Toothed Rack
In comparison to gears, the toothed rack is not a round but a straight drive element or machine element. Toothed racks are used together with gears in a rack drive to convert a rotary movement into a linear movement. To do this, a gear engages the elevations or teeth of the toothed rack. The axis of rotation of the wheel is orthogonal to the direction of movement of the rod, so that the rotating wheel movement can be converted into a straight-line rod movement – and vice versa. This usually involves a back and forth movement. Toothed rack drives are highly efficient and are often used for large axial forces.
As with gears, both straight and helical gearing are possible with toothed racks. Straight gearing has the advantage that it is relatively easy to manufacture and no axial force develops. However, when the engagement changes, there is a sudden loading or unloading and loud noises. With helical gearing, on the other hand, engagement and disengagement are gradual and quiet. In contrast, the inclination of the tooth width results in axial forces and various radial loads on the bearing.
We manufacture both transport toothed racks and measuring toothed racks with straight teeth and helical teeth up to module 18 according to DIN, as well as modified pitches according to customer requirements – be it 2, 5 or 10 mm. We can manufacture transport toothed racks in any length with helix angles from 0 to 30 degrees. In contrast, we offer measuring racks with a maximum length of 2,000 mm and a pitch accuracy of +/- 0.05 mm per 500 mm length.
