5-axis milling of bevel gears 2

[geesamand]

I've been reading up on the advancements here. It would appear that more than one vendor can produce Klingelnberg and Gleason design bevels in both soft- and hard-cut finishes all on the same machine. They claim cost advantages for very large gears and for small lot sizes. I'm also interested because the geometry is 100% known in digital form and can be confirmed using CMM equipment. I'm keen to find a job shop with one of these systems.

Anyone have experience with it? What limitations does it bring compared to traditional machines? What did you find advantageous?

 

[tbuelna]

geesamand,

Take a look here:

http://spiralbevel.com/gear_cutting

For one or two pieces 5-axis milling of spiral bevels is way cheaper for sure. As long as the CAD surface data is accurate then the milled tooth flank profile will be as good as the machine capability allows. Modern CNC milling machines can indeed give excellent accuracy, but the results will still not match the quality/precision of conventional grinding and honing. You'll have to decide whether the quality achievable with 5-axis milling is suitable for your application.

Good luck.
Terry

 

[spigor]

I needed a prototype spiral bevel gear pair, and the price quoted by those 5-axis milling shops was in the range of 2.000-3.000 EUR. I got it from a gear shop for half of this.