Plastic Gears

Plastic Gears

Plastic gears are industrial gears that are primarily made of plastic, but sometimes with both metal and plastic components. These gears are generally cost effective and lightweight. Plastic gears are typically constructed from inexpensive commodity plastics for use in low power drives in products like clocks, motorized toys, and lawn sprinklers. Plastic gears have greater consistency, are easily molded to various shapes, and are resistance to chemicals and corrosion.

Common plastic industrial gears include acetal industrial gears, Delrin industrial gears, nylon industrial gears, and polycarbonate industrial gears. Plastic gears may also be made with a combination of metal and plastic with the teeth being plastic and the inserts being metal. Consulting an industrial gear manufacturer for a specific application is best for deciding on construction material.

Plastic gears are involved in the mechanics and workings of anything that has an engine or motor producing rotational motion. The top four sectors for the plastic gearing industry are industrial, marine, aerospace, and automotive, with automotive being the largest. When searching for plastic gears, the specifications that should be considered are the number of teeth, pitch diameter, face width, and length. The pitch of the plastic gears is determined by the number of teeth and the preferred pitch diameter. Optimal performance of plastic gears is influenced by the design life, power transmission requirements, noise, heat generation, and presence of corrosive elements in the construction material.