I’m working on a school project called mini-baja, sponsored by sae. (if you are interested, look at sae.org for more info or google minibaja).
we gotta build a machine!
my group has decided to look at beveled gear boxes for the powertrain section, more specifically the T shaped models (one input, 2 output with the same rotational direction)
for a pic, take a look at:
http://www.rinomechanical.com/pdf/D039_041.pdf
(yes yes i know these specs prob don’t match)
the machine in question is a vehicle with 4 wheels and must go through offroad terrain for an extended period of time (must be able to withstand 4 hours of said terrain) the beveled box would replace traditioanl chain and sprockets. in short, engine to a CVT(continously variable transmission) and CVT to gearbox, which in turn drives the wheels.
engine’s about 10HP, and max rpm is 4000 (give or take), Gear ratio of the box would be custom ordered of course. but should be ~1:6
aside from the technical introductions my question is this:
is this even a good idea? aside from the pdf linked above i’ve seen alot of gearboxes with alot of differing specs. the trend thus far is that the cheaper the box, the higher max torque threshold!?
what does this inverse relationship mean? is there a problem with higher or lower priced systems?
most importantly, some of these gear boxes look like industrial machines, designed for high torque high precision low dynamic load operations no vibration etc etc (i.e. driving heavy machinery that will drill into material) but would they be good in an offroad vehicle that’s bouncing up and down and will be accelerating and decelerating on and off for 4 hours??
and lastly, i have absolutely no experience with these machines, assuming quality craftsmanship, the gears shouldn’t ever break right? there’s no fixing one of these things during the race!!!
thanks to anyone who can answer me these crazy questions!