Helical Gears

Helical gears are angled-toothed gear components that achieve smooth meshing contact for low-noise, high-load power transfer between parallel shafts. They are mainly used in industrial speed reducers, automotive gearboxes, wind turbine drivetrains, high-speed compressor sets, and heavy-duty conveyor drive systems.

Because each tooth enters the mesh gradually rather than all at once, a helical pair carries more load at the same face width and runs quieter than a spur pair at the same pitch-line speed. The trade-off is axial thrust, which has to be taken by a thrust bearing or cancelled in a double-helical arrangement. If the tooth form is still open, our guide on what is a helical gear covers helix angle, overlap, and where that thrust load actually goes.