Transmission

Using the principle of mechanical advantage, a transmission or gearbox provides a

speed-torque conversion (commonly known as "gear reduction" or "speed reduction")
from a higher speed motor to a slower but more forceful output or vice-versa.
Explanation
ain gearbo! of the "ristol #$# %ycamore helicopter
&arly transmissions included the right-angle drives and other gearing in windmills, horse-
powered devices, and steam engines, in support of pumping, milling, and hoisting.
ost modern gearbo!es are used to increase torque while reducing the speed of a prime
mover output shaft (e.g. a motor drive shaft). 'his means that the output shaft of a
gearbo! will rotate at slower rate than the input shaft. 'his reduction in speed will
produce a mechanical advantage, causing an increase in torque. ( gearbo! can be setup to
do the opposite and provide an increase in shaft speed with a reduction of torque. %ome
of the simplest gearbo!es merely change the physical direction in which power is
transmitted.
any typical automobile transmissions include the ability to select one of several
different gear ratios. )n this case, most of the gear ratios (simply called "gears") are used
to slow down the output speed of the engine and increase torque. *owever, the highest
gears may be "overdrive" types that increase the output speed.
Uses
+earbo!es have found use in a wide variety of different,often stationary,applications,
such as wind turbines.
'ransmissions are also used in agricultural, industrial, construction, mining and
automotive equipment. )n addition to ordinary transmission equipped with gears, such
equipment makes e!tensive use of the hydrostatic drive and electrical ad-ustable-speed
drives.
Simple
'he simplest transmissions, often called gearbo!es to reflect their simplicity (although
comple! systems are also called gearbo!es in the vernacular), provide gear reduction (or,
more rarely, an increase in speed), sometimes in con-unction with a right-angle change in
direction of the shaft (typically in helicopters, see picture). 'hese are often used on .'/-
powered agricultural equipment, since the a!ial .'/ shaft is at odds with the usual need
for the driven shaft, which is either vertical (as with rotary mowers), or hori0ontally
e!tending from one side of the implement to another (as with manure spreaders, flail
mowers, and forage wagons). ore comple! equipment, such as silage choppers and
snowblowers, have drives with outputs in more than one direction.
'he gearbo! in a wind turbine converts the slow, high-torque rotation of the turbine into
much faster rotation of the electrical generator. 'hese are much larger and more
complicated than the .'/ gearbo!es in farm equipment. 'hey weigh several tons and
typically contain three stages to achieve an overall gear ratio from 123# to over #223#,
depending on the si0e of the turbine. (4or aerodynamic and structural reasons, larger
turbines have to turn more slowly, but the generators all have to rotate at similar speeds of
several thousand rpm.) 'he first stage of the gearbo! is usually a planetary gear, for
compactness, and to distribute the enormous torque of the turbine over more teeth of the
low-speed shaft.
5#6
7urability of these gearbo!es has been a serious problem for a long
time.
8egardless of where they are used, these simple transmissions all share an important
feature3 the gear ratio cannot be changed during use. )t is fi!ed at the time the
transmission is constructed.
4or transmission types that overcome this issue, see 9ontinuously :ariable 'ransmission,
also known as 9:'.
Multi-ratio systems
'ractor transmission with #; forward and < backward gears
any applications require the availability of multiple gear ratios. /ften, this is to ease the
starting and stopping of a mechanical system, though another important need is that of
maintaining good fuel efficiency.
Automotive basics
'he need for a transmission in an automobile is a consequence of the characteristics of
the internal combustion engine. &ngines typically operate over a range of ;22 to about
$222 revolutions per minute (though this varies, and is typically less for diesel engines),
while the car=s wheels rotate between 2 rpm and around #<22 rpm.
4urthermore, the engine provides its highest torque outputs appro!imately in the middle
of its range, while often the greatest torque is required when the vehicle is moving from
rest or traveling slowly. 'herefore, a system that transforms the engine=s output so that it
can supply high torque at low speeds, but also operate at highway speeds with the motor
still operating within its limits, is required. 'ransmissions perform this transformation.
ost transmissions and gears used in automotive and truck applications are contained in
a cast iron case, though sometimes aluminium is used for lower weight. 'here are three
shafts3 a mainshaft, a countershaft, and an idler shaft.
'he mainshaft e!tends outside the case in both directions3 the input shaft towards the
engine, and the output shaft towards the rear a!le (on rear wheel drive cars- front wheel
drives generally have the engine and transmission mounted transversely, the differential
being part of the transmission assembly.) 'he shaft is suspended by the main bearings,
and is split towards the input end. (t the point of the split, a pilot bearing holds the shafts
together. 'he gears and clutches ride on the mainshaft, the gears being free to turn
relative to the mainshaft e!cept when engaged by the clutches.
'ypes of automobile transmissions include manual, automatic or semi-automatic
transmission.
Manual
ain article3 anual transmission
anual transmission come in two basic types3
a simple but rugged sliding-mesh or unsynchroni0ed > non-synchronous system,
where straight-cut spur gear sets are spinning freely, and must be synchroni0ed by
the operator matching engine revs to road speed, to avoid noisy and damaging
"gear clash",
and the now common constant-mesh gearbo!es which can include non-
synchronised, or synchroni0ed > synchromesh systems, where diagonal cut helical
(and sometimes double-helical) gear sets are constantly "meshed" together, and a
dog clutch is used for changing gears. /n synchromesh bo!es, friction cones or
"synchro-rings" are used in addition to the dog clutch.
