9

GEAR-CUTTING MACHINES

For the manufacture of gear wheels, comparatively complicated and highly precise machine
tools are required. The wide variety of existing types of machines is the result of the effort
made to find economic production methods for the geometrically diverse gear-tooth forms. The
requirements of a gear-cutting machine result from the demands that are made by the machine
element 'gear wheel', e.g.:

(a) high geometric accuracy, notwithstanding the complicated form necessary for the smooth
transmission of motion;
(b) high material strength to enable the transmission of large torques with small-sized wheels;
(c) large varieties of design, particularly in the field of small-batch and 'one .off' production, in
order to optimize specialized drive characteristics.

Systematic classifications of gear-cutting machines can be made from a variety of different

standpoints. As a general survey, all techniques for the production of gear wheels are
summarized in Fig. 9.1. From the aspect of the qualities obtainable, differentiation may be
made between roughing and fine-finishing processes. In line with the previous chapters, the
techniques will be divided into chip-producing and chipless production methods. The chip-
producing machines are further subdivided according to the cutting geometry of their cutting
tools.

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 Fig. 9.1 Gear manufacture techniques

In order to achieve an economic production rate, whilst at the same time maintaining a high
degree of accuracy of the gears produced, gear cutting is commenced with a high cutting
speed and fast feed rates. This is then followed with a finishing process. For rough gear
cutting, the processes most widely used are those of hobbing, gear shaping and for larger gear
wheels, gear planing; for finishing work, the most widely used technique is that of gear grinding
which, in contrast to gear shaving and fine gear rolling, may be carried out after heat treatment
on hardened gear wheels.
From the point of view of the kinematic action of the machine, gear-cutting techniques may be
classified as shown in Fig. 9.2 into form cutting (copying) and gene rating processes.

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 Fig. 9.2 Gear cutting techniques from the point of view of machine kinematics

When using the form-cutting processes, the tool (milling cutter, end mill, grinding wheel) is
made with the contour of the finished tooth space. Each tooth space is individually finished and
the gear wheel being cut is then indexed through an angle, depending on the number of teeth
to be produced, to allow the next tooth space to be out (single-indexing method). The cutter
profile must be of the exact form of the required tooth space, which means that for every set-up
of a different gear wheel to be cut, a special cutting tool is required. Consequently, this
technique is almost exclusively used for the 'one off' manufacture of large gear wheels, or in
the mass production of very small gear wheels for the precision engineering industry.
When using generating methods, the involute is generated as a result of the relative "motions
between the cutting tool and the gear being cut. This has been achieved through a kinematic
coupling between the cutter and the work, normally in the form of a closed gear train. The form
of the tooth flank consists of a contour resulting from individual flats produced by the cutting
tool. The position of the cutter in relation to the gear being cut may be moved incrementally
(index-gene rating technique) or continuously (continuously generating technique). The cutting
tool itself has straight flanks and, in contrast to the form-cutting process, may be used for a
wider range of work of a given module. In order to standardize and reduce the number of tools
to be stocked, the basic profile of spur gears is defined by the normal section of a rack (which

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may be regarded as an external gear with an enlarged number of teeth, n →∞) and in the ease
of bevel gears by the so-called: face gear (consisting of a spur bevel gear resulting from an
enlargement of the bevel angle at 90°).
A further subdivision of gear-cutting machines may be made in accordance with the type of
gear which may be produced on them, which will be discussed in the following sections. The
various forms of gears illustrated in Fig. 9.3 are classified in accordance with the relative
position of the axes of rotation of mating gears and require specific gear-cutting machines to
produce them economically.

Fig. 9.3 Types of gear drives

Spur gears (parallel axes of rotation and rolling action) can have external as well as internal
teeth, and these may be straight, helical or double-helical in direction.
Bevel gears can have their teeth straight, helical or curved. In the latter ease the lines of the
flanks of the teeth may basically follow as involutes or an epicycloids. (The Czechos has a
comprehensive term “ kotálice”). Furthermore the axes of rotation being at right angles to each
other may intersect each other (rolling action) or their axes may be relatively displaced (bevel-
worm drive). Bevel gears are mainly produced by hobbing machines and lapped after heat
treatment.

