A Fuzzy Adaptive Controller for Constant Cutting Torque in High-Performance Gear Hobbing Process

Constant torque control in machining processes reduces the cycling time and energy consumption, while protecting the machine tool and cutting tool at the same time. This paper presents an adaptive fuzzy control system for optimizing the cutting torque in gear hobbing process. And during the machining process, the input and output scaling factors of the fuzzy controller can also be adjusted automatically according to the control effect. Therefore, this control system can achieve robust adaptive control of the spindle torque by regulating the feed rate in gear hobbing process with little intervention of humans. As a result, the fluctuation of the cutting torque in gear hobbing process is reduced and the machining efficiency is improved significantly.