteil, rechts eines, bei dem sich das Gas nicht vollständig mit der Schmelze vermischt hat. Folge: Am unteren Rand hat sich eine große Gasblase gebildet, und die Außenschicht hat nicht mehr die erforderliche Dicke

Leichtbau bei hochbelasteten Kunststoffbauteilen am Beispiel einer Pkw-Federunterlage

Schaumspritzgießen

Spritzgießen

Mehrkomponenten-Spritzgießen

Werkstoffprüfung, mechanisch

Analysetools, FEM

Software

Schwingungs- / Vibrationsprüfger

KFZ-Zulieferer

Schaumkern trotzt enormer Belastung

Das Automobil der Zukunft soll möglichst wenig CO<sub>2</sub> freisetzen, effizient und automatisiert fahren und von möglichst vielen Menschen genutzt werden können. Das stellt an Kunststoffe und deren Verarbeitungsverfahren unterschiedliche Anforderungen. Sie reichen vom Leichtbau für Karosserie und Antriebsstrang über einen angenehmen Innenraum bis hin zu Beleuchtung oder Sensorik.

Der neue vollelektrische Audi e-tron besitzt einen fast komplett verschlossenen Unterboden aus leichtem LWRT-Werkstoff (Low Weight Reinforced Thermoplastics), der dadurch den elektrischen Verbrauch reduziert

E-Mobilität, autonomes Fahren, Carsharing und die Folgen für die Kunststoffbranche

Glasfasern / -matten

Verstärkungsstoffe

Leichtbau

Polyethylenterephthalat

Faserverbundwerkstoffe

Andere Werkstoffe

Hochleistungskunststoffe

Alles auf Elektro?

Ab Juni 2020 bekommt der Geschäftsbereich High Performance Polymers bei Lanxess eine neue Leiterin. Sie tritt die Nachfolge von Michael Zobel an, der in die Leitung des Tochterunternehmens Saltigo wechseln wird.  

High Performance Materials ab Juni mit neuer Leitung 

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Personen

Geschäftsbereich bei Lanxess unter neuer Führung  

Die Anzahl elektronischer Komponenten in Fahrzeugen nimmt seit Jahren beständig zu. Um sie mit elektrischer Energie zu versorgen, werden häufig hohe Ströme benötigt. Die dabei entstehende Wärme stellt allerdings eine Gefahr für die Komponenten dar und kann zur Beschädigung und zum Ausfall der Bauteile führen. Eine Möglichkeit zur Reduzierung der Temperatur an kritischen Bereichen bieten wärmeleitfähige Kunststoffe. Welche Effekte sich damit erreichen lassen, zeigt das Beispiel einer Vorsicherungsbox für den Golf 8.

Es wird zunehmend enger im Motorraum moderner Fahrzeuge wie beispielsweise des aktuellen Golf 8. Dadurch erhöht sich die Wärmebelastung der verbauten Komponenten

Wärmeleitfähige Kunststoffe helfen bei der Entwärmung von Bordnetzkomponenten

Abkühlung für Fahrzeugelektronik

Die Optik spielt bei Kunststoffbauteilen eine immer größere Rolle. Entscheidend für ein ansprechendes Aussehen sind glänzende und gleichmäßige Oberflächen. Diese Anforderungen lassen sich bei glasfaserverstärkten Polyamiden bisher meist nur mit einer zusätzlichen Lackierung erreichen. Eine Alternative bietet ein speziell für die Gestaltung von Oberflächen entwickeltes Polyamid.

Bei Sichtbauteilen ist häufig eine gleichmäßige, glänzende Oberfläche gewünscht, die sich mit glasfaserverstärktem Polyamid oft nur schwer erreichen lässt. Grivory G7V von EMS löst dieses Problem

Aliphatisches Hochleistungspolyamid für Oberflächen

Oberflächentechnik

Kunststofffasern

Glänzende Bauteile ohne Lackierung

Der Fortschritt bei Fügetechnologien wie dem Laserdurchstrahlschweißen, die steigende Nachfrage nach wärmeleitenden Kunststoffen, der Leichtbau und die Elektromobilität gehören in der Material- und Anwendungsentwicklung mit Polyamid zu den großen Trends. Auch bei bei diesem Polymer wächst der Bedarf an nachhaltigeren Werkstoffen. Geschlossene Stoffkreisläufe werden deshalb künftig in der Herstellung von PA 6 und PA 66 eine immer wichtigere Rolle spielen.

