Numerous mechanical devices rely on components like gears during operation. Gears facilitate the coordinated functioning of other parts. Gear quality varies significantly, which is closely tied to their manufacturing processes. The four primary gear manufacturing processes include blank machining, tooth profile machining, heat treatment, and tooth finishing. Detailed descriptions of each process follow:
1.Blank Machining: This stage involves preliminary machining of gear blanks (such as forgings, bars, or castings) to establish reference surfaces for subsequent tooth profile machining. By machining the bore and end faces, precision is ensured to meet specified technical requirements, laying the foundation for tooth profile machining.
2.Tooth Profile Machining: As the core process, this stage employs techniques like gear hobbing, gear shaping, and gear broaching to transform the blank into a gear shape conforming to the drawing specifications. Hobbing and broaching employ the generating method principle, cutting tooth profiles through meshing motion between tool and workpiece, achieving high precision. Gear hobbing uses the forming method, directly cutting with milling cutters matching the tooth slot shape, though it is less efficient and primarily used for single-piece or small-batch production.
3.Heat Treatment: Based on gear material and application requirements, this stage improves gear performance through processes like quenching and tempering or carburizing and quenching. Quenching and tempering eliminates residual stresses from forging and rough machining, enhancing machinability. Carburizing and quenching significantly increases tooth surface hardness and wear resistance, extending gear service life.
4.Tooth Profile Finishing: To correct potential deformation after quenching, processes like shaving, grinding, and honing are employed to refine the tooth profile, further improving accuracy and reducing surface roughness. For instance, shaving removes minute chips through the free meshing motion between the shaving cutter and the gear, suitable for finishing non-hardened tooth surfaces. Gear grinding, employing abrasive wheels, is the sole finishing method for hardened gears, achieving the highest precision grades (3-4) and lowest surface roughness (below Ra 0.2 μm).
This concludes our introduction to the four primary gear manufacturing processes. Our company has achieved mature expertise in gear processing technology, delivering stable and reliable manufacturing quality. We also employ advanced production lines to achieve optimal heat treatment results.