A Novel Adhesive‐Bonded Sandwich Spur Gear and Its Performance Under the Influence of Adhesive Properties

ABSTRACT The performance of the polymer gear made by adhesive and its limitations are evaluated and explored. Studies on hybrid gears, including polymer‐toothed and sandwich designs, highlight their benefits in noise reduction and weight reduction with increased mechanical performance. Efficiencies were found to be both load and speed‐dependent. Tailor‐made spur gears, featuring metal polymer sandwich layers, offer customized solutions for their mechanical strength. These innovative designs optimize gear performance for diverse applications, balancing gear life cycle and functionality. This study explores the performance of adhesive‐bonded sandwich spur gears, specifically fabricated with epoxy resins at varying hardener‐to‐resin (H/R) ratios. The resin‐rich formulation shows better performance, which improves mechanical properties, gear life cycle, and bonding efficiency. Testing in a power regenerative gear test rig showed that resin‐rich formulations, particularly with an H/R ratio of 0.6:1, produced an 81.4% increase in gear life cycle compared to the 1:1 ratio. Adhesive‐bonded sandwich spur gears demonstrated low sound levels, excellent self‐lubricating characteristics, and minimal heat generation, making them suitable for non‐lubricating conditions. The findings support the use of adhesive gears for real‐world applications, offering improved performance, repairability, and sustainability.