NEW TRAINING: VIRTUAL DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE RATING PROCEDURES FOR PLASTIC GEARS

Date: 3rd & 4th December 2025

Time: 10am - 12:30pm

Platform: TEAMS

Tutor: Dr Damijan Zorko and Dr Borut Černe - RD Motion

Fee: Non Member £350* / BGA Member Free

Register: https://www.bga.org.uk/event-details/virtual-design-and-performance-rating-procedures-for-plastic-gears

Please note this course is over 2 sessions. You will need to attend all sessions to complete the training.

Seminar Programme:

High performance plastic gears are increasingly replacing metal gears in several applications due to many advantages they exhibit. Main ones are having lower weight, no need for lubrication, cheaper mass production, significantly better noise, vibration and harshness (NVH ) behavior and chemical/corrosion resistance.

Design methods for plastic gears are in many ways different and more complex to those for steel gears. In major part the complexity is to be attributed to the material’s temperature-dependent properties. Also the production methods are different, which needs to be taken into account during the design phase. The majority of plastic gears are produced by injection molding, which enables great design flexibility, e.g. joining several machine elements into one molded part, as well as a wide range gear geometry modifications.

The course focuses on all aspects of the design process of gearboxes with plastic gears. The covered topics were selected based on what we experience during our work, working with our customers from automotive, micro-mobility (e-bikes), house appliances, aerospace, chemical, power tools and robotics sectors.

The seminar will cover:

a.      Basic concepts on Plastic gears

• applications with plastic gears,

• available materials,

• design principles with aspect to production technology,

• production principles.

  
  

b.      Overview of Plastic gear failure modes and design rating procedures

• possible plastic gear failure modes and conditions under which they occur

• comparison to steel gear failure modes

• highlighting the material properties required to conduct a comprehensive design rating procedure

  
  

c.      Methods for calculating the operating temperature of plastic gears

• presentation of available models and highlighting the most appropriate ones

• showcasing the correlation between the predicted temperatures and measured ones during gear operation

  
  

d.      Fatigue performance

• explanation of the fatigue failure mode and different fatigue regimes (LCF, HCF, VHCF)

• methods to rate plastic gear design against the root fatigue failure mode,

• methods to rate the plastic gear design against the flank fatigue (pitting) failure mode,

• methods to improve the load-bearing capacity of plastic gears

  
  

e.      Wear control,

• wear mechanisms and types of wear that can occur in plastic gear applications

• wear prediction methods

• methods to improve the wear performance

f.        Gear quality

• overview of the gear quality parameters with a highlight on the ones having the most effect on the performance of plastic gears

• quantitative evaluation of quality effects on the gear performance and how to apply them in the design rating process (mechanical – effect on stress and thermal – effect on the operating temperature)

  
  

g.      Lubrication (practical guidelines)

• pros and cons of applying a lubricant in a plastic gear application

• types of lubricants

• methods to select the best performing lubricant

• lubrication regimes for plastic gears

h.      NVH

• sources of NVH in a gearbox,

• effect of wear and transmission error,

• NVH evaluation methods,

• appropriate material selection,

• practical guidelines to reduce NVH)

i.        Design principles for gearboxes with plastic gears

• selecting the appropriate tooth thickness and centre distance tolerance

• design principles for complete gearbox, once the detailed gear geometry is defined

• RD Motion’s agile R&D process for design of gear transmissions with plastic gears

Topics and the lecture material are focused on practical applications, accompanied by a right measure of theoretical background.

If you would like to register for any of our essential gear training please click the registration button below or contact Kirsty in the BGA office admin@bga.org.uk

If you are not a BGA Member please click here for information of joining the association.