Loaded Tooth Contact Pattern Analysis for Strain Wave Gear With Non-Elliptical Wave Generator

This paper presents a new non-elliptical wave generator for strain wave gear to improve its contact pattern quality. The new wave generator has a polynomial profile at one cross section, then crowned along the lead direction. The lead crowning uses a parabolic function with crowning amount controlled by parabolic coefficient. Loaded tooth contact pattern analysis based on finite element method is used to evaluate the new design. The result shows that the new design will avoid the edge contact between wave generator and flexspline, which reduces contact pressure and improve the wearing life of the gear. It also improves the contact pattern quality of the tooth surface. Comparing with elliptical wave generator, the new wave generator with polynomial profile and lead parabolic crowned surface offers more design freedom to improve strain wave gear’s performance. The parametric equation of the new wave generator is defined intuitively, and it can be easily adapted for any type of strain wave gear. Furthermore, the finite element model for the strain wave gear is a new development and application for Loaded Tooth Contact Analysis (LTCA).