Double helical gears
Small gaps, maximum precision: double helical gears are used where high forces need to be transmitted and compact gearbox designs are required. KAPP NILES offers innovative solutions for the hard gear finishing of these demanding workpieces.
Precision manufacturing of double helical gears
Double helical gears consist of two symmetrically arranged helical gear sections with opposite helix angles. As a result, the axial forces within the gearbox cancel each other out. For the hard gear finishing of the tooth flanks by means of profile grinding, a gap between the gear sections is required to provide tool runout clearance.
Particularly in weight-critical applications, this gap should be kept as small as possible. At the same time, precision and production reliability must be maintained. To achieve this, KAPP NILES offers coordinated machine, tool and technology solutions.
Machines for any workpiece size
KAPP NILES offers machine concepts for grinding double helical gears in various size ranges. These include machines from the VX series with a horizontal workpiece axis, as well as machines from the KNG master, ZE, and KNG 5P expert series with a vertical workpiece axis.
All machines can be equipped with hardware and software packages specifically tailored to the grinding of double helical gears. Together with you, we will identify the machine best suited to your individual application.
Optimised tools
Double helical gears can be ground on KAPP NILES machines using both dressable and non-dressable profile grinding wheels. High-performance CBN tools offer the decisive advantage that their diameter can be optimally designed for the available gap width. This ensures consistent quality throughout the entire tool life.
Grinding spindles with counter-bearing
For achieving maximum material removal rates and surface quality, a two-stage process with CBN roughing and finishing tools is typically employed. For this purpose, we have developed optimised grinding spindles with counter-bearing that enable unique precision and productivity even with the smallest wheel diameters. The integrated HSK interface reduces set-up times to a minimum.
Grinding, measuring, documenting
A particular challenge is the process chain of stock-oriented alignment, grinding, measuring and documenting the material removal. At the same time, the position of the DHC point is optimised. With the integrated measurement probe and the associated software package, these tasks can be performed in a particularly user-friendly manner on our machines.
High-precision measurement
To verify the quality of ground double helical gears, our KNM 2X | 4X | 6X | 9X measuring machines can be used. They cover a range of measurement capacities and enable precise inspection of manufactured workpieces.
The position of the DHC point, one of the most important parameters for the entire gearbox, can also be measured and documented with high precision on KAPP NILES measuring machines. In this way, our measuring technology ideally complements the machining of double helical gears on the grinding machine.
Case study: Halving the gap width
How can the gap width of a double helical gear be reduced from 30 mm to 15 mm?
Together with a European aerospace manufacturer, we optimised the grinding process and developed a special grinding spindle with counter-bearing that delivers high precision and productivity even with very small wheel diameters. In the whitepaper, Holger Staub explains the results and background of this project.
Application example: aerospace
The demand for double helical gears in planetary gearboxes for civil aerospace engines continues to grow. Increasing requirements for weight reduction and fuel savings are driving the development of lighter and more compact components. As a result, the demands placed on hard gear finishing are also increasing. Innovative grinding processes and technologies from KAPP NILES deliver high precision and cost efficiency, even when machining double helical gears with extremely small gap widths.
Contact
Holger Staub
Head of Sales Asia & CIS
"I would be pleased to show you how to manufacture double helical gears with precision and cost efficiency using KAPP NILES technologies."