Motorradtank aus Durethan BC550Z 900116 DUSXBL: Das unverstärkte und schlagzäh modifizierte PA 6 wird zu zwei Halbschalen spritzgegossen, die durch Heizelementschweißen zum Tank gefügt werden

Polyamid (PA): Produktverbesserungen und Ersatz von PA 66 durch PA-6-Compounds

Hybridtechnik

Compound

Vibrationsschweißen

Verbindungstechnik Verfahren

Thermisches Fügeverfahren

Hybridwerkstoffe

Recycling

Umweltmanagement

Laserschweißen

Laserauftragsschweißen

Laserbearbeitungen

Lasertechnik

Verbesserungen bei Materialien und  der Verarbeitung

Die Covid-19-Pandemie hat auch die Kunststofferzeuger hart getroffen. Doch nicht alle Kunststoffe sind gleichermaßen betroffen. Während die häufig in der Automobilindustrie verwendeten technischen Kunststoffe unter dem Einbruch des Fahrzeugabsatzes leiden, profitieren etwa Polyolefine teilweise von der Krise. Und auch wenn die Pandemie gerade alle anderen Themen in den Hintergrund rückt, schreitet dennoch die Entwicklung etwa bei der Kreislaufwirtschaft, Elektromobilität und Digitalisierung weiterhin voran. Über die gegenwärtige Situation und die zukünftige Entwicklung sprach Kunststoffe mit Vertretern der Kunststofferzeuger.

Ein Austausch in Pandemiezeiten: Coronabedingt fand das Kunststoffe-Expertengespräch rein digital statt. Dr. Matthias Scheibitz (oben links), Jürgen Luderer (oben rechts), Dr. Ingo Sartorius (unten links), und Dr. Karlheinz Hausmann (unten rechts) diskutierten dabei über die aktuelle Situation und die zukünftigen Trends bei Kunststoffen

Expertengespräch zu Trends und Herausforderungen bei Werkstoffen

Verpackungsmaterial

Logistik

Polyethylen

Polyvinylchlorid

Standardkunststoffe

Kunststoff-Rezyklat

„Wir teilen den Optimismus von  Wirtschaftsminister Altmaier nicht“

Prüfstand zur In Situ-Messung der Verformungseigenschaften von Polymerzahnrädern

In diesem Beitrag wird eine neue Methode zur in situ-Verformungs- und Verschleißmessung von Polymerzahnrädern unter Betriebslast vorgestellt. Dieser Ansatz basiert auf der hochgenauen Messung und Verfolgung von Zeitdifferenzen in den Indeximpulsen von Encodern auf der An- und Abtriebsseite eines Zahnradprüfstandes.

Die Veränderung dieser Zeitdifferenzen über die Prüfdauer korreliert mit der Zahnverformung. Durch eine spezifische Kombination von Lastfällen können elastische, plastische und Verschleißverformungsanteile getrennt werden. Diese Arbeit zeigt außerdem das Potenzial der Methode, den Einfluss von geometrischen und strukturellen Abweichungen auf die resultierenden Betriebseigenschaften von Polymerzahnrädern zu untersuchen.

Die Validierung mit ex situ-Messungen zeigte eine gute Übereinstimmung mit den in situ-Untersuchungen. Die plastische in situ-Deformation der geprüften Paarung betrug 32 µm und konnte einer Kriechdeformation von etwa 9 µm aus einem Getriebekriechtest, einer Verschleißverformung von 25 µm entsprechend Koordinatenmessung sowie einer theoretisch kalkulierten thermischen Ausdehnung von etwa 1.5 bis 3 µm zugeordnet werden. Weitere Forschungen zur Prüfmethodik sind erforderlich, um die automatische Separierung von thermischer, elastischer, viskoelastischer und Verschleißdeformation zu ermöglichen.

