The selected right-angle drive is a bevel-gear pair on intersecting 90° shaft axes. Its mating pitch cones share an apex at the shaft intersection, and its ideal speed and torque factors follow from the output-gear to input-pinion tooth-count ratio.
Right-angle Shaft Coupling Interactive Calculator
Explore ideal tooth-count speed and torque factors for a selected 90° intersecting-axis bevel pair.
Equation Used
- Shaft axes intersect at 90° and the selected gears form a compatible bevel pair.
- Tooth counts set ideal no-slip speed and torque factors.
- The torque factor is lossless and does not predict actual output torque.
- Geometry, efficiency, direction convention, strength, loads, lubrication, heat, life and ratings are excluded.
The secondary figure uses the same selected tooth counts and 90° intersecting shaft topology.
How the selected right-angle bevel pair works
The input pinion and output gear have conical pitch surfaces whose apexes meet at the intersection of the two shaft axes. Their pitch surfaces roll together, so the ideal angular-speed ratio is determined by their tooth counts.
This page uses the historical title “shaft coupling,” but the illustrated power-transfer element is a bevel-gear pair, not a generic flexible shaft coupling. The schematic does not generate a tooth form or represent a specific enclosed gearbox.
What this calculator demonstrates
Select input-pinion and output-gear tooth counts. The calculator returns ideal reduction ratio, output-speed factor and ideal torque factor. The visualization keeps the intersecting 90° axes and mating pitch-cone apex visible.
It does not calculate input speed, actual torque, efficiency, power loss, direction convention, tooth geometry, strength, thrust, bearing load, backlash, lubrication, heat, life or ratings.
Ideal tooth-count factors
For input-pinion teeth Nin and output-gear teeth Nout, i = Nout/Nin. Ideal output speed is ωout/ωin = 1/i. With no losses, the ideal torque factor is Tout/Tin = i.
The speed and torque factors multiply to one in this ideal model. Real output torque requires an efficiency or loss model and actual input torque; neither is supplied here.
Default selected example
With 12 input-pinion teeth and 18 output-gear teeth, i = 18/12 = 1.50. Ideal output speed is 0.667 times input speed and ideal output torque is 1.50 times input torque.
These factors do not establish that the selected tooth counts form a manufacturable, strong or efficient gearset.
Scope and correction boundary
The removed article treated “Angle Coupling” as a universal catalog term, mixed straight bevel, spiral bevel, hypoid and complete gearbox behavior, and supplied universal tolerances, speeds, efficiencies, lubrication, service lives and failure diagnoses without an identified unit.
KHK's technical references support the intersecting pitch-cone model, common 90° case and tooth-count ratio. Detailed design still requires module, cone angles, face width, tooth system, material, support, accuracy, lubrication and loading data.
Questions
Is this a flexible coupling?
No. The selected mechanism is a bevel-gear pair that redirects rotation between intersecting shafts; it is not a generic flexible shaft coupling.
Does the calculator predict actual output torque?
No. It reports the ideal no-loss torque factor. Actual output torque needs input torque and efficiency or loss data.
Do equal tooth counts make a miter pair?
For a 90° bevel pair, equal tooth counts give a 1:1 ratio and are called miter gears.
Is a hypoid pair included?
No. Hypoid shaft axes are offset rather than intersecting.
Primary technical references
- KHK, Calculation of Gear Dimensions, Bevel Gears — pitch cones, intersecting axes, common 90° case, tooth-count ratio and miter gears.
- KHK Bevel Gears Technical Information — manufacturer design and strength context for specified bevel-gear geometry and loading.
- KHK, Standards in Terminology for Bevel Gearing — ratio, reference diameters and pitch-cone terminology.
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