RFI 18-02: AGMA 6123-C16

Request for Interpretation for AGMA 6123-C16, Design Manual for Enclosed Epicyclic Gear Drives

Issued September 10, 2018

Question: 

For identical input, Equation 39 of AGMA 6123-C16, for shear capacity, yields different result compared to similar equation (Equation 4) in Darle Dudleyโ€™s paper โ€œWhen Splines Need Stress Controlโ€.

However, if we remove the ฯ€ from Equation 39, the results are the same.ย See Annex 1.ย 

Please review attached sample calculations and explain the difference.

Response from AGMA: 

It appears that the original Dudley article referenced by Vanyo has an error in it. Within the โ€œSpline Symbolsโ€ block, the article states: โ€œtc = chordal thickness at pitch line, in. (approximately equal to D/2N)โ€.

I believe that the original intent of the statement was really meant to say that chordal tooth thickness is approximately equal to circular tooth thickness. Since circular tooth thickness equals ฯ€D/2N, it seems clear that in the printing process, ฯ€ was inadvertently left off of the equation.

This does not pose a problem to the subsequent article equations since they all just use the symbol tc.

AGMA 6123-B06 and C16 are correct because we chose to use circular tooth thickness for tc and it is calculated correctly with the inclusion of ฯ€.

I believe that in general, the gearing industry has recognized this โ€œomission of ฯ€โ€ error in the original Dudley article, but I do not have a published reference to this. Perhaps someone else in the committee does.

I looked back in the documentation used by my company (Cincinnati Gearing Systems) to create a spline stress computer program in 1994 and our copy of the Dudley article โ€œWhen Splines Need Stress Controlโ€ referenced by the questioner has the D/2N equation changed by hand marking to ฯ€D/2N.