Dominik Schubert, Christoph Herzog, Dietmar Drummer<br/>Lehrstuhl für Kunststofftechnik, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg

Test Rig for the In Situ Measurement of the Deformation Characteristics of Polymer Gears

This paper presents a new method for in situ deformation and wear measurement of polymer gears under operating loads. This new approach is based on the highly accurate measurement and tracking of time differences in the index pulses of encoders on the driving and driven side of a gear test rig. The change in these time differences over the test duration correlates with the tooth deformation. Through a specific combination of load cases, elastic, plastic and wear deformation components can be separated. This work also shows the potential of the method to investigate the influence of geometric and structural deviations on the resulting operating properties of polymer gears. The influence of process-related structural deviations or geometric deviations from the ideal shape on operating properties such as vibrations, wear or achievable service life can be investigated in much greater detail. Thus, on the basis of in situ measurements, a deeper understanding of influences on the operating properties of plastic gears can be gained.

Prüfstand zur In Situ-Messung der Verformungs-eigenschaften von Polymerzahnrädern

In diesem Beitrag wird eine neue Methode zur in situ-Verformungs- und Verschleißmessung von Polymerzahnrädern unter Betriebslast vorgestellt. Dieser neue Ansatz basiert auf der hochgenauen Messung und Verfolgung von Zeitdifferenzen in den Indeximpulsen von Encodern auf der An- und Abtriebsseite eines Zahnradprüfstandes. Die Veränderung dieser Zeitdifferenzen über die Prüfdauer korreliert mit der Zahnverformung. Durch eine spezifische Kombination von Lastfällen können elastische, plastische und Verschleißverformungsanteile getrennt werden. Diese Arbeit zeigt außerdem das Potenzial der Methode, den Einfluss von geometrischen und strukturellen Abweichungen auf die resultierenden Betriebseigenschaften von Polymerzahnrädern zu untersuchen. Der Einfluss von prozessbedingten Strukturabweichungen oder von geometrischen Abweichungen von der Idealform auf Betriebseigenschaften wie Schwingungen, Verschleiß oder erreichbare Lebensdauer kann wesentlich detaillierter untersucht werden. So kann auf der Grundlage von in situ-Messungen ein tieferes Verständnis von Einflüssen auf die Betriebseigenschaften von Kunststoffzahnrädern gewonnen werden.

In Situ Test Rig for the Measurement of the Operating Characteristics of Polymer Gears

Polymer parts are increasingly important for tribological applications because of their advantageous characteristics such as dry run capability and economic mass production by injection moulding [1]. However, parts made of plastic show significantly lower wear resistance in comparison to metal parts [1]. The wear behaviour of plastic and metal pairings typically consists of a run-in stage, characterised by higher non-stationary wear rates, and a following steady state at lower constant wear rates [2]. This is due to the alignment between the contact surfaces, the formation of wear reducing interlayers composed of wear particles and the transition from the edge area to the more resistant core area [3, 4]. A variety of geometric and microstructural factors can influence the run-in and the steady state; among others surface roughness [5] and structure [4, 6] of the metal pinion, degree of crystallinity and spherulite size [3], or tooth modifications [7]. Consequently, the in situ wear measurement is of interest as it permits the wear determination over time and therefore a distinction between the run-in and the steady stage. This knowledge allows for a better estimation of necessary wear addendums [8]. Therefore, a new approach for the in situ wear measurement of plastic gears paired with steel pinions is presented and applied to determine geometric and structural influences on the operating properties of a polyamide-steel gear set.

2.1. Current methods and designs for in situ gear testing

Various in situ test methods for gears are described in the literature. There are two main approaches: test rigs for wear and lifetime measurement, and test stands for condition monitoring. The goal of condition monitoring is to decrease maintenance and repair cost by monitoring the health of a critical system [9], e.g. a gear drive. In condition monitoring test rigs sensor data, like acoustic or mechanical vibrations are recorded and the corresponding gears checked for signs of failure. Changes in these signals are correlated to certain types of failures, be it pitting, cracking of teeth or flanks [10], or excessive wear [11]. With corresponding models of the interaction of failure causes and vibrational profiles, inexpensive sensor systems to monitor a critical gear drives health can be built, using easily available vibrational data [12]. However, the underlying process for the gear defect, for example wear, cannot be quantified or analysed with these systems. For this reason, a variety of wear and lifetime test rigs has been designed. Almost all types of gear test rigs can determine gear lifetime trivially. The measurement of gear temperature by either thermographic camera or thermocouples is also widely established. However, there are only three main approaches to characterise the wear during operation: Gravimetric or tactile measurement or analysis of a system reaction.

