CAD-based simulation of the hobbing process for the manufacturing of spur and helical gears

Targeting an accurate and realistic simulation of the gear hobbing process, we present an effective and factual approximation based on three-dimensional computer-aided design. Hobbing kinematics is directly applied in one gear gap. Each generating position formulates a spatial surface path which bounds its penetrating volume into the workpiece. The three-dimensional surface paths generated from the combination of the relative rotations and displacements of hob and work gear are used to split the subjected volume, creating concurrently the chip and the remaining work gear solid geometries. The developed software program HOB3D simulates accurately the manufacturing of spur and helical gears, exploiting the modeling and graphics capabilities of a commercial CAD software package. The resulting three-dimensional solid geometrical data, chips and gears provide the whole geometrical information needed for further research, such as prediction of the cutting forces, tool stresses and wear development as well as the optimization of the gear hobbing process.