Journal of Materials Processing Technology 146 (2004) 213220

A simulation model of gear skiving

A. Antoniadis a, , N. Vidakis b , N. Bilalis c
a b

Department of Natural Resources Engineering, Design & Manufacturing Laboratory, Technological Educational Institute of Crete, Romanou 3, 73133 Chania, Greece Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technological Educational Institute of Crete, Stavromenos, 72100 Heraklion, Greece c Technical University of Crete, CADLAB, Chania, Greece

Received 20 February 2002; received in revised form 8 October 2002; accepted 24 October 2003

Abstract The key components in demanding transmission chains are doubtlessly premium well designed and properly fabricated gears. The desired gear quality is performed, through three manufacturing stages, i.e. the rough cutting, the heat treatment and the nishing process. One of the most adopted methods in gear nishing is a variation of hobbing, the so-called gear skiving or hard hobbing. As every cutting process based on the rolling principle, gear skiving is an exceptional multiparametric and complicated method, which can and must be fully optimized. This paper illustrates an involved algorithm that simulates rigorously the skiving process and yields data, such as the dimensions of the non-deformed chips and consequently the cutting force components. This algorithm is supported by a computer code that offers the aforementioned parameters, with the aid of a user-friendly graphical interface, built modular and object oriented. Bearing in mind that gear skiving is a nishing gear cutting process, the developed software initially performs the simulation of the gear cutting, in order to determine the cutting boundary conditions. The aim of this research work is to interpret quantitatively cutting phenomena related to the course of the cutting force components and is extendable to predict the wear progress of complex and expensive cutting tools. In this way, the optimization of the cutting process is enabled. 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Gear skiving; Simulation; Cutting forces; Optimization

1. Introduction Design engineers, when are working on demanding gear drives, claim for toothed wheels with higher loading capacity, increased wear performance, longer service life and reduced operating noise. These specications are difcult to be achieved simultaneously, remembering the heat treatment distortions and the consequent nishing difculties. The completion of gears is carried out with various methods, such as traditional grinding, honing, shaving and skiving [1,2]. Each of these methods has advantages and limitations, so that the application of the proper one is strongly case dependent. Gear skiving has gained the recent years considerable reputation among gear producers and is nowadays a powerful alternative to traditional grinding. The main reasons for this fact is the development of highly evolved and
Corresponding author. Tel.: +30-28210-23070; fax: +30-28210-23072. E-mail address: antoniadis@chania.teicrete.gr (A. Antoniadis). URL: http://www.ionia.chania.teiher.gr.

automated machine tools, which make the method practical and economical, whereas it is convenient to achieve the AGMA quality level 10 [3]. Moreover, the induction of well-designed cemented carbide tools and the implementation of stock dividing systems in gear hobbing machine tools, make the skiving process attractive and efcient. The rolling principle kinematics that governs the skiving process sets its simulation a complicated task. However, the afnity between gear skiving and gear hobbing allows the exploitation of the experience gained by existing investigations, related to the last process. Gear hobbing is nowadays completely understood analytically, while data such as chip geometry, cutting force components, mechanical stresses and wear performance are determined with the aid of highly sophisticated software [4]. In former research work, the FRS, FRSDYN and FRSFEM software packages were developed and are thoroughly presented [58]. The core of these codes is the geometrical simulation of the cutting teeth penetrations into the gear gaps and the determination of the chip dimensions per generating and revolving positions. All these codes are built open and modular, so

0924-0136/$ see front matter 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2003.10.019

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Fig. 1. The principle of the cutting process and tool geometry in gear skiving.

that they are extendable to other cutting processes based on the same cutting principle, i.e. rolling [9,10]. This paper illustrates such an extension for the case of gear skiving, aprocess that exibits particularities and features, which make its simulation even more complicated. The main discreteness of skiving is that it is performed in precut gears, which have been manufactured with various cutting proles. It is obvious that a precedent simulation of

the gear rough cut must be carried out. On the other hand, the particular geometry of the teeth proles of the skiving tool should be treated specially. All these features were implemented in the FRSSKIV code, which is presented in this paper. The program allows the precise determination of the non-deformed chip dimensions, whereas in a step forward it predicts the course of the cutting force components, in various coordinate systems. The analytically determined force

Fig. 2. The ow-chart diagram of the developed FRSSKIV code.