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 Cylindrical skew gears are mating cylindrical helical gears, the axes of which are crossed
with varying helix angles. The sum of the helix angles of the two gears determines the angle at
which the axes cross. Their manufacturing technique does not differ from that of spur gears.
In order to obtain high gear ratios for axes lying at right angles to each other, cylindrical worm
and worm wheel drives or globoidal (hourglass) (Hindey's screw) worm and worm wheel drives
are applied.

9.1 Chip-forming gear-cutting machines using cutters with cutting edges of a critical
geometry

9.1.1 Gear-planing machines

9.1.1.1 Spur gears

When applied to the production of spur gears, gear-planing machines operate in accordance
with the indexing-generation principle in a semi-continuous technique (Fig. 9.4); this means
that as a result of the particular length (number of teeth) of the cutting rack, several tooth
spaces are generated before indexing is necessary. The cutting rack provides the cutting
movement, while the work blank generally makes the generating action. After a number of
teeth have been cut, the work blank is disengaged, moved back to the beginning of the feed
position and re-engaged to cut a further group of teeth.

Fig. 9.4 Principles of gear planing

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The cutting tool consists of a straight or helical tooth rack with relieved flanks (cutting clearance
angle). When compared with other methods, the cutting tool is comparatively easily changed.
Under high wear conditions (e.g. the production of large gear wheels made from high-tensile
alloys), the cutting rack may be exchanged before the work is completed, without a detrimental
effect on the quality of the work.
The complete drive system of a gear-planing machine is shown schematically in Fig. 9.5.
The main drive (1) of the ram, on which the cutting rack (3) is mounted, is connected through a
crank slide to the reduction gear train (2) which is used to set the stroke rate. The gene rating
slide is driven through the module change gear train (8) and the lead screw (10), and pro vide s
the linear component of the generating action; the work table, which is mounted on the gene
rating slide, provides the rotary generating motion by obtaining its drive from the index-change
gear train (7), transmitted to a telescopic shaft and on to a worm and worm wheel drive. The
remaining auxiliary drives are used to set the root circle radius with a motor or a handwheel
(26), for activation of the radial depth of cut movement using the gear train (27) and the bed
spindle (11), and for the backlash-free engagement of the reversing movement (12, 16 and
18), when the gene rating slide has reached the end of its travel.

Fig. 9.5 Drive lay-out of a gear-planing machine

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 A schematic diagram of the machine construction is given in Fig. 9.6. The column with the
tool slide (angularly adjustable for helical teeth) is bolted to the machine bed. The rotating work
table lies on a co-ordinate slide which is used for the radial cutting depth in-feed and the
tangential gene rating action. On large machines, the radial cutting depth in- feed is provided
by a sliding column. Figure 9.7 shows a front view of a gear-planing machine.

Fig. 9.6 Schematic sketch of a gear-planing machine

Fig. 9.7 Gear-planing machine

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9.1.1.2 Bevel gears

The production of bevel gears has some similarities with the manufacture of spur gears. In
place of the rack-formed cutting tool, the cutter takes the form of a face gear, the principle of
which is shown in Fig. 9.8. As a result of the generating motion between the face gear (cutting
wheel with a straight sided, rack-type profile) and the gear blank inclined at the bevel angle δ,
the gear-tooth flanks are produced. The cutting motion is in the direction of the length of the
teeth.

Fig. 9.8 Cutting wheel and work for bevel-gear planing

Bevel-gear-planing machines, for straight and helical teeth, work on the indexing-generating
principle. Their drive mechanism is similar to that of spur-gear -planing machines. Instead of
the linear movement of the cutting rack, the cutting drum turns, so rotating the planing tool
(face gear), and thus producing its cutting motion. Figure 9.9 illustrates such a bevel-gear-
planing machine.

Fig. 9.9 Bevel-gear-planing machine

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 Another method of bevel-gear planing which must be defined as a bevel-gear form-planing
process is the template technique. The cutting tool is guided by a template to produce the
desired tooth profile. The method is used for the 'one off' manufacture of very large bevel
gears, where the cutting forces would be too high for conventional machines but productivity
however is rather poor.

