The Kinematics of Contacting Surfaces

Tests on contacting cylindrical rollers are used in estimating the surface durability of gear teeth. There is a great lack of uniformity in the methods used to describe the contact states on rollers and on gears. In addition, no formulas are available for describing the contact state on cams with flat-faced followers. This paper presents a general method of describing the contact state on any pair of bodies in direct contact and shows how the same method can be used for gears, cams, and rollers.