Impact of Cycloid’s and Roller’s Dimensional Errors on the Performance of a Cycloidal Drive for Power Transmission

Cycloidal roller gearboxes offer good performance in terms of loading capacity and overloading limits, but a precise manufacturing process is required to avoid overloads on relatively small teeth. In addition, these gearboxes are very sensitive to lubrication, which plays an important role on the contact surfaces of rollers and teeth. However, it is acknowledged that an equivalent Cycloidal– Wolfrom configuration can be a possible solution to improve these aspects. In this work, the authors perform a comparison between two equivalent configurations, investigating how tolerances can affect the performances. The investigation approach is based on the use of simulations performed through virtual models of the main wheels of the gearboxes. The outcomes suggest a high suitability of the proposed Wolfrom configuration for applications with high transmitted torques, relatively poor materials, and modest construction tolerances.