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components are compared to experimentally derived ones, illustrating a very good agreement.

2. Gear skiving features and simulation strategy The upper left part of Fig. 1 illustrates a typical gear skiving cutter. The geometry of such cutting tools is very similar to hob cutters. The same occurs considering the tool-workpiece system, as it is presented in the upper right part of the same gure. The skiving tool is rotating against to the also rotating precut gear, whereas it is simultaneously displacing along the direction of the axial feed. The special geometry of the skiving tool cutting teeth is presented in the bottom left part of Fig. 1. The main differences between skiving and gear hobbing cutting teeth are the negative rake angle k and the tooth rake offset k . The negative rake angle protects the carbide cutter by shocks and instantaneous overloadings. In the case of hob teeth the rake angle equals to zero, whereas the rake plane includes the hob axis. As in gear hobbing, owing to its complicated kinematics, the skiving process brings on modeling problems, since

each gear gap is produced through successive penetrations of the tool teeth into the workpiece, in the individual generating positions (GP). Considering also the tool rotation during each hob tooth penetration, a number of revolving positions is used to describe the chip cross-sections in the corresponding generating positions. The bottom right part of Fig. 1 illustrates a confrontation between the cutting tooth kinematics of gear hobbing (rake angle = 0 ) and skiving tools (rake angle = 30 ), respectively. The dashed area in this gure corresponds to the active part of the skiving prole. As it is expected the active parts of the skiving tooth prole are onto its anks. Fig. 2 illustrates the algorithmic process, which is applied to determine the produced chip geometry and the cutting force components. The required data refer to the tool geometry, the workpiece specications and the cutting conditions. These data are identical to the ones of gear hobbing, in addition to the teeth negative rake angle k and offset k . All these data may be inserted interactively using the graphical user interface (GUI) or selected by the implemented database. Besides these data, remembering that skiving is a nishing process, the geometry of a precut gear gap is also required. The geometry of such a gap depends

Fig. 3. Analytical determination of the protuberanz and skiving hob proles.

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on the geometry of the rough cutting teeth proles and is also determined with the aid of the FRSSKIV code. The principle of the algorithm is based on the mathematical description of the tool penetrations into the workpiece. The developed code allows the determination of the non-deformed chip cross-sections on the development of the cutting edge, as it is illustrated in the bottom part of Fig. 2 for a typical manufacturing case. The chip cross-sections are presented in successive tool revolving positions for every generating position, with a desired accuracy. In the middle part of this gure, the chip cross-sections are presented on the development of the cutting edge. It is obvious and expected that only the sides of the cutting teeth contribute to the material removal from the precut gear gaps. The chip geometry, besides its contribution to the description of the wear development on the cutting edge, is also used to automatically calculate the anticipated cutting forces and tool stresses in every generating position. Such parameters are very signicant, in order to establish stress strain and fatigue calculations for the cutting material, especially in cases of coated HSS or cemented carbide hobbing tools [11]. Fig. 3 illustrates the method that was adopted to determine the cutting proles of the rough and nishing cutting teeth, respectively. For the rst case, the geometry of the hard cutting proles is designated with the aid of formulation that may be found in the corresponding literature [12] (see the upper left part of Fig. 3). There are various proles that may be applied and the ensemble of them has been implemented in the FRSSKIV software. Furthermore, the geometry of the skiving teeth prole is determined analytically, using a strategy also presented in the same gure. The rst step of this task is to produce analytically the screw path that corresponds to the examined module and to the other geometrical tool features. This screw path is univocally dened and its formulation corresponds to the normal helix equations. The skiving tooth prole is then determined by intersecting the

screw path by the shaded plane, which corresponds to the rake angle k and to offset distance k . The rough cut prole simulates the rst manufacturing stage of the initially cylindrical workpiece and leaves a thin material volume, 0.2 mm thick in the case of the same gure, to be removed by the skiving prole. The bottom part of Fig. 3 illustrates the precut prole of the tool gap and the nal one, which is produced by the skiving nishing process. Moreover, the initial and the nal proles of the tool gap are compared in a single diagram, whereas a magnication of the material to be removed by the skiving process is also inserted.