9.1.2 Gear-shaping machines

Gear-shaping machines are continuously gene rating gear-cutting machines, as may be seen
from Fig. 9.10. The cutting wheel has a linear stroke movement (cutting movement) and
simultaneously rotates with the gear blank. Advanced machines using this method obtain
cutting speeds in excess of 100 m.min-l as a result of the application of high double-acting
stroke rates.

Fig. 9.10 Principles of gear shaping

The cutting tool has the form of a gear wheel with form-relieved, involute-shaped tooth
flanks. For the manufacture of helical gear teeth, suitable helical-toothed cutting wheels must
be employed, as shown in Fig. 9.10. The ram spindle has a rotary motion during its stroke,
guided by a helical lead sleeve. Such a helical lead sleeve, in combination with different cutting
wheels, may be used for a specific range of helix angles. As the cutting tools have a limited
range of application, gear shaping is mainly used for the production of internal gears and the
manufacture of gears with a small free-axial space, e.g. double-helical and especially
herringbone teeth (Fig. 9.11), as well as for the cutting of gear clusters, etc.

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 Fig. 9.11 Gear shaping of herringbone teeth

Fig. 9.12 Schematic lay-out of drive for a gear-shaping machine

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 Figure 9.12 shows schematically the drive of a gear-shaping machine. To obtain the gene
rating cutting action, four main movements are required. The rotary action of the cutting wheel
is the chip-producing motion, and continues through the working stroke and the return stroke.
The power transmission is direct from the main motor to the stroke mechanism. As the stroke
movement is produced by a crank motion, the cutting speed is not constant throughout the
length of the stroke. During the return stroke a relieving motion is applied as otherwise, due to
the continuous rotary action, an interference between the gear blank and cutting tool would
cause rubbing to take place. The rotary feed motion is picked up from the main drive through
the feed change gears. The gene rating motion i.e. the co-ordination of the rotary motion of the
tool and gear blank, is governed by the pick-off gear train and is transmitted to the ram spindle
through the upper worm wheel, and to the work table through the lower worm wheel. At the
beginning of the work cycle, the work table makes an additional radial movement, so that the
desired depth of cut is obtained. Figure 9.13 pictures the construction of a gear-shaping
machine.

Fig. 9.13 Gear-shaping machine

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9.1.3 Gear-broaching machines

Gear-broaching machines (sometimes known as form-shaping machines) utilize a form-cutting

or copying action without any gene rating movement. The cutting tool is shaped according to
the required tooth-space contour. Broaching of involute gear teeth is primarily used for mass-
production work, owing to the high tooling costs and the comparatively high productivity.
Machine construction and their kinematics are largely similar to those of conventional
broaching machines, i.e. the production problems and the degree of accuracy are dependent
on the construction of the tools.

9.1.3.1 Spur gears

The tool for rough-broaching internal gear wheels usually consists of a round tool-holder
containing the broaching cutters, which are ground to the required involute form and are
clamped with wedges. The number of cutters around the periphery is normally half that of the
number of teeth to be cut. The internal profile is produced in two strokes. A component fixture
holds the gear blank, and rotates it through one circular pitch. This technique reduces tool
costs and also lowers the cutting forces.

Fig. 9.14 Roughing and finish broaching of internal gears for mass production

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 Figure 9.14 (left) shows an example of rough broaching for the mass production of planetary
annular gears, in which the tool consists of a heat-treated main body with a screwed-on shank
and end section. Accurate grooves are ground in the body into which the cutting inserts, made
of high-quality tool steel, are fixed.
Owing to the large axial depths of cut and the high cutting forces involved, the required gear-
-tooth accuracies are normally not achievable with such tools. The work is rough-broached,
dimensionally under-size, and then, in a second operation, finish-broached with a segmented
finishing broach, as shown in Fig. 9.14 (right).

Fig. 9.15 Shear-Speed cutting head

Fundamentally, there are two techniques available for the broaching of external gear teeth;
the Shear-Speed technique and the tube-broaching technique. In the Shear-Speed technique
the workpiece is pushed upwards through a fixed cutter head (broaching movement). Inside
the cutter head (which is illustrated in Fig. 9.15, with a single cutting blade), the profiled steel
'Shear-Speed blades' are fixed radially to the axis of the gear blank so that all its tooth spaces
are simultaneously cut. The radial position of the blades is governed by two interacting conical
rings which contact the guide faces of the blade tongs, as may be seen in the sectional view of
the cutter head in Fig. 9.16.

