In flight hardware, weight is paid for on every mission. Published analysis shows 20–35% higher torque capability than equivalent involute designs, without changing how gears are made, inspected or rated.
Every kilogram in a rotorcraft or ground-vehicle transmission is payload, range or fuel given up. Gearboxes are among the heaviest components in the drive system.
Airframes are designed around the gearbox volume. When power requirements grow, there is rarely room to grow the gears with them.
New technology has to fit established rating, tolerance and inspection standards before it can fly.
Hold center distance, ratio, materials and face width fixed. Published analysis shows the Convoloid tooth form carries 20–35% more torque than the equivalent involute: growth without a new housing.
| Involute | Convoloid® | |
|---|---|---|
| Torque capability (AGMA 11FTM19) | Equivalent involute | 20–35% higher |
| Size & weight at equal power | Baseline | Up to ~20% lower (analysis) |
| Single-stage ratio, aero gearbox study | Baseline | +39% (analysis) |
| Rating standards | AGMA / ISO | Same AGMA / ISO methods apply |
| Inspection | Profile / lead charts | Same parameters and accuracy classes |
Rotorcraft and ground-vehicle drives combine planetary and helical stages. The same Convoloid transverse profile works in each. Sun–planet meshes have been fully designed and analyzed.
At equal power and stresses, analysis shows a Convoloid gearbox can be up to about 20% smaller and lighter. Torque and size gains are alternatives, not additive.
Aerospace programs need data that survives a design review. Here is the record.
Under a U.S. DOE/NREL wind-energy research contract (2005–2008), a Convoloid retrofit of a 108 kW two-stage gearbox ran back-to-back against an optimized involute at up to 240% of rated load. Convoloid surfaces stayed stable; the involute’s micro-pitting progressed.
See the source →Published: 20–35% higher torque capability than equivalent involute designs, rated per AGMA/ISO with the same derating factors applied to both (Berlinger & Colbourne, 2011).
See the source →US 10,527,149 in force to ~2036. European patent EP 3 387 294 granted, with Unitary Patent and UK validation, to 2036.
See the source →Rotorcraft and ground-vehicle gearboxes: analysis only; not yet tested at defense duty cycles. UAV and actuator scale: validation partner sought (nothing below 3.0 mm module has been analyzed or tested). Size, weight and ratio figures are design-study analysis results (AGMA 11FTM19 and Gear Innovations design studies), not flight-test results.
Barney Berlinger, Convoloid's inventor, explains what makes the tooth form different and why it matters for aerospace & defense.
A short briefing for engineering and leadership: the problem, the technology, the comparison and the test record, in nine slides.