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Bevel gear guides

Short, practical answers to the questions that come up when a bevel gear pair has to be designed, drawn and made - written around the same standards the bevel gear designer works to, ISO 23509 for the geometry and ISO 10300 for the strength.

• How to design a bevel gear pair, step by stepFrom the ratio to the STEP file: tooth numbers, module, face width, profile shift, backlash and the strength check, with a worked example.
• Straight vs spiral bevel gearsWhat changes when the teeth curve: contact, noise, load capacity, axial thrust and manufacturing - with the numbers for one pair designed both ways.
• Bevel gear terminologyPitch cone, cone distance, heel and toe, addendum and face angles, m_et and m_mn - each term on the drawing of one pair, with its value.
• Bevel gears in SolidWorks, Fusion 360, Inventor and FreeCADGetting a generated bevel gear into your CAD program: the STEP files, how they are placed, and how to mate the pair in an assembly.
• Miter gears: designing a 1:1 bevel pairWhy one part serves twice, the equal axial and radial forces, how few teeth a 1:1 pair can have, and a worked 20/20 example.
• Bevel gear strength: ISO 10300 safety factors explainedPitting and root breakage, what S_H and S_F mean, the recommended minimums, and which choices move them most - measured on one pair.
• Bevel gear minimum number of teeth and undercutWhy small pinions undercut, what the virtual number of teeth, profile shift and pressure angle do, and the limits to ISO 23509.