Development and validation of a cutting force model for generating gear grinding

Case hardened gears usually are hard finished to improve the load carrying capacity and the noise behavior. Generating gear grinding is one possible process for the hard finishing of gears and has replaced other grinding processes in batch production of small and middle size gears due to the high process efficiency. Despite the wide industrial application of this process only a few scientific analysis exist. The science-based analysis of generating gear grinding needs a high amount of time and effort. One reason are the complex contact conditions between tool and gear flank, which change continuously during the grinding process. This complicates the application of the existing knowledge of other grinding processes on generating gear grinding. The complex contact conditions lead to a high process dynamic which is a challenge for the design of machine tools, the control engineering and the process design. The knowledge of the cutting forces and their time dependent behaviour is necessary to describe and optimize the process dynamic. But the determination of the cutting forces in generating gear grinding process is not facilely possible at this time.