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 Fig. 9.16 Section through a Shear-speed cutting head

After every working stroke, the conical rings make a small upward movement, so that the outer
shell of the inner conical ring allows the blades to retract from the workpiece during the return
stroke. Before each new working stroke, the conical rings move with an additional in-feed
motion in a downward direction, so that the inner shell of the outer conical ring causes the
clearance distance to be cancelled out. In addition, this moves all the blades further towards
the workpiece by the desired depth of feed. Figure 9.17 shows the working area of such a
broaching machine with the chuck, gear blank and cutter head.

Fig. 9.17 External broaching of involute gear teeth using the Shear-Speed technique

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 The technique is only economic for large-quantity production, as a new cutter head is
required for each blank diameter. In special cases, it is possible to produce internal gear
wheels with this method.
When tube broaching, the work, as in the case of the Shear-Speed technique, is mounted on
a mandrel and pushed upwards into the tool tube of a hollow broach. Within the tube-broaching
tool, radial cutting inserts are arranged with progressive height increases and fixed. Between
the inserts, guides are provided to control the workpiece mounting head during the broaching
process.

9.1.3.2 Bevel gears

Bevel-gear-broaching machines usually work in accordance with the 'Revacycle' single-

indexing process, which can only be considered for use in the mass-production field. As may
be seen in Fig. 9.18, during the rotation of the broaching wheel (similar to a broach), roughing
and finishing cutters are employed behind each other, and produce a finished tooth space.
While cutting, the centre of the broaching wheel moves parallel to the root of the tooth being
cut in the order indicated. After a tooth space is finish-broached, the gear blank is cleared from
the cutters of the broaching wheel and indexed by one tooth space.

Fig. 9.18 Bevel gear broaching using the Revacycle technique

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9.1.4 Gear-hobbing machines

9.1.4.1 Spur gears

Spur-gear-hobbing machines operate a continuous-generating action with a gear hob as

cutting tool. The body of the gear hob is a cylindrical involute worm. A cutting tool is derived
from this worm, since the worm helix is interrupted with grooves and the flanks of the resultant
cutting teeth are form-relieved to permit free cutting.
In order to aid the understanding of the gene rating action, a comparison with gear planing
and gear shaping is given in Fig. 9.19. During the gene rating motion, the gear hob and the
gear blank rotate like a worm and worm wheel. The hob rotation also provides the cutting
motion. As shown in Fig. 9.20, the production of a gear can be achieved through several
different combinations of movements.

Fig. 9.19 Relative motions of tool and work for gear planing, hobbing, and gear shaping

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 Fig. 9.20 Hobbing techniques

When downcut hobbing, the chip thickness is large at the beginning of the cut; the actual
profile takes shape only just before the end of a single cut. This can, under certain
circumstances, lead to quality problems as a result of 'built up' edges. In the ease of upcut
hobbing, the profile is shaped immediately up on the beginning of the cut; the resulting small
chip volumes introduce initial rubbing or compression and may cause a resistance at the
beginning of the cut.
In the ease of radial-axial hobbing, the hob is first fed radially into the gear blank to the
desired tooth depth, and then hobbed using either upcut or downcut motions. After a given
number of tooth spaces or gear blanks have been machined, the hob is moved tangentially by
a given amount in order to use all the teeth of the hob equally. This action, sometimes referred
to as 'shifting', occurs continuously in the diagonal-hobbing method, as here the feed consists
of an axial and tangential component.
The leading dimension s and setting values of a hob are shown in Fig. 9.21 in which the hob is
shown in the actual cutting position. The angular setting (angle of incidence, η) of the hob is
dependent upon the direction and value of the helix angle β of the tooth to be cut (if any) and

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the helix angle γ of the worm on the hob. With any one hob, gears of any given number of teeth
and helical tooth angle, as well as all kinds of tooth profile modifications, may be produced by
differing machine settings, provided the teeth are of the same module and pressure angle. Any
limitation is only as a result of the working capacity of the machine.

