CTI-Symposium
Automotive Transmissions North America
Gear manufacturing simulation for high
quality/low cost
Dr C Zhou, Dr Shimin Mao
Smart Manufacturing Technology Ltd
Alex Tylee-Birdsall
Drive System Design Ltd
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 1
Gear Manufacturing
Requirements
Improvement of gear
manufacturing quality is a
permanent goal
Increasing demand for higher
quality lower cost transmissions
Improvement of gear quality
requires minimum investment
Manufacturing simulation is an
effective cost saving strategy
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 2
Gear Manufacturing Toolkit
Gear Hobbing / Shaping Cutting Simulation
Optimization of tool fillet to maximize bending
strength
Minimum 12% reduction in tooth bending stress
Potential for lower facewidth gears leading to
shorter transmissions and lower material costs
Shaving Dynamics Simulation
Audit of potential gear shaving problems at
design stage
Allows improvement in shaving quality before
cutting metal
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 3
Gear Manufacturing Toolkit
Hobbing / Shaping Process Simulation
Determination of likely gear quality based on
geometry and machine parameters
Ensures that process specification matches the
quality targets
Allows trouble shooting of problems in gear
manufacturing process
Identifies the potential root causes of poor
hobbing / shaping quality
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 4
Gear Cutter Optimisation
Current approach is a full fillet hob / shaper
tip using a circular radius
The use of a full fillet tip maximizes the fillet
radius to minimize root stresses
Full fillet radius
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 5
Gear Cutter Optimisation
Several methods can be used to evaluate
the optimized results
ISO 6336 (30 tangent to root fillet)
Form factor (YF)
Stress Correction Factor (YS)
Stress analysis by MASTA 3D based LTCA
Standard FEA package (Nastran / Ansys)
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 6
Gear Cutter Optimisation
Arbitrary curves assumed and the shape is to
be decided by optimization
The connecting positions between the fillet
and the profile, and between the fillet and the
root joint are decided by optimization
Connecting position
between fillet and root
Curve shape of fillet
can be arbitrary
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Gear Cutter Optimisation
From ISO 6336 the best fillet shall produce
the minimum product of:
Form factor (YF) x Stress Correction Factor (YS)
Multiple linear searches are used to obtain
best possible fillet shape
MASTA Software 3D based LTCA model can
be used for confirmation of stress reduction
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 8
Cutter Optimisation Example
Example - Pinion / wheel macro geometry
Parameter Name Pinion Wheel
Number Of Teeth z 15 64
Normal Module (mm) mn 2.25
Normal Pressure Angle () n 17.5
Helix Angle () 30
Transverse Pressure Angle () t 20.0053 20.0053
Reference Diameter (mm) d 38.971 166.277
Addendum Modification Factor x 0.7416 0.4
Addendum Modification Factor
0.7331 0.3029
(From Sn)
Tip Diameter (mm) da 46.808 174.377
Effective Tip Diameter (mm) dae 46.808 174.377
Root Diameter (mm) df 34.658 160.877
Normal Thickness (mm) sn 4.574 3.964
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 9
Cutter Optimisation Example
Example Pinion Hob Fillet
Before
Optimization
full fillet
After
Optimization
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 10
Cutter Optimisation Example
Example Wheel Hob Fillet
Before
Optimization
full fillet
After
Optimization
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 11
Cutter Optimisation Example
Example - Improvement of bending strength
Pinion
11.66%
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 12
Cutter Optimisation Example
Example - Improvement of bending strength
Wheel
28.22%
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 13
Further Gear Optimization
Normally the bending strength is more
critical for the pinion than the wheel
From the example the wheel improvement is
greater
This provides an opportunity to increase
pinion bending strength further by changing
addendum modification distribution
Total improvement for pinion would
therefore be greater than 12%
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 14
Shaving Dynamics Simulation
Control of Shaving Process
Control is difficult due to unsynchronized
transmitting relationship between gear blank and
shaver.
