A method of machining a tooth flank of a gear with a gear machining tool. The method comprises rotating the tool and bringing the tool and the tooth flank into contact. Relative movements are provided between the tool and the gear to traverse the tool across the tooth flank along a path whereby the path produces a tooth flank geometry of a form which, when brought into mesh with a mating tooth flank under no load or light load to form a tooth pair, provides a motion graph curve comprising a sinusoidal portion (62, 89, 91, 90, 63) and a parabolic portion (92).

By combining shaping and milling actions, or smilling, the cutting tool can move through the entire usable portion of the spline and machine a tool relief into the face of the adjacent feature such as a shoulder before retracting, reversing direction, and repeating the cycle. The smilling apparatus and manufacturing method eliminates the need for an annular spline relief and the full length of spline engagement can be utilized for strength. The effective width of the spline connection apparatus manufactured by the smilling process conserves space and increases the load carrying capability of the spline connection.

A method for forming an assembly having a housing and first and second components. The first and second components are movable relative to one another in the housing. The method includes: providing first and second workpieces; moving the first and second workpieces relative to one another in a predetermined manner that produces relative sliding contact between the first and second workpieces while performing a superfinishing operation on the first and second workpieces to form the first and second components, respectively, wherein the superfinishing operation does not comprise a lapping operation; and mounting the first and second components in the housing such that the first and second components are engaged to one another and are movable relative to one another in the predetermined manner.

To provide a gear machining device and a gear machining method which achieve machining of tooth flanks having different torsion angles with high degree of accuracy. In a gear machining device, a side surface of a tooth of a gear includes a first tooth flank and a second tooth flank having a different torsion angle from the first tooth flank, a cutting blade of a machining tool has a blade traces having a torsion angle determined based on a torsion angle of the second tooth flank and an intersection angle between a rotation axis of a workpiece and a rotation axis of the machining tool so as to allow the second tooth flank to be machined on the pre-machined first tooth flank.

Methods and apparatuses enabling/improving retractability of a first bevel gear that with at least one second bevel gear forms a transmission, performing: a retractability analysis including: ascertainment whether during the installation in a housing the first gear can be engaged by an axial insertion movement with the second gear and/or the first gear can be separated from the engagement with the second gear by an axial retraction movement, and if a collision results during the engagement or separation between teeth of the gears ascertainment of a flank modification of the teeth of the first and/or second gears to avoid the collision, ascertainment of second machine data of based on this modification, and finish machining in a bevel gear cutting machine to perform the flank modification according to the second machine data on the teeth of the respective gears.

A gear assembly that can prevent a reduction in power transmission efficiency and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The gear assembly comprises a first gear and a second gear. The gear assembly is designed in such a manner that first gear tooth and the second gear tooth are contacted properly to each other in a plane of action when operated in a predetermined condition. A rigidity reducing portion is formed on a first base portion to avoid improper contact in the plane of action when the gear assembly is operated in a different condition.

A machining process for straight bevel gears having very short machining times. In one embodiment. both members of a straight bevel gearset are machined in a non-generated form cutting or a form grinding process. The tool profile has the shape of a mirrored involute which is determined from the equivalent spur gear of each respective straight bevel gear. In another embodiment. one member of a straight bevel gearset is machined in a non-generated form cutting or a form grinding process and the other member of the gearset is machined in a generating process.

By combining shaping and milling actions, or smilling, the cutting tool can move through the entire usable portion of the spline and machine a tool relief into the face of the adjacent feature such as a shoulder before retracting, reversing direction, and repeating the cycle. The smilling apparatus and manufacturing method eliminates the need for an annular spline relief and the full length of spline engagement can be utilized for strength. The effective width of the spline connection apparatus manufactured by the smilling process conserves space and increases the load carrying capability of the spline connection.

An apparatus including a first spindle group for chucking a first gear, whereby the first gear is mountable on the first spindle group so that it is rotatable, and a second spindle group for chucking a second gear, whereby the second gear is mountable on the second spindle group so that it is rotatable. The apparatus further defining a first linear axis oriented to perform a first linear displacement of the first spindle group relative to the second spindle group; a second linear axis oriented to perform a second linear displacement of the first spindle group relative to the second spindle group; and at least one of a swivel axis oriented to perform pivoting of the first spindle group thereabout, and a swivel axis oriented to perform pivoting of the second spindle group thereabout.