A relatively easy way is to measure the weight loss of the system [13]. This method however, requires a substantial amount of wear leaving the system and does not allow the direct quantification of the reduction in tooth thickness. One tactile system uses a profile measurement to directly quantify gear wear [14]. This and similar systems using tactile measurements, however, require the gears to be big enough to be measured and the test rig to be stopped during the test run. Another approach is to measure a system reaction to the wear. For example, a test rig design be Hooke et al. [15] uses a pivoting gear block with a loading arm in contact with a fixed gear block. The rotation of the loading arm corresponds to the wear in the system. Due to its construction, this test rig might be highly susceptible to vibrations. To mitigate all these disadvantages, a new test rig for the in situ analysis of the deformation of gear sets under operating conditions was developed and validated at the Institute of Polymer Technology, LKT, which is now presented and employed in this work.

2.2. Influence of form and structural deviations

In general, geometric deviations from the ideal form lower product quality and function [16]. This is especially true for gears. Different tooth profiles [17], tooth geometries [18] and form deviations [19] can significantly influence the operating properties of polymer gears, like efficiency, transmission error, operating temperature, achievable lifetime or wear. Additionally, the structural properties, i.e. the makeup of the crystalline microstructure, can also significantly influence the operating properties of polymer machine elements [3]. With an increase in crystallinity and spherulite size the material strength [20], stiffness [21] and wear resistance [3] increase, whereas ductility and damping are decreased [21]. Using this knowledge to generate a favourable microstructure in polymer gears can lead to significantly improved lifetimes. However, little to no research has been done regarding the interaction of form and structural deviations. Most literature sources analyse either the one or the other. As of now, it is not known, whether the beneficial effects of a favourable morphology can outweigh the drawbacks of higher form deviations, and vice versa. For this reason, this work will present findings showing the influence of both, form and structural deviations, and their interaction on the operating properties of a polyamide gear set using a new in situ gear test rig.

A wire cut steel pinion and polyamide 66 (PA 66) gears with a geometry according to VDI 2736, module 1 mm, were chosen for this research to represent a typical gear size in actuating drives, see Table 1. The chosen material, Ultramid A3K, a PA 66 by BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany, is often used in gear applications due to its high wear resistance.

Table 1:  Technical specifications of the gear set

To analyse the influence of form deviations on the operating properties of the gear set, two different mould contours were manufactured, based on the same specifications. One contour was generated using the software KissSoft 2019 by KissSoft AG, Bubikon, Switzerland, the other was designed by Frenco GmbH, Altdorf, Germany, using their Spline Calculator.

The flank lines generated with the two programmes differ in the number of exactly calculated vertices of the contour and the interpolation between them. The KissSoft contour approximates the involute contour between the geometrically exactly calculated vertices with line segments, whereas Frenco uses splines. Due to these approximations, there will be small deviations from the geometrically exact involute curve in the low micrometre to nanometre range.

In addition to these approximation errors, inaccuracies in the generation of the overall gear contour from the individual flank lines can lead to variations for example in the tooth thickness over the circumference of the gear. Both mould inserts were manufactured on the same wire erosion machine with the same processing settings. As will be shown, these differently generated contours lead to differences in transmission error and vibration. The same wire cut pinion made out of 100Cr6 steel, flanks hardened to HRC 55 and ground to Rz 1 µm, was used for all tests.

The polymer gears were produced by injection moulding using an Arburg 370U-700–30–30 by Arburg GmbH & Co. KG, Loßburg, Germany. To determine the effect of structural deviations, two separate mould temperatures, TMould = 60 °C and 100 °C, were chosen to generate different morphological properties. Table 2 shows the main processing parameters.

.2. Functional principle of the new in situ gear test rig

The experimental setup used for the in situ deformation and wear measurement is shown in figure 1. Generally, the gear test rig consists of a DC motor, type DSM150N by Baumüller, Nuremberg, Germany, that drives the steel pinion on the input side. A hysteresis brake, type CHB-12 by Magtrol, Rossens, Switzerland, generates a braking torque on the output shaft, on which the plastic gear is mounted.

To analyse the gear temperature a thermocouple, Type K, can be used. Its signals are sent to the data logging PC via telemetry, type TEL1-PCM-IND by Kraus Messtechnik GmbH, Otterfing, Germany. The high resolution and accuracy of the torque transducers, type TMB307, by Magtrol, Rossens, Switzerland allow to closely examine the variations in operating torque of the gear set and their frequency spectrum.

