resemble spiral bevel gears, except that the shaft axes are offset, not
intersecting. The pitch surfaces appear conical but, to compensate for the
offset shaft, are in fact hyperboloids of revolution. Hypoid gears are
almost always designed to operate with shafts at 90 degrees. Depending on
which side the shaft is offset to, relative to the angling of the teeth,
contact between hypoid gear teeth may be even smoother and more gradual than
with spiral bevel gear teeth. Also, the pinion can be designed with fewer
teeth than a spiral bevel pinion, with the result that gear ratios of 60:1
and higher are "entirely feasible" using a single set of hypoid gears.