HOME CAPABILITIES PRODUCTS ABOUT CAREERS CONTACT REQUEST PROPOSAL By understanding the purpose of your gears, we help you maximize efficiency and performance. Manufacturers throughout the U.S. depend on Croix Gear & Machining for precision gears and parts that maximize their performance. Our experienced, knowledgeable team provide guidance and expertise every step of the way. Growing with our customers needs, we have become one of the largest Spiral Bevel Gear cutting facilities in the Midwest. In addition to our expertise in spiral bevel gears, we are capable of making almost any type of gear our customers require, with diameters ranging from ½" to 13", in quantities from 1 to millions. When customers demand the highest quality gears, Croix Gear has the ability to provide up to AGMA Class 12 gears. Extensive Gear Cutting Capabilities: We specialize in the following gears: Bevel Gears Bevel gears are gears where the axes of the two shafts intersect and the tooth-bearing faces of the gears themselves are conically shaped. Bevel gears are most often mounted on shafts that are 90 degrees apart, but can be designed to work at other angles as well. The pitch surface of bevel gears is a cone. STRAIGHT BEVEL In straight bevel gears the teeth are straight and parallel to the generators of the cone. This is the simplest form of bevel gear. It resembles a spur gear, only conical rather than cylindrical. SPIRAL BEVEL Spiral bevel gears have their teeth formed along spiral lines. They are somewhat analogous to cylindrical type helical gears in that the teeth are angled; however with spiral gears the teeth are also curved. The advantage of the spiral tooth over the straight tooth is that they engage more gradually. The contact between the teeth starts at one end of the gear and then spreads across the whole tooth. This results in a less abrupt transfer of force when a new pair of teeth come in to play. ZEROL BEVEL A type of bevel gear with curved teeth and a 0° spiral angle. Zerol bevel gears provide smooth and quiet operation, but they produce side loads. HYPOID BEVEL A hypoid is a type of spiral bevel gear whose axis does not intersect with the axis of the meshing gear. The shape of a hypoid gear is a revolved hyperboloid (that is, the pitch surface of the hypoid gear is a hyperbolic surface), whereas the shape of a spiral bevel gear is normally conical. The hypoid gear places the pinion off-axis to the crown wheel (ring gear) which allows the pinion to be larger in diameter and have more contact area. In hypoid gear design, the pinion and gear are practically always of opposite hand, and the spiral angle of the pinion is usually larger than that of the gear. The hypoid pinion is then larger in diameter than an equivalent bevel pinion. A hypoid gear incorporates some sliding and can be considered halfway between a straight-cut gear and a worm gear. Special gear oils are required for hypoid gears because the sliding action requires effective lubrication under extreme pressure between the teeth. Parallel Axes Gears SPUR GEARS Spur gears or straight-cut gears are the simplest type of gear. They consist of a cylinder or disk with the teeth projecting radially, and although they are not straight-sided in form, the edge of each tooth is straight and aligned parallel to the axis of rotation. These gears can be meshed together correctly only if they are fitted to parallel axles. It is the most commonly used gear with a wide range of applications and is the easiest to manufacture. HELICAL GEARS Helical gears offer a refinement over spur gears. The leading edges of the teeth are not parallel to the axis of rotation, but are set at an angle. Since the gear is curved, this angling causes the tooth shape to be a segment of a helix. Helical gears can be meshed in a parallel or crossed orientations. The former refers to when the shafts are parallel to each other; this is the most common orientation. In the latter, the shafts are non-parallel. The angled teeth engage more gradually than do spur gear teeth causing them to run more smoothly and quietly. With parallel helical gears, each pair of teeth first make contact at a single point at one side of the gear wheel; a moving curve of contact then grows gradually across the tooth face to a maximum then recedes until the teeth break contact at a single point on the opposite side. In spur gears teeth suddenly meet at a line contact across their entire width causing stress and noise. Spur gears make a characteristic whine at high speeds and can not take as much torque as helical gears. Whereas spur gears are used for low speed applications and those situations where noise control is not a problem, the use of helical gears is indicated when the application involves high speeds, large power transmission, or where noise abatement is important. Worm and Worm Wheel Gears Worm gears are usually used when large speed reductions are needed. The reduction ratio is determined by the number of starts of the worm and number of teeth on the worm gear. But worm gears have sliding contact which is quiet but tends to produce heat and have relatively low transmission efficiency. As for the materials for production, in general, worm is made of hard metal while the worm gear is made from relatively soft metal such as aluminum bronze. This is because the number of teeth on the worm gear is relatively high compared to worm with its number of starts being usually 1 to 4, by reducing the worm gear hardness, the friction on the worm teeth is reduced. Another characteristic of worm manufacturing is the need of specialized machine for gear cutting and tooth grinding of worms. The worm gear, on the other hand, may be made with the hobbing machine used for spur gears. But because of the different tooth shape, it is not possible to cut several gears at once by stacking the gear blanks as can be done with spur gears. "They come into our factory and visit with the people who use their products. They are the best of the best as far as our suppliers! Willing to go above and beyond to support our business." — VALUED CUSTOMER Getting Started with Croix Gear is Simple. 1. Make Request Tell us about your situation, project and upload any prints. 2. Detailed Analysis Confirm a clear understanding of your needs and expectations. 3. Receive Commitment Receive a custom proposal with our commitment to protect your reputation. REQUEST PROPOSAL CONTACT 1651 Hanley Road Hudson, WI 54016 (715) 386-5144 (800) 544-1487 Copyright © 2020 Croix Gear and Machining Created by Med City Creative QUICK LINKS Capabilities Products About Careers Terms & Conditions Warranties