A fully integrated on-board unit is now available for Gleason vertical Power Skiving machines, allowing for the completely automated
re-sharpening of cutters used in the production of both soft and hardened gears up to 600mm in workpiece diameter.

By automating cutter re-sharpening operations, Gleason Power Skiving machines minimise operator involvement and greatly reduce the time that is typically required for tool changes and subsequent first-part inspection cycles. Additionally, the usual expense of external tool refurbishment can be avoided.

Compared to the typical cutter re-sharpening process, the new on-board unit is said to be both fast and simple.

The machine’s axes position the cutter to the grinding wheel, after which the integrated re-sharpening unit provides the necessary grinding strokes, while the cutter does the in-feed and the indexing from tooth to tooth — all performed automatically and ‘based on the cutter geometry that exists after a certain number of gears have been cut’.

Gleason says that, after the initial corrections are made (based on the first gear cut), a consistent gear quality is more easily maintained throughout the tool’s life.

The frequency of the re-sharpening cycles can be determined by the gear quality required.

Moreover, the tool cost per piece is considerably lower than with external reconditioning, as there are no tool changes, first-part inspections or machine adjustments during a cutter’s lifetime; neither are there handling and logistics costs for reconditioning cycles.

Further details can be found at the Web site (www.gleason.com/ps-cutter-sharpening).

Gleason has manufacturing operations in the USA, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, India, China and Japan. It has sales and service offices throughout North and South America, Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region.