Fig. 9.21 Leading dimensions and setting values of the hob and work

Fig. 9.22 Gear lay-out of a hobbing machine

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A simplified layout of the drive of a hobbing machine is shown in Fig. 9.22. The main motor
drives the hob directly and also the work table through the pick-off change gear train and the
intermediate telescopic worm and worm wheel drive. The choice of ratio in the pick-off change
gear train co-ordinates the rotations of the tool and work, which are dependent upon the
number of teeth to be cut on the gear and the number of start s of the helix on the hob. The
worm drive drives the feed-change gear train or, as shown in Fig. 9.22, the rotation of the axial
feed spindle through a stepless variable drive. For the manufacture of helical teeth and
diagonal hobbing, the gear blank to be cut is subjected to an additional rotary movement
relative to the hob feed, provided by the differential drive. The differential cage is released and
set into motion by the differential-change gear train, having selected the appropriate gears. A
detailed representation of the kinematics of such a hobbing machine is shown in Fig. 9.23,
which also shows how the rotary motion for the radial feed spindle is obtained.

Fig. 9.23 Schematic diagram of drive for a hobbing machine

Figure 9.24 shows a general picture of a hobbing machine. On conventional machines, the
column is bolted on to the machine bed. The work-spindle slide and its support centre are
driven by the radial-feed spindle and moved horizontally to obtain a radial feed. The hob
spindle can be moved along the hobbing slide through a tangential drive and a tangential
spindle, and may also be angularly adjusted to accommodate the setting of the required helix
angle for the gear to be cut. The hob drive and the feed drive are located in the column.
On a machine of recent design, the table is stationary and the column slides along the machine
bed. Only the main drive shaft and the feed shaft are in the column. All other drive elements
are in a separate drive box on the left side of the machine in order to improve heat dissipation.

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 Fig. 9.24 Hobbing machine

In order to provide backlash-free drives, modem machines have all feed shafts fitted with
preloaded, re-circulating ball nuts. The table drive may be made backlash-free either by the
employment of two axially opposed pre-stressed worms or by the use of a so called 'double
worm' which has a slightly different pitch on its right and left flanks, enabling it to be adjusted in
the direction of the slightly thicker helix when wear has taken place. Figure 9.25 shows a
cross--sectional view of such a constructional device.

Fig. 9.25 Indexing worm drive of a gear hobbing machine

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9.1.4.2 Bevel gears

Contrary to the exclusively continuous mode of the hobbing of spur wheels, bevel gear-hobbing
machines can operate either continuously or with an indexing action. The cutting tools are side-
and face-type milling cutters, inserted-tooth cutters or bevel gear hobs.

Fig. 9.26 Working area of a double hobbing machine for straight bevel gears

Bevel-gear index-hobbing machines usually employ two large cog-type, interlocking, radial-
inserted tooth-cutter heads, with easily interchangeable cutter tips. The cutting edges of all the
cutters represent a tooth of a given crown wheel against which the gear blank to be cut is
rolled. Figure 9.26 pictures the working area of such a machine with both work stations and
the interlocking cutter heads. For small module s up to m = 6 mm, the two cutters first sink a
slot into the stationary gear blank (plunge milling); the gene rating process then commences.
The cone of the gear blank thus rolls against the gene rating plane. Each tooth space is
completed in a single cut, and when finished the work is indexed. For the cutting of modules of
m > 7 mm, two operations are carried out; roughing by plunge milling and finishing by a gene
rating action. Normally, it is not necessary to pro vide a feed in the direction of the tooth length,
as due to the large diameter of the cutter head, the largest blanks within the capacity of the
machine can be produced without the roots of the teeth being unduly hollow. Plunge and gene
rating feeds are infinitely variable on modem machines. Moreover, the generating-feed rate can
be changed in accordance with the generating path.
The cutters of the cutter head are very largely universal. Within a certain range of modules,

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the same set of cutters may be used, which enables these machines to be economically
employed even for small-scale production.
On a different construction of machine for index-hobbing of bevel gears, the cutter takes the
form of a face-milling cutter head, which permits the manufacture of curved-toothed bevel
gears. In this variation of the technique, the cutting edges of all the cutters again represent one
tooth of the 'idea!' crown wheel. The gear blank makes a generating motion against the rolling
plane of the crown wheel, from which the tooth profile develops. The possible movements of
such an inserted tooth-cutter head bevel-gear-hobbing machine is shown in Fig. 9.27.

