The Basics of Gear Manufacturing

Gear manufacturing is in essence, the process of creating gears. There are a number of ways gears can be manufactured, which starts with metal being cut and crafted to a specific size. There are no teeth yet at this stage of gear manufacturing as what is produced is called a ‘gear blank’. Once the gear blank is produced, there are a number of processes it undergoes, which are generally as follows:

 

Gear Formation

At this stage, a cutting tool is used to form the teeth of the gear. The cutting edge would be shaped in the form identical to the space to be created between the gear teeth.

 

Form Milling

During this process, form cutter travels on the axis of the gear blank in order to cut the proper depth and length of the tooth. After cutting the tooth, the gear is rotated on its axis in order for the form cutter to repeat the same process in creating the next tooth or spline.

 

Gear Broaching

This part of the gear manufacturing process occurs when internal splines are to be created. This process of broaching utilizes rapid succession of form milling. Because it is done internally, dimensional accuracy is paramount, making this process an expensive one. While the process above is for teeth creation in gear manufacturing, there are a number of processes that provide strength and finishing to the gear. These include casting, extrusion, forging and powder metallurgy.

 

Interested in finding out more about the different processes? Get in touch with us at True Gear today! Our facility is equipped to handle all varieties of gear manufacturing including:

 

• Spur and helical gears
• Splines
• Herringbone and double helical gears
• Bevel gears
• Internal gears
• Worms and worm gears
• Sprockets

 

For a full list of our products, head to our website at: http://true-gear.com/products.html