The essential components of the measurement technology of the newly developed gear test rig are two rotary encoders, type A020 by Fritz Kübler GmbH, Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany, on the input and the output shaft. Deformation of the polymer gear’s teeth, for example due to elasticity, thermal expansion, wear or creep, lead to a change in the relative angular displacement of the input and output shaft over time, see figure 2.

The encoders are used to calculate the angular displacement between the two shafts based on the increase in time differences between the index pulses of the encoders. Initially there is a time difference t0 between the index pulses on the input and the output shaft. Due to deformation, this time difference increases during the test run to t1. The change in time differences, Δt = t1 – t0, represents the increase in angular displacement. Using the fact that the time between two index pulses of the output shaft, T, is needed for one rotation, the increase in angular displacement can be calculated according to the following formula:

As a result of the measuring method, the calculated angular displacement is an integral measure of the tooth deformation. However, for the design of gears the local reduction in tooth thickness over the lifetime is the relevant design criterion to avoid premature failure due to wear. Thus, the angular displacement should be converted in an – albeit mean – change of local tooth thickness. Assuming a uniform and sufficiently small deformation over the tooth height, the change in tooth thickness Δs, at the diameter of interest, usually the pitch circle d, can be determined from the change in angular displacement Δφ, using equation (2):

In order to ensure comparability to existing measuring methods for tooth wear at the Institute of Polymer Technology (LKT), the measuring diameter dMWk = 38.146 mm according to DIN 3977 is used for calculating the tooth deformation. To achieve a sufficiently high accuracy, the encoders’ signals are sampled at a frequency of 80 MHz using a data acquisition module, type NI 9401 by NI, Austin, Texas, USA. Thus, the experimental setup detects the time-dependent angular displacements with an accuracy of approximately ±0.0003° at 1 000 min-1. This corresponds to a measurement error in tooth deformation of ±0.1 µm given a plastic wheel with a 39 mm pitch diameter. Disturbing influences, like vibrations or speed fluctuations, could increase the measurement error; nevertheless, the system is still very accurate compared to other concepts and reaches the accuracy of common displacement transducers.

In order to distinguish between the wear and plastic tooth deformation on the one hand and the elastic deformation of the plastic tooth on the other hand, a load spectrum is applied. The test rig automatically switches between a high or “testing” torque and a low or “measuring” torque after a set amount of load cycles. During the “high” cycles, the gear is subjected to the testing conditions. The load in the “low” cycles is reduced as far as possible without risking smooth meshing. The reduction in torque leads to a decrease in elastic deformation. By setting the deformation measurement of the first “low” cycle to zero, the following measure-ments in the “low” state only include the lasting deformations, creep and wear, see figure 3. As a result of this method, the experimental setup does not have to be disassembled in order to determine the gear wear and creep. However, as of today, the test rig does not analyse thermal expansion, creep and wear separately. Further research into load spectrums and operating modes to separate these effects is currently being done at the LKT.

3.3. Validation of the new wear testing method

The results of the new test rig were validated on the gear tests of the spline contour gears manufactured at 60 °C mould temperature. The gear test was performed on three specimens at an output speed of 1 000 min-1 for a duration of 106 load cycles, i.e. rotations. This results in a duration of 0.06 s per rotation on the output side, and about 1.0 s until the same teeth of pinion and gear mesh again, which is hereafter referred to as one meshing cycle. During the test the output torque was switched between the “high” setting of 1.0 Nm for 200 meshing cycles ( = 3 333 load cycles), and 0.3 Nm for 40 “low” meshing cycles ( = 666 load cycles). The deformation data was separated by load setting and compared to results of ex situ tests.

The design of this test collective is of particular importance. Ideally, the test rig is switched to the low cycles only for time it takes to collect sufficient data to evaluate the elastic deformation component. However, too fast changes between both states, e.g. by a very small number of low cycles, can lead to additional vibration whereas too slow changeover leads to the formation of two distinct deformation and temperature states. The combination of high and low cycles used in this work was chosen based on preliminary investigations to achieve a balanced measurement process. In further work, the influence of the test conditions on the measurement results will be investigated in more detail to develop an optimised testing strategy.

Compared to metals, polymers have a high thermal expansion. Due to frictional heating, the gear warms up during operation which reduces the measured deformation. The thermal expansion of the tooth Δs can be estimated with the following approximation.

