Helical Gear Manufacturing

Since our founding in 1927, we have produced thousands, if not millions, of these types of gears for all sorts of businesses and organisations from Guinness and Heineken to Tata Steel and Ineos. This kind of operating experience makes us supremely confident that we can help you with your components' needs.

As well as manufacturing these gear types we also have the machinery, team and expertise to create other gears and repair, recondition or upgrade gearboxes up to 18 tonnes. From spur gears, helical gears, worm gears and double helical gears, for your planetary gearboxes, worm gearboxes, extruder gearboxes and helical bevel gearboxes, our experienced team can help you manufacture a series of gears to help keep your business operating.

So if you’re a business or organisation that is looking for a team that can offer fast response times, provide a dynamic response and ensure all the features and effects of your helical gear units remain optimised and in good shape be sure to give us a call at Highfield Gears on 01484 531 010 or get in touch online via sales@hgi-uk.co.uk.

Characterised by a few key features, this series of gears are cut at an angle toward the face of the gear and are known to be extremely quiet during service while still being able to handle big loads.

During the operating stage, the teeth on two helical gear units engage and that subsequent contact is spread throughout the gear tooth as they rotate until tooth contact is full and total.

As we said they are known to be very quiet and the fact that they are cut at an angle and transfer power slowly, through the gear tooth, is why. This aforementioned gear dynamic also means that thrust loads occur on them when the two surfaces mesh. Equipment and components that use this series of gears use bearings that can support the thrust load.

Another key gear dynamic to think about is that if the angles on the surface of the gear teeth are measured accurately, the effects mean they can be mounted on perpendicular shafts which can help you adjust rotation angles by a full 90 degrees.

Here at Highfield Gear, we understand how all this works, how it affects gearboxes and how different sizes require a different type of response which is why you should consider opting for us when it comes time for gear manufacturing. Our team will use their expertise and in-house machining capabilities to offer a dynamic response and fantastic service regardless of your required gear sizes.

The Efficiency Of This Gear Type

The curved nature of helical teeth means that the tooth surfaces are always in contact with the corresponding gear. As a result of this contact, efficiency levels are extremely high, in fact, it’s not uncommon to achieve ratings of between 90-99%. This high-efficiency rating is just one of the many reasons they are so commonly used. However, this constant contact between the curved teeth and axial forces means that wear increases, as does the need for more repairs and maintenance.

A pair of helical gears can mesh in a couple of different ways, the shafts can be orientated either at the sum or at the difference of the helix angles of the gears. As we’ll explain, these are called parallel configurations and crossed configurations.

From the moment you get in touch with our team, send an inquiry and leave your contact details you'll quickly discover what a positive difference working with Highfield Gears makes for you and your business.

We will listen to your business’ needs when it comes to industrial gears and the types of gearboxes or machinery you’ll need to power your business, before going ahead and creating gears that have tough helical teeth which can give you consistent, reliable operation.

Rather than waiting weeks for a part or piece of machinery to arrive from overseas to complete a task at a certain stage, we have spent decades building up our equipment levels so that we can offer an in-house service. So, if you have a gearbox that is being repaired or reconditioned and you happen to need a new helical gear we can simply create one for you there and then, saving us time and you, money. This kind of in-house capability means we can analyse and track quality and ensure thorough inspection and detection is done of the final gear to ensure it is up to your high output standards.

Throughout the process, we’ll offer you and your business regular updates about the manufacturing and installation procedures so you’re always aware of the kind of dynamic response that we’re offering you at each stage. Once our process is complete and you have your helical gear units back powering your gearboxes and equipment you can rest assured knowing that power outputs are going to be consistent leaving you to get on with other elements of your business.

These gears are often chosen for applications that may have suited spur gears but don't have parallel shafts, the most common one being automotive transmissions, aka, gearboxes!

They also feature in machinery that is accustomed to going high speeds or managing heavy loads because they suffer from less friction and wear compared to other gears while still transferring great amounts of force. If you’re concerned about the speed of your machinery then helical gears are a good solution because noise and vibrations are kept to a minimum.

Common Terms 

Gear terminology can be confusing, there’s no getting away from that. That’s especially true when it comes to helical gears because of their complexity and tricky manufacturing procedure. Below are four key terms to keep in mind when discussing your helical gear needs.

Outside circle: The outside circle is the term used to describe the distance around the outer edge of the gear’s teeth. The outside circle’s diameter is also called the outside diameter.

Pitch circle: A phrase used to describe an imaginary concept. Pitch circle refers to the fictional circle found at the point where the two gears and their teeth mesh together.

Pitch diameter: Simply, this describes the diameter of the pitch circle.

Helix angle: This is the angle between the axis of the helical gear and the imaginary tangent to the gear tooth. This helix angle can be between zero and 90 degrees.