Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method of truing and angling the blades of a form-relieved face mill cutter during the blade sharpening process thus eliminating a separate time-consuming procedure for truing and angling. The position of the cutting edge of each blade is determined and a reference blade is selected. The sharpening plane of each remaining cutting blade is repositioned, if needed, such that after removing stock material from the blades in accordance with the newly repositioned sharpening plane, the cutting edge of each blade will follow essentially the same path when the cutter is rotated about its axis.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a process for feeding a tool relative to a workpiece in a machining process such as a process for forming bevel and hypoid gears. The method comprises feeding the tool from an initial contact position with the workpiece to a full depth position in the workpiece along a feedpath at least a portion of which is defined by a feed vector having at least two feed vector components lying in an axial plane. The first feed vector component being substantially in the direction of the axis of a theoretical generating gear and the second feed vector component being substantially in a direction perpendicular to the generating gear axis. The feed vector may include a third feed vector component lying in a normal plane. With this feedpath undesirable tool shifting and workpiece spiral angle changes are significantly reduced.

Abstract: A method of sharpening cutting blades of the type made from bar stock type material, the method comprising producing relief surfaces on the cutting profile surface. The method comprises forming first and second relief surfaces on the cutting profile surface. The first relief surface extends from a location inward of the cutting edge to the back face and is oriented at a first relief angle with respect to a side surface. The second relief surface extends from the cutting edge to the first relief surface and is oriented at a second relief angle with respect to the side surface with the second relief angle being smaller than the first relief angle.

Abstract: A multi-purpose probe module 82, comprising both a touch-trigger type contact probe 84 and a non-contact type probe 86, is used in method and apparatus for monitoring and adjusting the accuracy of a computer-controlled machine for manufacturing precision bevel and hypoid gears. The probe module is mounted on the machine's tool support and is used in conjunction with locating points positioned on the machine's work support to monitor and recalibrate the relative positions of the tool and work supports. The probe module is also used to monitor the flanks of the gear-shaped workpieces (a) for initial stock division, (b) for pre-machining accuracy, (c) for first-piece testing, (d) for in-process accuracy, and (e) for post-machining accuracy. The same probe module is used in combination with a sacrificial test wafer mounted on the work support for adjusting the position of the machine's cup-shaped grinding wheel following each dressing of the latter's working surfaces.

Abstract: A face mill type cutter, preferably a rotary ring cutter, having coolant passages located within the cutter to supply coolant to discharge outlets located between and/or in the stock removing surfaces located on the cutter. Coolant is supplied to the face mill cutter either by a coolant shroud arranged about at least a portion of the periphery of the cutter, or, by at least one coolant delivery passage arranged in the spindle of a machine tool.

Abstract: A method of dressing a threaded grinding wheel for grinding crown gears. The method comprises providing a dressing tool in the form of a pinion member with the dressing tool having the same pitch as a mating pinion member of the crown gear. Rotating the dressing tool and the grinding wheel at respective velocities whereby the dressing tool and grinding wheel may run in mesh with one another. Moving the dressing tool across the width of the grinding wheel simultaneously with the dressing tool and grinding wheel rotating in mesh, with the dressing tool moving completely along the width of the grinding wheel. The path that the dressing tool moves along being defined as an arcuate path about a point on the grinding wheel corresponding to a center point of the mating pinion.

Abstract: A grinding process and wheel are disclosed wherein any or all surfaces of a cutting blade may be generated in a continuous grinding operation utilizing a single grinding wheel having a simple profile. A grinding wheel having a grinding profile comprising an inner conical surface and an adjacent outer narrow substantially flat surface is provided. The inner conical surface rough grinds to generate a roughed blade surface and the adjacent outer narrow substantially flat surface finish grinds the roughed surface to generate a finished blade surface. Computer numerical control (CNC) is utilized to control the relative movement of the grinding wheel and cutting blade along or about a plurality of axes. Inner and outer arcuate grinding surfaces may also be provided for rough grinding.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a hobbing machine particularly for the production of spur and helical gears. The hobbing machine is characterized in that a separate mechanism for hob shifting is not required. The hob shifting, as well as other machine motions, is carried out by linear movement of the tool and workpiece relative to one another in up to three mutually perpendicular directions. The machine also includes tool support means to which the hobbing tool is mounted and which is rotatably adjustable for controlling the angular orientation of the hobbing tool. A control system including a computer controls the linear movements, angularly adjustable tool support movements, as well as the necessary timed rotations of the tool and workpiece.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a rotary cutter for cutting gears, couplings and the like. The rotary cutter comprises a cutter head having an axis of rotation, a centering disc located adjacent to a side of the cutter head and concentric with the axis and a cutter ring, centered by the centering disc, on the cutter head. The centering disc has a tapered outer edge surface that abuts against and is complementary with the tapered surface of the bore of the cutter ring. The cutter ring is centered once the surfaces are complementary. Once centered, the cutter ring is secured to the cutter head. The rotary cutter of the present invention enables the cutter ring to rotate true about the axis of a machine tool.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a rotary cutter for cutting gears and the like. The rotary cutter has an axis of rotation and comprises a disc-shaped cutter head having a circumferential edge surface. The cutter head further includes an inner wall surface located radially inwardly with respect to the edge surface and being concentric about and extending parallel to the axis of rotation. The rotary cutter further includes a cutter ring located on the cutter head. The cutter ring has at least one stock removing surface located on a base portion with the base portion having an inside ring surface, an outside ring surface, and a base surface with the outside ring surface being perpendicular to the base surface. The cutter ring is in a radially expanded condition whereby the outside ring surface is seated against the inner wall surface of the cutter head and the base surface is seated against the first surface of the cutter head.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a process and apparatus for grinding tooth surfaces of spur and helical gears by a generating method. The outer tooth surfaces of a theoretical ring gear are conjugate to the grinding surfaces along the width of a generally hourglass shaped grinding wheel. The grinding wheel is rotated which in turn causes the theoretical ring gear to rotate. A work gear is rotated in mesh with the internal tooth surfaces of the theoretical ring gear and simultaneously is traveresed in mesh across the width of the grinding wheel with the center of the work gear moving in a path about the center of the theoretical ring gear.

