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Helical (oblique-toothed) gears on parallel shafts, 20 : 30, helix 20°
Why are helical gears smoother than spur gears? · Hardware · basis: Xem Studio design following Brown No. 40 (1868)
Also called: helical gears, oblique tooth gears, helical gear pair, engranajes helicoidales, Schrägstirnräder
Exact dimensions. True size, with no printing tolerance added.
- sizes
- 5 in table
Notes
- The teeth are cut along a helix, so each tooth comes into mesh gradually from one end of the face to the other and more than one pair is always in contact: quieter, smoother and stronger than straight teeth, at the cost of an end thrust along the shafts.
- Normal module 1.5, helix 20° (right hand on the 20-tooth, left on the 30-tooth), 12 mm face: transverse module 1.6, centre distance 39.91 mm, transverse pressure angle 21.17°. Each transverse section is an exact involute spur mesh, twisted 15.68° over the face on the pinion.
- Brown's No. 40 (oblique-toothed gears, giving a more continuous bearing of the teeth).
- Parts (each has its own page): helical-gear-mn1-5-20t-beta20-rh-bore6, helical-gear-mn1-5-30t-beta20-lh-bore8, linear-shafts-h6.
- Brown's movement No. 40 (1868) shows it; this model is a Xem Studio design following his figure, every part at true size.
Helical (oblique-toothed) gears on parallel shafts, 20 : 30, helix 20° size chart
| parameter | value |
|---|---|
| normal module | 1.5 |
| teeth | 20 / 30 |
| helix | 20°, opposite hands |
| face | 12 mm |
| centre distance | 39.91 mm |
Where the files are
Other publishers' files are linked, not hosted. "verify" = check the license at the link before commercial use.
| Henry T. Brown (1868, public domain) | Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements — scan on archive.org | web | Publisher's page; dimensions are facts |
| 507movements.com | Brown's movement No. 40: figure, his text and an animation | web | Publisher's page; dimensions are facts |
Free files
★ Free files 1 parts. Xem Studio design: free to use, print and sell things from; not to be republished as files. Xem Studio Design License. index.json
| helical-gears-mechanism-assembly | Assembled mechanism, all parts placed at one pose (STEP keeps each part separate) | STEP · STL |
https://xemstudio.com/mcp to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client (free, no account, one minute) and it can look up exact sizes, mating fits and free STEP/STL from every chat.Plain text: sheet.txt · JSON: /api/geometry?object=helical-gears-mechanism

Fits with
Questions
Why are helical gears smoother than spur gears?
The teeth are cut along a helix, so each tooth comes into mesh gradually from one end of the face to the other and more than one pair is always in contact: quieter, smoother and stronger than straight teeth, at the cost of an end thrust along the shafts.
What is the centre distance of helical gears?
m_n (N₁ + N₂) / (2 cos β): 1.5 × 50 / (2 cos 20°) = 39.91 mm here.