The coefficient of linear expansion for Ultramid A3K is given as α = 98 × 10–6/K by BASF SE [22]. The tooth thickness in the pitch circle was measured as 1.438 mm. Assuming symmetrical expansion, half of the tooth thickness, 0.719 mm, can be used as the initial length s0. A suitable reference temperature is needed to calculate the thermal expansion. Usually, an estimation of the spatial distribution of the temperatures, for example based on the approximation of the complex heat generation and transfer mechanisms using numerical and/or analytical methods, would enable a sound evaluation of the thermal expansion. However, this would have exceeded the scope of this work. Especially since the effects due to thermal expansion were expected to be rather small.

Previous research [6] on similar PA66-steel gear sets at the same load collective generated flank temperatures of 50 – 60 °C. Furthermore, literature, among others [23], has shown the tooth core temperature can be a good estimation for the average temperature of a tooth. Thus, the tooth core temperature was used to estimate thermal expansion. During the test, the tooth core temperature rose from 23°C to about 40 °C, giving a ΔT of about 17 K. Based on this data the thermal expansion Δs was estimated to be 1.2 µm.

A worst case calculation using α = 100 × 10–6/K, the full tooth thickness of s0 = 1.5 mm and ΔT = 20 K suggests an expansion of only 3 µm. Since the estimated thermal expansion is relatively small compared to the other measured deformations and the temperatures are relatively stable during the test runs, this factor was regarded as a negligible, reversible constant for all tests.

A hydraulic pulsator test rig built by LUVRA Hydraulik und Regeltechnik GmbH, Nuremberg, Germany, was used to determine quasi-static tooth deformation in dependence of the applied force. Three representative teeth on three specimens of the spline contour manufactured at TMould = 60 °C were tested. The force was measured using a load cell, type U2B, the displacement was recorded with a displacement transducer, type W1T3, both by Hottinger Baldwin Messtechnik GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany. A single metal tooth was used to apply an increasing force on the polymer gear, which was generated by a hydraulic cylinder of the type HS5132 by LUVRA Hydraulik und Regeltechnik GmbH.

In the gear test the load on a single tooth is applied in about 1,54 milliseconds, equalling a rate of about 32 500 N/s. Limitations in the measuring equipment do not allow for such high loading speeds or tests at elevated temperatures. Therefore, the force was increased by a rate of 100 N/s until break at room temperature. The high load setting of 1.0 Nm corresponds to a force of 50 N, the low setting equals a force of 15 N. Furthermore, the creep characteristic of the specimens was determined in a creep test. A constant force of 50 N was applied to the specimens for about 24 000 seconds, which corresponds to 400 000 load cycles. Longer testing times were not possible due to technical limitations. One representative tooth of three specimens was tested. The resulting creep curve was extrapolated to 106 load cycles using a Power Law approximation to estimate the creep during the in situ tests.

The ex situ tooth wear deformation was evaluated using a coordinate measuring machine, type Leitz PMM 654, by Hexagon Metrology GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany. The measurements were performed by the Institute of Manufacturing Technology, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. The coordinates were measured in scanning mode with a scanning speed of 0.2 mm/s and 30 measurements per 1 mm. The tip radius was 1.0 mm. The measured contours of the three specimens and the 39 teeth were averaged and compared to the untested contour. The wear was evaluated as the biggest normal distance between the two mean contours.

3.4. Influence of form and structural deviations

After validation, the in situ deformation testing method is used in combination with the analysis of the gear temperature and the spectral analysis of the torque fluctuations to determine the influence of form and structural deviations on the operating properties of the gear set.

3.4.1. Characterization of form and structural deviations

Two mould contours (line and spline contour) and two mould temperatures (60 °C and 100 °C) were used to create four sets of specimens with different combinations of structural and form deviations to examine their interactions.

To characterise the form deviations, a two-flank rolling test according to VDI/VDE 2608 was performed on five gears using a ZWP06, manufactured by Frenco GmbH, Altdorf, Germany. Results are the radial composite deviation Fi”, the tooth-to-tooth radial composite deviation fi”, and the runout by composite test Fr”. Fi” is a measure for the overall form deviations of the gear, whereas fi” correlates with the form deviations of the teeth and Fr” is a gauge for the out-of-roundness of the gear.

