Research on Meshing Characteristics of Strain Wave Gearing with Three Different Types of Tooth Profiles

Harmonic drive (HD) is one of the core components of the robot joint. Studies show that tooth shape design and meshing characteristics of the HD directly affect the motion control accuracy and vibration characteristics of the robot. In the present study, common coordinate systems are established for three tooth profiles to analyze the differences between them. To this end, expressions for the double circular arc common-tangent tooth profile (DCTP), cycloid common tangent tooth profile (CCTP), and the involute tooth profile (ITP) are established in the same coordinate system. By applying the envelope conjugate theory, the conjugate existent domain (CED) and conjugate tooth profile (CTP) of the HD transmission are solved independently for each profile. Furthermore, the influences of tooth profile parameters on both the CTP and CED are analyzed. Obtained results show that both the DCTP and CCTP have more robust envelope processes when compared with the ITP. Moreover, it is found that both profiles can achieve the second conjugate and two-point conjugate engagement through applying variations in the tooth shape design parameters. It is concluded that meshing performances of the DCTP and CCTP are better than that of the ITP, providing guidelines for the future development of the harmonic reducer tooth shape design.