Gear Cutting And Manufacturing: An Overview

In the manufacturing industry, there are many processes involved, one of which is the gear-cutting process. It is any machining process for creating gear. The most common of these processes are hobbing, broaching, milling, and grinding. Cutting operations as such may occur either after or rather than the forming processes such as forging, extruding, investment casting or sand casting.

How do you go about cutting gears?

This process is done by using a form cutter on the milling machine. the cutter would move axially to produce gear teeth at the precise length and depth after which the cutter is then removed to allow the gear to rotate back to its next position.

In cutting, the toothed gears are an essential element in mechanical power transmission.

Gear shaper cutters are a variety of shaping tools that are used in gear cutting and shaping. It is a machine tool that is used in the cutting of the teeth of the external and internal gears and is a specialised application of the more generalised shallower machines.

The main function of a gear shaper is to process internal gears and stepped gears. And there are two basic types, cutters with permanent cutting edges attached to them and the other with interchangeable knives.

The gears are manufactured by casting, stamping, machining or by powder metallurgical processes and out of all these processes, the most commonly used and accurate methods of production of gears are by hobbling, broaching, mailing and grinding.

Let’s discuss the gear-cutting processes

• Gear broaching is the most common method of gear-making. It usually involves cutting out shapes and happens when you move a broach-cutting tool through an object. It is the ideal method for making internal gears and splines.
• Gear hobbing is known to be a quick and handy process in gear manufacture. A gear hobbing matching is used in this process and this machine makes use of a helical cutting tool or job that is then used to cut teeth into the blanks. Because of the speed of this process, it is more appropriate for large-scale production.
• Gear milling is a process done by using a form of the cutter on the milling machine. When this is done, the cutter moves axially to produce gear teeth at a precise length and depth.
• Gear grinding is done to remove surface material through friction on the gear blank. This is usually achieved by rubbing a rough surface against the piece of metal at a high speed to remove the material that the gear does not need. The small pieces would then be removed carefully at a time without affecting the overall gear material. Gear grinding requires you to properly fabricate the gear teeth from the gear blank
• Gear shaping is one of the oldest methods of making gear. It involves the use of a mounted grey blank in the shaper.
• Templet gear cutting involves the production of a gear tooth profile by a single cutting point tool.
• Gear finishing is a process that makes use of the rigid rolling die. It has a very precise tooth profile of the gear to finish.