The differences in contour design are so miniscule that there is no influence on the morphology of the parts. Thus, the microstructure across the gear flank was analysed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR) with a Nicolet 6700 FT-IR, Thermo Electron Corporation, Madison, WI, USA, on 10 µm thin cuts of exemplary parts for the two mould temperatures.

The degree of crystallinity was calculated from the band ratios of the wave numbers 1 199 cm-1 (crystalline phase) and 1 180 cm-1 (amorphous phase) measured in extinction, as described in [24, 25]:

3.4.2. Operating properties of the gear sets

In the future, the test rig will be fitted with additional sensor equipment and test modes to characterise a wider array of operating properties. Acoustic and structure-borne sound sensors are planned to measure the Noise-Vibration-Harshness (NVH) properties of polymer gear drives. A test chamber will be integrated to run tests at elevated temperatures and with lubricants. And lastly a test mode for temperature and frequency sweeps will allow the characterisation of geometric and material influences on the vibration properties over a wide spectrum of operating conditions.

In this work, the influence of the part deviations on selected operating properties (in situ deformation, temperature development and vibration) were analysed using the new gear test rig. The tests were run with the test scheme used for the validation, i.e. three test runs per specimen group at an output speed of 1 000 min-1, a runtime of 106 load cycles, switching between 1.0 Nm for 200 meshing cycles and 0.3 Nm for 40 meshing cycles.

To exclude any effects due to pure shrinkage differences between the specimens, a compensation of the centre distance of the gears based on the process-induced shrinkage of the parts was applied. This compensation accounted for the difference between nominal and actual gear diameters.

For this work, three separate aspects of the operating properties were analysed. Firstly, the variations in torque due to vibrations caused by imperfections in the gears were analysed, since this is a measure of the influence of part deviations on additional dynamic loads which can lead to premature defects. To this end, the input torque signal sampled in one-second intervals with 5 kHz and then Fourier-transformed. There were no notable changes in the resulting frequency spectrum over time or between the specimens of the same group. Thus, a representative spectrum from the first “high” cycle is analysed.

Secondly, the influence of microstructure and form deviations on the gear temperature during operation was examined with a thermocouple embedded in the tooth root, since temperature greatly affects material strength and lifetime of polymer gears. Lastly, the influence of the deviations on the total plastic deformation (wear and creep) was investigated using the in situ method, since too high deformation and wear can cause the observed lifetime to be significantly shorter than expected.

3.5 Representation of the margin of error

The errors given in the results are the 90% confidence intervals (CI) for the mean and the difference of means, calculated based on a t-distribution, as follows:

Figure 4 shows the in situ deformation, calculated as described in section 3.2. Both, the “low” cycle and the “high” cycle curve of the in situ test exhibit a run-in phase, followed by a steady state of linear increase. This is consistent with the wear behaviour of polymer-metal systems [2]. The difference between the two curves is considered the additional elastic deformation as a result of the increase in load of 0.7 Nm between the “high” cycles and at the “low” cycles. Evaluating the in situ data results in an additional deformation of 58.6 ± 1.6 µm initially. This increases during the tests to 64.9 ± 11 µm after 106 load cycles, probably due to reduced stiffness caused by frictional heating of the material during the test.

The ex situ pulser test for the elastic material properties shows a roughly linear increase of deformation with increasing force, see figure 5 on the left. To validate the measurement of the additional elastic deformation, the pulser test is evaluated at the forces which correspond to the load on the pitch circle at the respective torque level.

In this setup 1.0 Nm torque corresponds to 50 N force in the pulser test and 15 N are equivalent to 0.3 Nm. This results in an elastic deformation of the tooth of from 12.2 ± 0.6 µm to 54.2 ± 2.0 µm for a difference of 42.0 ± 2.0 µm.

One explanation for this difference between in situ and ex situ measurements of the elastic deformation could be the torque differences in the meshing cycle due to dynamic loading of the teeth. The tested gear set has a nominal transverse contact ratio of 1.4. This means that on average 1.4 teeth are in mesh. At the beginning of the meshing cycle of the new tooth, the preceding tooth is still in contact. Both teeth share the applied load. This is followed by a phase in which only the current tooth transmits the load. Then the following tooth enters the engagement while the current tooth leaves the contact. A simplified schematic of this process is depicted in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Simplified schematic of load sharing during the meshing cycle