Fig. 9.27 Diagram of generating motions on bevel-gear hobbing machines

The generating motion during the process is executed about the axes of the gene rating drum
(rocker) (2) and the gear blank (1); the cutting action occurs about the cutter head axis (4). The
plunge movement is obtained through the movement of the slide (8). Adjustments on the
cutter-head slide (3) enable the setting of the cutting angle which is dependent on the diameter
of the cutter head; angular adjustment of the work-head slide (6) enables the bevel angle of the
gear blank to be set. In addition, the length of the required bevel face is determined by the
setting of slide (7), and the movement of the sliding base (8) up to its limit switch governs the
plunge depths. By inclining the hob axis against the generating-drum axis (5), specific
corrections on the gear blank may be made in response to a change of the contact angle. The

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movements available in the directions (9) and (10) are especially necessary for the indexing
and return motions required for non-continuous gear-cutting methods.

Fig. 9.28 Schematic gear lay-out of bevel-gear index-hobbing machine

A schematic diagram of the drives for this machine is shown in Fig. 9.28. When viewed in
relation to the explanations given above for Fig. 9.27, the drive may be subdivided into three
components. The cutter-head drive (I) is derived directly from the cutter-head change-gear
drive and is independent of the rest of the drive systems. The generating-drive gear train (II) is
driven by a DC drive unit.
The actual gene rating cycle takes place through a thyristor drive which is governed by trip
cams on the rocker-control drum. A simple control enables the cutting action to be divided into
separate plunge and generating operations. The indexing drive (III) is driven by a hydraulic
motor, which rotates a shaft, transmitting the motion to the work spindle, through a differential
gear and a change gearbox. Electrical controls release the indexing' mechanism and monitor it
until the movement is completed and re-Iocked. The anti-backlash motor gives the drive gear-
train a constant torque. As a result, the load on the brake of the work spindle which is applied
during gear cutting is minimized with a resultant improvement of indexing accuracy of the
machine.
A whole range of complicated operating cycles is available for selection, permitting the

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following variations to be incorporated:
(a) the cutting of crown bevel wheels, with their relatively small flank angles or pinions with
large angles on their teeth;
(b) the application of a single cut or the utilization of roughing and finishing operations;
(c) the choice of applying simple double-modified or no-generating action during cutting.

Fig. 9.29 Bevel gear index hobbing machine

Figure 9.29 shows the working area of such a machine.

With the introduction of multi-start face-cutting heads and a fixed drive between cutting head
and work spindle, the ratio of which is determined by the number of start s on the cutter head
(number of cutter groups) and the number of teeth to be cut on the gear blank, the continuous
cutting of bevel gears on so-called 'spiral bevel-gear-hobbing machines' is made possible. The
spiral-shaped flank line s of the ideal basic crown wheel correspond to extended epicycloids,
which give their name to the variations of the technique. The cutter is fixed on the generating
drum and is stationary; the feed inclination takes the cutting head through the contact area of
the blank being cut. The cutting inserts first mill the tooth spaces from top to bottom with a
plunge-cutting action. The gene rating drum is then set in motion to produce the tooth flanks.
This generating motion kinematically corresponds to an additional rotation of the basic crown
wheel, which is cancelled out through a differential and change-gear train in the drive for the
workpiece. Figure 9.30 shows an example of the manufacture of a spiral-toothed crown wheel.

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 Fig. 9.30 Hobbing a spiral toothed crown wheel on a bevel-gear hobbing machine

Fig. 9.31 Development of epicyclic flank lines using the Spiromatic technique

The development of the epicyclic flank lines is explained in Fig. 9.31, with an example of a
single-row cutter head. The cutting line is traversed by a cutter group consisting of two inserts,
one of which is cutting the concave side and the other the convex side of the tooth space. It
may be seen from the diagram that during one revolution of the cutter head, eight tooth spaces
are being machined, i.e. an eight-gang cutter head is being used.

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