3. Determination of the chip dimensions with the aid of hard cut proles The simulation principle of the gear rough cut is identical to the one that is utilized by the FRS modules in the case of hobbing, which is almost exclusively performed using proles according to the DIN 3792 norm [13]. Various rough cut proles may be selected from the FRSSKIV database, whereas in the case of Fig. 4, results of normal protuberanz prole are presented. The cutting process is divided in generating positions, which correspond to the successive cutting teeth of the protuberanz tool. The penetration of each of these generating positions within a gear is further divided in successive revolving position, whose number is a user-selectable parameter. The left part of Fig. 4 illustrates the produced chip for the generating position 0 of the specic cutting case. This generating position has been divided in 15 revolving positions and the non-deformed chip is presented over the development of the protuberanz prole. As it is expected, the leading ank, the trailing ank and the head of the rough cut prole together, contribute to the material removable, in contrast to the skiving prole that cuts only at its anks. The

Fig. 4. Determination of undeformed chip cross-sections in gear pre-cutting.

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Fig. 5. Gear hobbing and skiving kinematics and consequent coordinate systems of the chaintool, machine tool and workpiece.

right part of the same gure, illustrates the arrangement of 15 successive revolving positions, which divide the generating position inserted in the left part of Fig. 4, relatively to the workpiece. From these revolving positions of the examined cutting tooth, it is evident that only 11 are active (515th), i.e. they contribute to the material removal and produce chip cross-sections. This illustration has been produced by output data of the FRSSKIV code and exhibit the progressive formation of one gear gap.

4. Coordinate systems In order to be able to simulate sufciently the tool penetrations into the workpiece, for both rough cut and nishing processes, a complicated sequence of plane intersections

has to be performed. For this purpose, the toolmachine workpiece chain is approached by means of specic coordinate systems. Any data swapping between these coordinates systems is carried out with the aid of transformation matrices. In former investigations (FRS, FRSDYN and FREFEM modules) six discrete coordinate systems were determined and are presented in the left part of Fig. 5. In the cases of protuberanz or other rough cut proles, where the rake angle equals to zero, the same coordinate systems can be adopted. On the other hand, the negative rake angle k requires an additional seventh system, in order to be handled. This coordinate system is presented in the right part of Fig. 5 and is situated on the skiving rake prole. The graph inserted in the same gure part explains how the seventh coordinate system follows the path of the cutting prole.

Fig. 6. Discretization of the momentary gear gap of hobbing and calculation of skiving tool rake sections with the produced gear gap.

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Fig. 7. Chip cross-sections in gear skiving.

5. Determination of chip formation in gear skiving The core task, when simulating processes based on the rolling principle, is the determination of the toolworkpiece intersections. This is the pure geometrical assignment and normally the consequent mission is to turn the output data into chip terms. The purpose of this transformation is to predict cutting parameters, such as the cutting force components and the tool wear progress, which are magnitudes directly correlated to the non-deformed chip dimensions. The method for this conversion is presented in Fig. 6 and is based on the gear hobbing simulation introduced in the FRS code. The momentary gear gap at hobbing, i.e. the one that is produced by one generating position, is determined by analyzing the intersection planes of each revolving position. These discrete intersections compose a three-dimensional mesh, which is the nal form of the gear gap that is produced by a gear hobbing generating position. To compose this three-dimensional mesh of a gear gap, each of the polylines describing the gap section at the corresponding cutting levels, is divided to a certain number of nodes. In a step forward the simulation of skiving uses this gear hobbing gap, in order to calculate the tool rake sections with the gear gap, also considering the special geometry of the skiving tooth prole. This approach is totally reasonable, considering that both skiving and hobbing tools execute identical kinematics and follow the same path. The nal step is the computational determination of the chip cross-sections, which are laid on the aforementioned sections. This precedure is carried out with such a sequence, remembering that the rake angle in gear skiving teeth is too high to suppose perpendicular sections to the three-dimensional gear gaps, as in the case of gear hobbing. The intersecting reference plane density increases the

