Article
Article
Planetary gear train
Article By:
Zimmerman, John R. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
Anglin, Donald L. Consultant, Automotive and Technical Writing, Charlottesville, Virginia.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.522100
An assembly of meshed gears consisting of a central or sun gear, a coaxial internal or ring gear, and one or more intermediate pinions supported on a revolving carrier. Sometimes the term planetary gear train is used broadly as a synonym for epicyclic gear train, or narrowly to indicate that the ring gear is the fixed member. In a simple planetary gear train the pinions mesh simultaneously with the two coaxial gears (see illustration). With the central gear fixed, a pinion rotates about it as a planet rotates about its sun, and the gears are named accordingly: the central gear is the sun, and the pinions are the planets.
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
