Enter the pitch diameter and the rotational speed into the calculator to determine the pitch line velocity.

Pitch Line Velocity Formula

The following equation is used to calculate the Pitch Line Velocity.

PLV = pi*(d/12)*w / 60 
  • Where PLV is the pitch line velocity (ft/s)
  • d is the diameter of the pitch (in)
  • w is the angular velocity (RPM)

To calculate the pitch line velocity, multiply the diameter of the pitch over 12 by the angular velocity over 60, then multiply by pi.

What is a Pitch Line Velocity?

Definition:

A pitch line velocity describes the linear speed of the teeth of a gear.

How to Calculate Pitch Line Velocity?

Example Problem:

The following example outlines the steps and information needed to calculate Pitch Line Velocity.

First, determine the diameter of the pitch. In this example, the diameter of the pitch is found to be 8 inches.

Next, determine the angular velocity. For this problem, the angular velocity is found to be 40 RPM.

Finally, calculate the Pitch Line Velocity using the formula above:

PLV = pi*(d/12)*w / 60

PLV = 3.14159*(8/12)*40 / 60

PLV = 1.396 ft/s