Selecting gear materials is a great challenge for engineers. Gear teeth are subject to difficult and severe loading conditions. Simultaneous action of alternating normal and tangential dynamic stresses occurs, contact deformations accompanied by sliding friction. Gears are subject to increased requirements in terms of strength, geometric accuracy, dimensional stability, and durability. For the manufacture of gears, especially from thermoplastic materials, a theoretical argumentation of the materials is needed. An extensive study of thermoplastic materials, around the world needs to be done and the most efficient tribological couples to be chosen in terms of heat transfer from the gear zone, operation with or without lubrication, and gear life. In this paper, a theoretical synthesis of the Steel / Plastic, Plastic / Plastic, Plastic/Steel tribological couples is made, which were used in conformist and non-conformist experiments. Therefore, selected tribological couples are supposed to be used in the Precessional Transmissions applications.

This paper deals with the theoretical-experimental model of the tribological behavior of the contact elements in precessional gears (PG) in the functions of conjugate profiles of linear velocities “convex-concave” or “convex-convex” for the corresponding geometric parameters (ρki, r, ρki – r) and the values of the kinematic force parameters (VE1, VE2, Vai) for each concrete position of the ki points. The calculation of the constructive-functional and kinematic parameters of the “roller-shoe” and “roller-roller” elements of the tribocouple were adjusted for the experimental verification tests on the SMT-1 installation and adapted to the specific test conditions of the tribocouples with conformal contact of gear teeth made of plastics, which will be subjected to sliding friction and rolling processes of the concrete tribocouple elements.