Study and Analysis of a Gearless Mechanical Transmission

摘要

The purpose of this paper is to outline the study and analysis of a gearless mechanical transmission (GMT), an efficient torque reducer/increaser suited for multiple aerospace applications. Originally designed by the Carlyle Johnson Machine Company, this drive utilizes spheres rolling along designed cam surfaces in place of gear teeth, which leads to many advantages over geared systems. However, when a prototype was tested, unexpected "clicking" noises led to the suspicion of errors. In order to evaluate the current design and identify possible errors, the authors used geometric and kinematic analysis of the GMT to produce a model of the system. Given initial design parameters, this model enables accurate computation of mating geometries and key system attributes over time. Thus, this model enables the analytical evaluation of any desired GMT system, providing a strong foundation for further dynamic analysis of the drive.