A calculate rack and pinion drive, how do you do that? If you delve into this, you will be bombarded with terms and formulas that make the elaboration very complex (seem to). That is why we try to explain in this article how you can do the calculation the easiest.
An important starting point is that you realize that the calculation and selection (rack, pinion, gearbox and motor) is done on the basis of trial and error: there is a good chance that you will have to redo the calculations with other parameters, such as the diameter of the pinion or the quality (in this case: hardness) of the rack.
Calculating rack and pinion: important concepts
For the sake of clarity, some important concepts:
- Tangential force or feed force.
This is the force [in N] required to deliver the linear motion profile. - Couple.
This is what the pinion sees and is simply tangential force * arm (pinion radius) [in Nm].
In this case F2T = 2 * T2B / d. - Safety factor.
Apex recommends a safety factor of at least 2 for horizontal and 3 for vertical drives. - Coefficient of friction.
How heavy – or light – does the system run? A commonly used value is 0.1 or 0.15. - External forces.
Is the system used to push products for example? Then this force should be added to the Tangential force.
APEX Dynamics is happy to help you calculate rack and pinion systems, read here how…