BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF PLASTIC GEARS LUBRICATED WITH WATER

Recently, plastic gears have been used in water, but depending on the kind of plastic, there are some gears which show a great deal of wear when they are used in water. However, it is important to note that in water or in places where moisture exists, water functions as a lubrica nt, and wear decreases as compared with the case without lubrication. To date, some reports have addressed this phenomenon but few have pres ented data on the design of plastic gears for use in water. In light o f this situation, in this study, nylon gears and polyacetal gears, whi ch are widely used plastic gears, were operated in water and with a sm all number of water drops, and various characteristics such as the wea r of the teeth, the change in the tooth profile, the tooth surface rou ghness and so on, due to the difference in the quantity of bathing wat er were examined.