Abstract: A grinding process and wheel are disclosed wherein any or all surfaces of a cutting blade may be generated in a continuous grinding operation utilizing a single grinding wheel having a simple profile. A grinding wheel having a grinding profile comprising an inner conical surface and an adjacent outer narrow substantially flat surface is provided. The inner conical surface rough grinds to generate a roughed blade surface and the adjacent outer narrow substantially flat surface finish grinds the roughed surface to generate a finished blade surface. Computer numerical control (CNC) is utilized to control the relative movement of the grinding wheel and cutting blade along or about a plurality of axes. Inner and outer arcuate grinding surfaces may also be provided for rough grinding.

Abstract: A rotary disc cutter for cutting workpieces, especially gears and the like. The rotary cutter comprises a plurality of cutting blades arranged about the periphery of a rotary disc cutting body with at least a portion of the blades being roughing blades comprising a tip and two sides with each side having first and second side portions. The first side portion along with the tip defining a cutting surface of the blades while the second side portion is relieved such that a clearance is formed between the second side portion and the surface of the workpiece. The clearance being of a dimension to allow the flow of coolant therethrough thereby improving the cooling of the cutting surface and enhancing the flow of chips away form the vicinity of the blades. The invention further includes a substantially reduced number of blade segments. Alternative blade tip configurations are also disclosed.

Abstract: A tool, for dressing both the inside and outside working surfaces of cup-shaped abrasive wheels used for grinding gears, is disclosed along with methods and apparatus for using the tool. The working portion of the dressing tool has a cylindrical shape with an outside surface parallel to its axis of rotation and a top surface extending radially, to the axis of rotation. The apparatus orients the tool relative to the grinding wheel so that only the outer cylindrical surface of the tool is used to dress the inside working surface of the grinding wheel, while only the top surface of the tool is used to dress the outside working surface of the wheel.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a rotary cutter for cutting gears, couplings and the like. The rotary cutter comprises a cutter head having an axis of rotation, a centering disc located adjacent to a side of the cutter head and concentric with the axis and a cutter ring, centered by the centering disc, on the cutter head. The centering disc has a tapered outer edge surface that abuts against and is complementary with the tapered surface of the bore of the cutter ring. The cutter ring is centered once the surfaces are complementary. Once centered, the cutter ring is secured to the cutter head. The rotary cutter of the present invention enables the cutter ring to rotate true about the axis of a machine tool.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for stock dividing gear-shaped workpieces mounted on the work spindle of a gear-finishing tool. A work spindle encoder provides instantaneous angular position information when the surface of leading and trailing flanks of the workpiece teeth are sensed by a probe. This instantaneous position information is used to generate two sets of measured error values which relate, respectively, to the leading and trailing flanks and which are indicative of the differences between the sensed surrfaces and the desired surfaces of a correctly-sized gear. These sets of error values are analyzed using fourier transform techniques to generate (a) a first harmonic for each set and (b) a set of modified error values for each leading and trailing flank corresponding to each respective first harmonic.

Abstract: A method is disclosed wherein standard generating motions for the production of bevel and hypoid gears are modified by the substantially simultaneous inclusion of additional controlled motions which enable a desired tooth surface geometry to be produced on the gears. The additional motions comprise varying the position of intersection of the theoretical generating gear axis and the pitch plane and/or varying the orientation of the tooth surfaces of the theoretical generating gear with respect to the body of the theoretical generating gear. A CNC machine is preferably utilized for carrying out the inventive process. The inventive process is applicable to generating processes of both the face milling and face hobbing type.

Abstract: A method of forming a relief at the toe end of the teeth on a bevel gear is disclosed. The width of the blades that cut the longitudinally extending convex or concave profiles of the flanks of the teeth is increased to a dimension greater than the width of the tooth slot at the toe end whereby additional stock is removed from the toe end of the flank opposite the flank being cut by the blades. The relief is formed at the toe end of each tooth with the relief being on the same flank profile for all teeth. Lapping interference is eliminated. A separate chamfering operation is not required.

Abstract: A process of forming the longitudinally curved teeth of bevel and hypoid gears is disclosed. A dish-shaped tool is oscillated relative to a work gear with the oscillating causing the dish-shaped tool to swing through an arc corresponding to the longitudinally curved teeth of the work gear. The inventive process comprises additional motions included in a timed relationship with the oscillating motion of the dish-shaped tool. The included motions are functions of the phase angle of the oscillating dish-shaped tool and the timed relationships are defined by a power series. The process enables improved control of contact patterns of mating gear teeth. The process may be computer numerically controlled. The process is applicable to cutting or grinding processes utilizing, respectively, dish-shaped cutting tools or dish-shaped grinding wheels.

Abstract: A gear-shaped tool (30) having stock removing surfaces (38) is rotated together with a bevel or hypoid work gear (32) in accordance with their respective number of teeth, and the gear-shaped tool 30 is also moved relative to the work gear (32) in the manner of a theoretical generating gear (46) rolling through mesh with the work gear (32) for generating desired tooth surfaces (40) in the work gear (32). Generating motions of between the gear-shaped tool (30) and work gear (32) may be controlled independently of indexing motions of the gear-shaped tool (30) and work gear (32) to improve performance of a gear finishing operation.