Gear manufacturing is basically the process of creating or fabricating gears. The entire process starts from metal cutting and fabricating it to a specific size. Which will result to a no teeth gear called a gear blank. Once a specific gear blank for the required gear specification is produced, it will then go the following processes where it will be treated to produce to right gear required. Fabrication of gears involves three key processes, vital operations that handle the cutting of teeth to result into a top quality gear.
In this article, we will take you to the entire process of gear manufacturing. Giving you a tour through all the three main stages of the process. Allowing you to completely understand how the entire process works and how are gears created.
The Three Main Stages of Gear Manufacturing
Gear Formation: Once the gear blank is manufactured and ready. The first stage it will undergo is gear formation. In this stage, a precise cutting tool is used to form the teeth of the gear. The cutting tool will be shaped identically to the space that is intended to be created between the gear teeth.
Form Milling: The second stage of the process is called form milling. In this process, a form cutter travels on the axis of the gear blank in order to cut the proper depth and length of the tooth. Once the tooth is cut, the gear is rotated on its axis to allow the form cutter to cut the next tooth. The process is repeated until all the teeth of the gear are cut.
Gear Broaching: This stage is done if internal splines are to be created. This process uses a rapid succession of form milling because it is done internally. It requires extreme dimensional accuracy that makes it a very expensive process.