A method to form a gear for motor vehicles includes one or more of the following: placing a blank between a first tool member and a second tool member, each of the first tool member and the second tool member having a set of teeth; and moving the first tool member and the second tool member towards the blank while rotating the first tool member and the second tool member to form a gear with a set of teeth from the blank. Each tooth of the set of teeth has a topography that varies tooth-to-tooth.

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).

The invention relates to a method for machining the tip circle diameter of a tooth system (4) of a gearwheel (6), in which the gearwheel (6) rotates about a workpiece axis of rotation (Rw), and in which at least one tooth (9) of the tooth system (4) is machined, by removing chips, by means of a tool (7, 7′) that rotates about a tool axis of rotation (Rz) oriented at an axial distance (A′, A″) relative to the workpiece axis of rotation (Rw). According to the invention, the tool (7, 7′) is disk-shaped, the disk-shaped tool (7, 7′) machines the tip surface (8) of the tooth (9), by removing chips, with at least one partial segment (10a) of its circumferential edge configured as a defined blade (10), wherein a relative movement between the tool (7, 7′) and the gearwheel (6), oriented in the axial direction of the tooth system (4), is carried out during the chip-removing machining, as a consequence of which movement the tool (7, 7′) sweeps over the tip surface (8), and the tool axis of rotation (Rz) is oriented at an axis intersection angle (Σ″) of 5° to 40° with respect to the workpiece axis of rotation (Rw). In this way, efficient and highly precise machining of the tip circle diameter is made possible. The invention also states a method for producing a gearwheel, in which the tooth system (4) is produced on a gearwheel blank (5) by means of hob peeling before machining of the tip circle diameter according to the invention, as well as a combination tool, in which a hob-peeling wheel for producing the gearwheel and a disk-shaped tool for machining the tip circle diameter according to the invention are combined with each other.

The present disclosure comprises a gear manufacturing machine comprising a workpiece holder and a tool holder, which can each be caused to rotate by means of a drive, wherein the tool holder is arranged on a machining head, which can be moved relative to the workpiece holder by one or a plurality of motion axes of the gear manufacturing machine for gear manufacturing machining a workpiece held in the workpiece holder by means of a tool held in the tool holder, the tool holder having a counterholder. According to the present disclosure the counterholder is movable by a motion axis from its working position to an inactive position and/or is arranged on the machining head of the gear manufacturing machine in a releasably connectable manner.

A method to form a gear for motor vehicles includes one or more of the following: placing a blank between a first tool member and a second tool member, each of the first tool member and the second tool member having a set of teeth; and moving the first tool member and the second tool member towards the blank while rotating the first tool member and the second tool member to form a gear with a set of teeth from the blank. Each tooth of the set of teeth has a topography that varies tooth-to-tooth.

The present disclosure comprises a gear manufacturing machine comprising a workpiece holder and a tool holder, which can each be caused to rotate by means of a drive, wherein the tool holder is arranged on a machining head, which can be moved relative to the workpiece holder by one or a plurality of motion axes of the gear manufacturing machine for gear manufacturing machining a workpiece held in the workpiece holder by means of a tool held in the tool holder, the tool holder having a counterholder. According to the present disclosure the counterholder is movable by a motion axis from its working position to an inactive position and/or is arranged on the machining head of the gear manufacturing machine in a releasably connectable manner.

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).

The invention relates to a method for machining the tip circle diameter of a tooth system (4) of a gearwheel (6), in which the gearwheel (6) rotates about a workpiece axis of rotation (Rw), and in which at least one tooth (9) of the tooth system (4) is machined, by removing chips, by means of a tool (7, 7) that rotates about a tool axis of rotation (Rz) oriented at an axial distance (A, A) relative to the workpiece axis of rotation (Rw). According to the invention, the tool (7, 7) is disk-shaped, the disk-shaped tool (7, 7) machines the tip surface (8) of the tooth (9), by removing chips, with at least one partial segment (10a) of its circumferential edge configured as a defined blade (10), wherein a relative movement between the tool (7, 7) and the gearwheel (6), oriented in the axial direction of the tooth system (4), is carried out during the chip-removing machining, as a consequence of which movement the tool (7, 7) sweeps over the tip surface (8), and the tool axis of rotation (Rz) is oriented at an axis intersection angle (?) of 5? to 40? with respect to the workpiece axis of rotation (Rw). In this way, efficient and highly precise machining of the tip circle diameter is made possible. The invention also states a method for producing a gearwheel, in which the tooth system (4) is produced on a gearwheel blank (5) by means of hob peeling before machining of the tip circle diameter according to the invention, as well as a combination tool, in which a hob-peeling wheel for producing the gearwheel and a disk-shaped tool for machining the tip circle diameter according to the invention are combined with each other.

A gear machining apparatus includes a machining tool having a plurality of protruding tool edges on an outer periphery of the machining tool, and driving apparatuses that form a tooth on a work piece by rotating the machining tool around a central axis thereof, rotating the work piece W around a central axis thereof, and moving the machining tool relative to the work piece. Radial outer faces of the protruding tool edges form multiple steps that are parallel to the central axis of the machining tool such that the diameter of the machining tool increases in a stepwise manner from a tool leading end toward a tool base end of the machining tool.

The present invention achieves a machining apparatus which can easily be composed and a machining method which can perform gear machining or splined shaft machining easily by using an existing lathe. More specifically, the invention achieves a machining apparatus 1 comprising: a cutter 11 which includes a blade part 20 formed in the shape of a ring around a peripheral surface thereof and which is driven to rotate about an axis thereof; a workpiece holder 13 which holds a workpiece W rotatably; and a cutter driver 12 which moves the cutter 11 and the workpiece W relative to each other along an axial direction, wherein a gear or a splined shaft is formed on the peripheral surface of the workpiece W by synchronizing the rotation of the workpiece W with the relative movement of the cutter 11 and the workpiece W and by rotating the cutter 11, and wherein a plurality of the blade parts 20 are disposed side by side along the axis, the cutter driver 12 drives the cutter 11 to rotate in one direction around the axis and to reciprocate relative to the workpiece W along the axis, the workpiece holder 13 rotates the workpiece W in a forward/reverse direction in accordance with reciprocation of the cutter 11, and cutting is performed on the workpiece W so as to form thereon an external shape of a gear or a splined shaft by placing each of the blade parts 20 of the cutter 11 in contact with the peripheral surface of the workpiece W.