The purpose of the final thesis was to evaluate the influence of the surface roughness of a
steel pinion (100Cr6) on the service life of polymer gears made of POM. The experiments
were conducted on a dedicated test rig developed in the TINT laboratory, where torque,
rotational speed, and temperature were systematically varied, and the wear and service life
of a polymer gear meshing with either a smooth or a rough pinion were compared. The
results showed that under lower loads, the polymer gear paired with a smooth pinion
achieved up to four times longer service life than with a rough pinion due to minimal wear
caused by the smoother surface, whereas the rough pinion led to significantly more
pronounced abrasive wear because of its higher roughness parameters. As the load
increased, thermal degradation accelerated material failure, reducing the difference in
service life between the two gear pairs, since thermo-mechanical effects became dominant
and the influence of surface roughness diminished. The study confirms that the surface
quality of the pinion is particularly crucial at lower loads, where it can significantly affect
the reliability and durability of polymer gears.
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