The Importance of Contact Ratios

It is expected that when we flip the switch on a device that it will power up and some motion will occur. In the example of the desktop printer that we all have in our home office, we expect it to go through a warmup cycle that involves the device moving all of its internal parts in preparation of printing your document or image file. This moving occurs because the motor drives the gears, which, in turn, manipulate the working of the printer. If the motor is energized but the gears do not mesh, the printer cannot perform to your expectations. One of the driving factors in establishing the amount of load that a gear pair can transmit is the contact ratio.