As efficiency continues to grow in importance, a different type of gear is gaining traction in right-angle gearheads beyond the commonly used worm gears. Historically, worm gears have been the go-to choice for right-angle gearheads due to their affordability and durability, making them suitable for general-purpose applications. However, they become less efficient at slower speeds (with higher reduction ratios), generate substantial heat, occupy more space, and require regular maintenance. With global efficiency standards becoming stricter, an alternative gear type is being embraced.
Typically utilized in automotive applications, hypoid gears are now being incorporated into right-angle gear motors to address the limitations of worm gears and enhance overall gear motor performance. While hypoid gear motors may have a higher initial cost compared to worm gear motors due to specialized machining, heat treatment, and grinding processes, their long-term benefits often justify the expense for many applications.
Key Differences:
In a worm gear setup, there are two primary components: the input worm and the output worm gear. The input worm is a thread-like gear that spins perpendicularly to its corresponding output worm gear. For instance, in a worm gearhead with a 5:1 ratio, the input worm will turn five times while the output worm gear completes just one rotation. However, torque isn’t amplified by a factor of five because much of it is lost due to sliding friction.
Conversely, the hypoid gear set comprises an input hypoid gear and an output hypoid bevel gear. Combining elements of bevel and worm gear technology, hypoid gears maintain significantly higher efficiency even in high reduction ratios. The secret lies in the hypoid tooth profile, which minimizes sliding friction between gear teeth, allowing more torque to be transferred from the motor shaft to the load shaft.
To delve deeper into the distinctions between hypoid and worm gears, I recommend reading our white paper titled, "Hypoid vs. Worm Gears: A More Cost Effective Right-Angle Reducer."
In this article, we’ll summarize the performance differences between hypoid and worm gears as outlined in the white paper.
Superior Gear Efficiency:
One of the main challenges with worm gears is their low efficiency in transferring torque. Typically, worm gear efficiency ranges from 40% to 85%, depending on the reduction ratio, which spans from 60:1 to 10:1. These gears also need a “break-in†period before reaching peak efficiency. On the other hand, hypoid gears boast efficiencies of 95% to 99% and don’t require any break-in period.
With the growing emphasis on reducing power consumption (such as IE3 or NEMA Premium Efficiency), efficiency has become one of the most critical factors when selecting a gear motor. Since motors already have a long lifespan, pairing them with an efficient gearhead makes good financial sense by cutting down on maintenance costs.
Less Heat Generation:
A gearhead with higher efficiency will waste less energy. Friction represents wasted energy that manifests as heat. Worm gears produce more sliding friction compared to hypoid gears, causing them to run hotter, which shortens the service life of these drives by adding extra thermal stress to the lubrication, bearings, seals, and gears.
Hypoid gears, due to reduced sliding friction, operate cooler and require minimal effort to maintain peak performance. There’s no need to replace lubricants because the grease is designed to last the entire life of the gear motor. This can help reduce downtime and boost productivity. Additionally, cooling fins, breather holes, and other peripherals used for cooling are eliminated, contributing to lower operating costs.
When we ran a hypoid gearbox and a worm gearbox side-by-side using the same motor, we observed a significant 26.4°F difference in temperature once it stabilized.
Smaller Footprint:
Because of how the axes of the gears intersect, the hypoid gear set requires less space than worm gear sets. This is advantageous in scenarios where space is limited.
Hypoid vs Worm Gear Comparison:
| Feature | Hypoid | Worm |
|---------|--------|------|
| Footprint | Smaller | Larger |
Another advantage of hypoid gear motors is their axial symmetry from the motor shaft to the load shaft. Worm gear motors lack this symmetry, leading to machines that are less visually appealing and offering fewer mounting options.
Less Power Consumption:
In some cases, a smaller motor can deliver the same torque as a larger one for the same application. Here, we compare a hypoid gear motor with a worm gear motor of similar output. Note that the hypoid gear motor uses a 1/2 HP motor while the worm gear motor uses a 1 HP motor. Combined with reduced wasted energy from gear sliding friction, the smaller motor results in even lower power consumption costs.
Conclusion:
The superior efficiency and design of hypoid gears offer numerous advantages over worm gears, including better torque transfer, lower operating temperatures, smaller footprint, higher reliability, longer life, and less power consumption. This ultimately leads to lower operational costs in the long run and enables the creation of smaller machines. Although the upfront costs of hypoid gears may be higher, the benefits should be considered when selecting motors for your next machine.
To learn more about the differences between hypoid and worm gears, please read our white paper, "Hypoid vs. Worm Gears: A More Cost Effective Right-Angle Reducer."
Oriental Motor offers right-angle hypoid gearhead options on the Brother Mid H2 Series, Brother Mid F3 Series, BMU Series, BLE2 Series, and K2S Series (coming soon).
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