Revolutionary Technology The Ikona Gear reducer is a revolutionary one-of-a-kind, non-involute reducer, now patented worldwide. It has been over 40 years since a major invention such as the Ikona Gear has been patented. The technology was originally invented in Russia for military purposes between 1986-1991. One of the incentives for the development of this unique gear was to use it in lightweight assault helicopters for long-range flights. Ikona Gear purchased the technology from the Ukrainian engineers, and has now developed it for industrial use. Tooth Form
The central feature of the Ikona Gear Reducer is the tooth form used for internal gear pairs. The teeth are non-involute, though in appearance they are somewhat similar to involute teeth. The pinion teeth have convex profiles, while those of the internal gear are concave, making for favorable contact conditions (lower contact stress). The line of contact of the Ikona Gear teeth is parallel to the tooth tip. During operation, the contact point of the pinion continues its rolling action in the concave shaped internal gear tooth at two positions: 2 O’clock and 10 O’clock. The pinion gear and the internal gear move simultaneously and in opposite directions. This unique feature is one reason for the zero backlash in the Ikona gear system (true zero backlash is very possible). Achievable Ratios
An important advantage of the Ikona Gear tooth form for internal gear pairs is the difference in tooth numbers between the pinion and the internal gear. The difference can be as small as one without causing tip interference. This means that when the tooth form is used in planetary gear trains, the range of achievable ratios becomes enormous. A well-known CYCLO single-stage planetary layout with a compound planet can use the Ikona Gear tooth form to obtain any ratio between 9 and 5000 with an error of less than 0.1%. Ikona Gear’s single-stage layout means that for any specific ratio we can design a reducer that is much more efficient and compact than a comparable multi-stage reducer. Contact Ratios
Another advantage of the Ikona Gear tooth form is the contact ratio. The involute contact ratio is approximately 1.8, producing a maximum torque that is limited by the highest tooth force carried by a single tooth pair. Higher torque means larger teeth and a larger gear system. With the Ikona Gear the contact ratio is larger, and in many cases much larger, than the involute gear system. The high contact ratio allows the transmission of higher torque values and the zero backlash qualities are inherent in the design. Rated Torque
To take advantage of the Ikona Gear tooth form, it is preferable to use a gear pair in which the contact ratio is as large as possible. For Ikona Gear pairs, the rating methods for spur gears by the A.G.M.A. and the I.S.O. are no longer appropriate. By making assumptions about the proportion of the total tooth force carried by each contacting tooth pair, it will be possible to develop rating procedures using the same principles as the current procedures. It is clear that the Ikona Gear multiple tooth contact will allow output torque values that are considerably higher than those produced by involute teeth. Hardening
As in any gear, the allowable bending and contact stresses will be increased if we increase the hardness of the material. The advantage of the Ikona tooth form is that with the high contact ratio, the stresses are generally considerably lower than they would be in involute gears. It may therefore be sufficient to harden the gears to 300-350BHN, and then to cut the teeth with no further hardening. The advantage here is that there will be no distortion due to heat treatment in the final tooth profiles. Another advantage of the Ikona Gear therefore, is in the cost savings. Ikona non-involute tooth form is designed for applications requiring:
• High single stage reduction (over 1000:1)
• Very low backlash (inherent in the technology), Low lost motion,
• High rigidity (high tooth contact), low noise level
• Very compact and low weight,
• High efficiency, especially at higher reduction,
• Economical, Adaptable to any inline reducer,
• No special equipment required
Typical applications for the Ikona Gear system:
• Robotics, Automation equipment, Automotive (steer by wire),
Machine tools, Positioning devices, Welding positioners,
Transporting and Manipulating systems,
• Aircraft and Military equipment, Actuators, Navigation systems,
Medical systems, Wheel Drives
• Steel mills, Textile machinery, Production machines, Winches
Visit our site to know more @ www.ikonagear.com
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