Find your gear type
Spur, helical, bevel or worm gearing? Five short questions on shaft arrangement, load, speed, noise and budget — and you get a reasoned recommendation.
Gear type selector
Answer five short questions — we will recommend the right gear type for your application.
How the selection works
The gear type determines a drive's smoothness, load capacity, efficiency and installation space. The biggest influence is the arrangement of the shafts relative to one another — after that, load, speed, noise requirement and budget refine the recommendation:
- Spur gearing — parallel shafts, economical, simple bearing arrangement; louder at high speed.
- Helical gearing — parallel shafts, smooth and load-bearing; produces axial forces.
- Bevel gearing — intersecting shafts (90°); spiral-toothed especially quiet.
- Worm gearing — crossing shafts, very high ratio, quiet, optionally self-locking.
The background to the spur-versus-helical decision is explored in the comparison Helical vs. spur gears. Once the gear type is set, calculate the dimensions directly with the gear geometry calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What gear types are there?
The most important are spur and helical gearing (parallel shafts), bevel gearing (intersecting shafts) and worm gearing (crossing shafts). For special cases, hypoid and combined gearing are added.
When helical instead of spur gearing?
As soon as smooth running matters or speed and load rise. Helical gearing runs more quietly and carries more, but produces axial forces that the bearing must absorb. For simple, slow drives, spur gearing remains the more economical choice.
Which gearing for 90° shafts?
If the axes meet at a single point, bevel gearing is right. If they cross on a skew and a high ratio is needed, worm gearing is the compact, quiet solution — self-locking on request.
Note: The recommendation is for initial guidance only and does not replace a binding design by qualified specialists. The final gearing and material selection must be verified by suitable engineering calculations for the specific application. Technische Antriebselemente GmbH accepts no liability for damage arising from the use of the recommendation.
Related products & guides
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ComparisonHelical vs. spur gears
Smoothness, load capacity and axial force in a direct comparison of the two gear types.
TutorialHow to select a gear
From gear type through module and material to quality — the selection guide.
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