'he former type is commonly found in many forms of racing cars, older heavy-duty
trucks, and some agricultural equipment.
anual transmissions dominate the car market outside of ?orth (merica. 'hey are
cheaper, lighter, usually give better performance, and fuel efficiency (although the latest
sophisticated automatic transmissions may yield results slightly better than the ones
yielded by manual transmissions). )t is customary for new drivers to learn, and be tested,
on a car with a manual gear change. )n alaysia, 7enmark and .oland all cars used for
testing (and because of that, virtually all those used for instruction as well) have a manual
transmission. )n @apan, the .hilippines, +ermany, )taly, )srael, the ?etherlands, "elgium,
?ew Aealand, (ustria, the UB, )reland, %weden, 4rance, %wit0erland, (ustralia, 4inland
and Cithuania , a test pass using an automatic car does not entitle the driver to use a
manual car on the public roadD a test with a manual car is required. anual transmissions
are much more common than automatic transmissions in (sia, (frica, %outh (merica and
&urope.
Non-synchronous
'here are commercial applications engineered with designs taking into account that the
gear shifting will be done by an e!perienced operator. 'hey are a manual transmission,
but are known as non-synchroni0ed transmissions. 7ependent on country of operation,
many local, regional, and national laws govern the operation of these types of vehicl. 'his
class may include commercial, military, agricultural, or engineering vehicles. %ome of
these may use combinations of types for multi-purpose functions. (n e!ample would be a
.'/, or power-take-off gear. 'he non-synchronous transmission type requires an
understanding of gear range, torque, engine power, and multi-functional clutch and shifter
functions. (lso see 7ouble-clutching, and 9lutch-brake sections of the main article at
non-synchronous transmissions.
Automatic
&picyclic gearing or planetary gearing as used in an automatic transmission.
ost modern ?orth (merican, and many larger, high specification +erman cars have an
automatic transmission that will select an appropriate gear ratio without any operator
intervention. 'hey primarily use hydraulics to select gears, depending on pressure e!erted
by fluid within the transmission assembly. 8ather than using a clutch to engage the
transmission, a fluid flywheel, or torque converter is placed in between the engine and
transmission. )t is possible for the driver to control the number of gears in use or select
reverse, though precise control of which gear is in use may or may not be possible.
(utomatic transmissions are easy to use. )n the past, automatic transmissions of this type
have had a number of problemsD they were comple! and e!pensive, sometimes had
reliability problems (which sometimes caused more e!penses in repair), have often been
less fuel-efficient than their manual counterparts (due to "slippage" in the torque
converter), and their shift time was slower than a manual making them uncompetitive for
racing. Eith the advancement of modern automatic transmissions this has changed.
%ince their inception, automatic transmissions have been very popular in the United
%tates, and some vehicles are not available with manual gearbo!es anymore. )n &urope
automatic transmissions are gaining popularity as well.
(ttempts to improve the fuel efficiency of automatic transmissions include the use of
torque converters which lock up beyond a certain speed, or in the higher gear ratios,
eliminating power loss, and overdrive gears which automatically actuate above certain
speedsD in older transmissions both technologies could sometimes become intrusive,
when conditions are such that they repeatedly cut in and out as speed and such load
factors as grade or wind vary slightly. 9urrent computeri0ed transmissions possess very
comple! programming to both ma!imi0e fuel efficiency and eliminate any intrusiveness.
4or certain applications, the slippage inherent in automatic transmissions can be
advantageousD for instance, in drag racing, the automatic transmission allows the car to be
stopped with the engine at a high rpm (the "stall speed") to allow for a very quick launch
when the brakes are releasedD in fact, a common modification is to increase the stall speed
of the transmission. 'his is even more advantageous for turbocharged engines, where the
turbocharger needs to be kept spinning at high rpm by a large flow of e!haust in order to
keep the boost pressure up and eliminate the turbo lag that occurs when the engine is
idling and the throttle is suddenly opened.
Semi-automatic
'he creation of computer control also allowed for a sort of cross-breed transmission
where the car handles manipulation of the clutch automatically, but the driver can still
select the gear manually if desired. 'his is sometimes called a "clutchless manual," "dual-
clutch," or "automated manual" transmission. any of these transmissions allow the
driver to give full control to the computer. 'hey are generally designed using manual
transmission "internals", and when used in passenger cars, have synchromesh operated
helical constant mesh gear sets.
%pecific type of this transmission includes3 &asytronic, +eartronic, and 7irect-%hift
+earbo!.
Bicycle gearing
%himano F' rear derailleur on a mountain bike
ain articles3 "icycle gearing, 7erailleur gears, and *ub gear
"icycles usually have a system for selecting different gear ratios. 'here are two main
types3 derailleur gears and hub gears. 'he derailleur type is the most common, and the
most visible, using sprocket gears. 'ypically there are several gears available on the rear
sprocket assembly, attached to the rear wheel. ( few more sprockets are usually added to
the front assembly as well. ultiplying the number of sprocket gears in front by the
number to the rear gives the number of gear ratios, often called "speeds".
*ub gears use epicyclic gearing and are enclosed within the a!le of the rear wheel.
"ecause of the small space, they typically offer fewer different speeds, although at least
one has reached #1 gear ratios.
5G6
9auses for failure of bicycle gearing include3 worn teeth, damage caused by a faulty
chain, damage due to thermal e!pansion, broken teeth due to e!cessive pedaling force,
interference by foreign ob-ects, and loss of lubrication due to negligence