Spline shafts can be categorized as male and female, and every male spline should fit into a female spline. For this reason, the right machining process should be used to create equally-spaced grooves across shafts. Internal splines also require perfect machining processes to achieve its required tooth profile in a tight space.

 

 

In today’s blog, we will be going over the different processes used to cut the teeth of splined shafts:

 

 

Broaching

Broaching involves the use of a toothed tool called a broach to remove unwanted material from the shaft. Specifically, linear broaching is used to cut the grooves of internal or external splines along the length of the shafts.

 

Milling

Milling involves the use of a rotating cutter that runs horizontally over the surface of the shaft. To cut the groove uniformly, the cutting tool must make several passes. This process could be time-consuming compared to hobbing and gear shaping.

 

Hobbing

Hobbing uses a hob with helical cutting teeth that rotate and progressively cut the external grooves of a shaft. The cutting edges of a hob work simultaneously, thus generating several teeth along the shaft. This makes hobbing a very highly productive process.  Particularly, dry hobbing without the use of coolants is cost-effective and environmentally-friendly.

 

Shaping

Gear shaping is one of the most widely used machining processes for creating internal splines and internal gears. During the process, the gear blank is mounted on a rotating table and then the cutter makes an oscillating movement to form the grooves. Gear shaping offers flexibility and high productivity, particularly for splined shafts and gears where clearance is an issue.

 

Indeed, a splined shaft can be machined using different processes depending on its spline type—external or internal. True Gears and Spline employ different machining process to create your desired splined shaft with the most precision and accuracy. Expertise with different kinds of processes allows us the flexibility to provide clients with maximum efficiency. Call us today to learn more about our services.