Dynamic grinding force model for face gear based on the wheel-gear contact geometry

The non-uniform grinding conditions due to the wheel-gear contact geometry lead to the changeable of grinding force in face gear grinding. As a result, the classical grinding force models for other gears are not applicable to the grinding process of face gear. In this work, a dynamic grinding force model for face gear was developed based on the wheel-face gear contact geometry. In this process, surface of a virtual pinion engaged with the face gear was divided into many micro-elements to calculate the undeformed chip thickness and number of effective abrasive grains. Considering the mechanical properties of the tool and workpiece materials, equations for the total normal and tangential force components were derived by using the grinding force model of single abrasive grain. For verifying the model, the measurement coordinate system was established to convert the spatial components of experimental grinding force into the normal grinding force and tangential grinding force. Experimental results show reasonable consistency with simulation results that validate the proposed model. Besides, main reason for the changeable of grinding forces from top to root of tooth surface can be summarized by the change of material removal rate caused by the interference grinding width of adjacent grinding trajectories. Characteristics of surface morphologies and surface roughness prove this reason as well. This work provides a method to obtain a uniform grinding force during the process of grinding face gear and can be utilized to optimize the grinding process for higher tooth surface integrity.