numerical accuracy but not innitely. Normally, 3050 revolving positions was found to be the appropriate range for sufcient accuracy. The aforementioned method is presented in Fig. 7 for one specic manufacturing case. This cutting event was found to require 31 successive positions (15 to 15 including 0), in order to be competed. The diagram of the bottom left part of this gure illustrates the maximum produced chip thickness by the leading and the trailing anks, respectively. The upper left part of the same gure presents the chip cross-sections of generating position zero, over the development of the skiving prole. The tool penetration is produced using 15 reference planes, according to the previously described algorithm. On the other hand, the diagrams inserted in the right part of Fig. 7 illustrate the 15 corresponding reference planes, after the end of the cutting proccess. Diagram 15 exhibits the nal formation of the gear gap. With the aid of this algorithm, the chip geometry is precisely determined and the developed program is able to determine the cutting force components.

6. Cutting force components determination and comparison between analytical and experimental results The formulation of the cutting force components, given the dimensions of the non-deformed chips, is well established and thoroughly described in the corresponding literature. The applied method is similar to the one that has been presented in former investigations, in the case of milling and gear hobbing [48]. However, the analytical prediction of the cutting force components in gear skiving was not possible, since the chip formation mechanisms were not specied up to the present research work. Despite the lack of analytical results related to the skiving cutting force

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Fig. 8. Calculated and measured cutting force components at the tooth rake face coordinate system 7.

components, considerable work has been performed mainly in the eld of experimental determination for such data [14,15]. Hereby, the experimentally derived force data are here compared to the analytical ones, for identical cutting conditions and toolworkpiece systems. The cutting force components are calculated automatically by the FRSSKIV software, through the integration of elementary force components that each particular chip cross section produces. The coefcients of the KienzleVictor equations for the specic tool and workpiece materials were analytically experimentally determined. Fig. 8 illustrates analytical and experimental results for a certain cutting case. More specically, the cutting force components FX , FY and FZ are presented for one cutting tooth, versus the rake face

revolving position. The dashed regions of the analytical results correspond to the same revolving positions of the experimental ones. The analytical cutting force components along the X- and Z-axis are in good agreement with the corresponding experimental ones, whereas the corresponding analytical ones along the y-direction are considerably lower. This diversion is attributed to chip thickness modications for various revolving positions, which are not able to be included in the method developed. Moreover, Fig. 9 illustrates analytical and experimental cutting force components, which have been transformed to the machine tool coordinate system 3. Such data may be exploited by skiving machine tools designers, in order to optimize their products. The diversion between the

Fig. 9. Calculated and measured cutting force components at the machine tool coordinate system 3.

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Fig. 10. Cutting force components at individual generating positions, occurring in gear skiving.

analytical force components along the y-axis and the corresponding experimental ones may be observed, also in this case. Finally, Fig. 10 presents computational and measured cutting force components versus the successive generating positions. The divergence of the force component along the y-axis is still present, but it is remarkable that the analytically determined of the distribution of this axis closely follows the corresponding experimentally one.

7. Conclusions Gear skiving is nowadays an attractive alternative in gear nishing process. However, the analytical determination of the chip formation mechanisms and the consequent denition of the course of the cutting force components were not available. The research work presented in this paper, extends forward investigations related to the simulation of gear manufacturing and yields the aforementioned data quantitatively, with the aid of software tools. The highlights of the present investigations are the possibility to simulate the rough cut of gears with various cutting proles, the consequent analytical determination of the nishing material removal and the nal prediction of the cutting forces course. Further work in this eld aims to step forward the optimization of the skiving process, implemented also the wear progress prediction of expensive tools, which are required in this gear nishing method. References
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