Abstract: A rack (12, 14) for burnishing toothed gears (16) is disclosed as having an elongated body of a multiple section construction that provides accentuated axial crowns to gear teeth burnished by the rack. Leading and trailing sections (36, 38) of the rack each have a tooth forming face (44) that provides the rotary support for the gear and the burnishing of the gear teeth (46) as the gear rotates between a cooperative pair of the racks. One of the toothed forming faces, preferably the trailing one, is slightly inclined with respect to the other rack section in a lateral direction along the elongated length of the body so as to provide the accentuated axial crowns on the burnished gear teeth. Both the leading and trailing rack sections are preferably mounted on a base (42) that interconnects the rack sections.

Abstract: A loader (10) for a gear burnishing machine includes a gear carrier (144) and a guide embodied by a rack (122) for cooperating to move a gear to be burnished into meshing relationship with a gear rack of the burnishing machine. A hopper (22) including a feed mechanism provides feeding of the gears to the carrier. Carrier movement moves the gears from the hopper to the machine as the guide rack aligns the gear teeth for meshing with the gear rack teeth. A retaining shaft of the carrier captures the gears between spaced retainers of the carrier as the gears move to the machine for burnishing. A retaining member (66) and a movable dog (84) of the feed mechanism cooperate in feeding gears to the carrier. After burnishing, an actuator including a pusher (204) moves the burnished gear off the guide to a delivery unit 14 including an inclined ramp (198).

Abstract: The machine disclosed includes apparatus for splining thin-walled sleeves of power transmission members that are mounted on a toothed mandrel between a pair of toothed dies by an automatic loader which also removes the members from the mandrel after the splining. Loading and unloading members of the loader are moved axially along the axis of mandrel rotation by associated actuating cylinders to move members to be splined from an indexer onto the mandrel and to move the members after splining from the mandrel back to the indexer. Clamping surfaces on the end of the mandrel and a rotatable clamp of the loading member position the sleeve of a member being splined over the mandrel teeth. The unloading member is received within a central opening of the mandrel and has an annular centering surface that properly locates the member being splined.

Abstract: A tooth forming machine disclosed provides high production output and accurately controlled tooth forming due to the provision of equal displacement hydraulic cylinders which reciprocate die racks on upper and lower base portions connected by a base connecting portion and preloaded deflection control connections. Each cylinder includes a hollow housing, a slidable piston received within the housing, a hollow connecting rod secured to the slidable piston and projecting outwardly from the housing, and a stationary piston received within the hollow rod while allowing movement of the slidable piston. An annular pull chamber and a push chamber of the same cross-sectional area are defined by the cylinder components and alternately fed pressurized hydraulic fluid from a closed loop pump system while fluid from the other chamber is returned to the pump system in order to extend or retract the cylinder and thereby move the associated die rack in one direction or the other.

Abstract: Apparatus and a method for burnishing gears incorporating a pair of gear racks having opposed forming faces with teeth spaced therealong for meshing with a toothed gear received therebetween to provide the sole support for the gear as it is rotated by rack movement while the rack teeth burnish the gear teeth. A loader is positioned on one lateral side of the gear racks and includes a movable gripper mechanism that positions the gears to be burnished between the racks for meshing engagement therewith as the racks are driven by a reciprocal drive mechanism of the apparatus. Grippers of the gripper mechanism grip the gears during loading and have pushers that push the burnished gears to a delivery guide on the opposite lateral side of the gear racks from the loader.

Abstract: A grinding machine and dresser therefor for dressing a grinding wheel of the machine to grind a crooked configuration in a workpiece. The dresser includes a holder for a template having the cutting profile of the grinding wheel as well as a holder for a cutting tool that dresses the wheel. The tool holder is mounted for movement with a template follower in an antifriction manner so that the cutting tool dresses the grinding wheel with the cutting profile. Cutting profiles for grinding precise toothed configurations are possible with the dresser. A carriage of the machine on which the dresser is mounted is slidably movable with respect to a base of the machine by axial movement of a dual threaded drive screw having right and left-hand threaded portions spaced axially along its length.

Abstract: A rotary forming machine and a rotary tool utilized therewith for performing a forming operation on a workpiece. A work spindle rotatably mounts the workpiece about a first axis and a pair of tool spindles which each support a plurality of the tools are rotatably mounted about spaced second axes on opposite sides of the first axis. Each tool has a partially circular forming face extending about the associated tool spindle axis for an angle less than 180 degrees with forming projections that engage the workpiece. Associated pairs of the tools on the two tool spindles cooperate with each other to simultaneously form the workpiece in an opposed relationship to each other. Each tool includes a metallic body with a leading end and a trailing end between which its forming face extends as do base and side wall surfaces. The rotary tools preferably have elongated shapes with maximum heights that are approximately 25 percent of their length.

Abstract: Apparatus and a method for splining annular thin wall power transmission members in a manner that provides precise spline formation and accurately maintains the roundness of the splined members. A toothed pinion type mandrel of the apparatus mounts a power transmission member to be splined between a pair of cooperable dies of the apparatus. Each die has at least one first tooth group and a second tooth group, and teeth of each tooth group are spaced therealong with the teeth of the first group spaced farther from each other than the teeth of the second group. Driving of the dies relative to each other and the power transmission member mounted on the mandrel initially engages the farther spaced teeth with the mounted transmission member so as to cooperate in a meshing relationship with the toothed mandrel with the power transmission member therebetween to form a first set of splines.

Abstract: A method and machine for splining a power transmission member by rolling are disclosed as well as the resultant splined member. An externally toothed pinion-type mandrel of the machine is rotatably mounted between a pair of elongated dies. An unsplined member is supported by the mandrel so that sliding movement of the elongated dies from an end-to-end relationship to an overlapping relationship meshes teeth on the dies and the teeth on the mandrel with a thin-walled annular sleeve portion of the member therebetween. The meshing of the die and mandrel teeth deforms the sleeve portion of the member radially to form the splines and also rotates the mandrel to complete the spline forming operation about the total circumference of the member. The mandrel may be removably mounted in a manner that permits a pair of the members to be simultaneously splined by a single stroke of the elongated dies.