Difficult to predict accurately if there will be a
shaving problem before process is carried out
Current practice
10% -20% of gears in a single transmission can
have serious shaving problems
Problems normally solved by experience based
trial and error
This is a time consuming and costly approach
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 15
Shaving Dynamics Simulation
Requirements of simulation
At design stage, be able to audit for shaving
problems due to gear design
Be able to audit for the compatibility between
gear design, hobbing & shaving cutter design
Be able to assist in shaving troubleshooting
SMT approach
Simulate the shaving forces and their
distribution across the gear flank during shaving
Simulate the force variation via the full
redressing life of the shaving cutter
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 16
Shaving Simulation Example
Example of poor gear profile due to shaving
process
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 17
Shaving Simulation Example
Simulation Results
High resultant shaving force between roll angles at
2025 produces excessive negative material
Low resultant shaving force between roll angles at
3236 excessive positive material
This correlates very closely with the measured chart
Shaving
Simulation
Result
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 18
Shaving Dynamics Simulation
Predicted
result
consistent
with test
result
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 19
Hobbing / Shaping Process
Simulation
Requirements of Simulation
Check the compatibility of the gear design and
hobbing /shaping cutter dimension before
hobbing cutter / shaping cutter is ordered to
avoid ordering a hobbing / shaping cutter which
is too small.
Assist in hobbing /shaping process planning to
ensure the process specification matches with
the quality target.
Assist in identifying the potential root causes of
poor hobbing / shaping quality very quickly at
both prototype and production stages.
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 20
Hobbing / Shaping Process
Simulation
SMT Approach
Simulate how all key factors affect hobbing /
shaping quality
Hob /shaper dimensions & manufacturing tolerance
Hob /shaper redressing tolerance
Gear macro geometry.
Machine set up & tolerances
Process data such as feeds and speeds and etc.
Predict the profile, lead and pitch errors for any
assumed combination of the key factors and rate
to ISO quality standard
Two software modules have been developed
for simulation
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 21
Hobbing / Shaping Process
Simulation
Lead Error
Profile Error
Pitch Error
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 22
Process Simulation Example
Hobbing & shaving quality before improvement
After heat
Hobbing (ISO) Shaving (ISO)
treatment (ISO)
11 9 10
Quality after improvement by using the simulation
After heat Gear Parameters
Hobbing (ISO) Shaving (ISO)
treatment (ISO) Z=26, Mn=3.1,
8 6 7 PA=20, Spur Gear
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 23
Process Simulation Example
Hobbing Measurement
Before Improvement
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 24
Hobbing Problems
Identified & Solved
Excessive hobbing tolerance on the
gear due to:
Not positioned correctly between fixture
base and worktable of hobbing machine
Unsuitable mandrel/spline bore fitting
Hob arbor and shoulder
Hob shoulder had excessive run out
B C
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 25
Shaving Problems Identified
Shaving quality was poor and unstable,
shaving cutter life was extremely short due
to poor shaving dynamics
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 26
Shaving Problems Identified
Excessive run out during shaving due to the
unsuitable mandrel / spline bore fitting
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 27
Solution to Shaving Problems
Module Change from 3.1 to 3.2 to achieve
good shaving dynamics
A proper mandrel was used to replace the
old one
Before Improvement After Improvement
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 28
Conclusions
Following benefits are demonstrated by
using the manufacturing simulation toolkit
Significant saving in cost and process cycle time
Significant quality and performance gains with
no additional equipment investment
Improving gear quality and performance
The manufacturing simulation tools are available
as MASTA modules which are ready and easy to
use
All simulation modules currently in use and
solving practical manufacturing problems
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 29
Thank You For Your Attention!
SMT Limited
14 Regent Street
How to contact us? Nottingham
E: [email protected] NG1 5BQ
www.smartmt.com Tel: + 44 (0) 115 941 9839
FAX: +44 (0) 115 950 9278
Smart Manufacturing Technology 2008 30
