How do you determine the speed ratio in a gear system?

To determine the speed ratio in a gear system, the most accurate approach is to divide the number of teeth on the driven gear by the number of teeth on the driving gear. This method is rooted in the fundamental relationship between gear teeth and rotational speed: the more teeth a gear has, the slower it turns when engaged with a gear that has fewer teeth.

When you apply this division, the result gives you a clear representation of how many times the driving gear must turn to make the driven gear complete one rotation. For instance, if the driving gear has 10 teeth and the driven gear has 30 teeth, the speed ratio would be 30 divided by 10, resulting in a 3:1 ratio. This indicates that for each rotation of the driving gear, the driven gear completes one-third of a turn, effectively demonstrating how the gears interact in terms of rotational speed and torque.

Other methods, like measuring the diameter of gears or adding the number of teeth together, do not accurately convey the dynamic relationship between rotational speeds. Similarly, calculating the total weight of the gears is unrelated to their operational relationship in terms of speed and torque transmission. Understanding these relationships is crucial for effectively using gear systems in power transmission applications.