Design and Manufacturing Technology of Flexspline's Spatial Tooth Profile in Harmonic Drive

After the analysis of the defects of traditional conjugate tooth profile design method, the traditional spatial tooth profile design method was optimized and improved in order to eliminate the disadvantageous effect of "cup opening angle" on harmonic drive after flexspline assembly, and the design method of the inclined adjustment of the wall thickness of the flexspline gear ring was put forward. For the design method of the inward inclination adjustment of the wall thickness of the flexspline gear ring, the manufacturing technology scheme of continuous cutting of flexspline tooth profile was put forward, the special fixture was designed, and the experimental trial production was made. The results show that, compared with the conventional flexspline tooth profile design model, the flexspline of the new spatial tooth profile does not interfere with the rigid wheel after assembly. The assembly stress is reduced by 50.2% and the meshing area is increased by 7.6%, the maximum process deviation of tooth profile is far less than the machining accuracy of the equipment. The experimental results are consistent with the theoretical analysis, so the feasibility of the method is verified. © 2019, Editorial Department, Journal of South China University of Technology. All right reserved.