Gear Cutting Machine Relieving Control via Motor Substitution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gear cutting machines struggle to accurately control the relieving operation, particularly in crowning and tapering processes, due to the reliance on cam mechanisms that are difficult to adjust and lack clear control methods for achieving desired gear shapes.
Innovation Solution
A gear cutting machine equipped with a motor control unit that controls the rotation angle of a relieving spindle motor based on the cutter spindle motor's rotation angle, using a crank mechanism and four-bar link mechanism to precisely manage the cutter's movement, allowing for accurate control of the relieving operation on x-y coordinates and formation of universal cam curves.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a cam mechanism is used to control the relieving operation, then the cutter follows a fixed path determined by the cam shape, but the relieving operation cannot be performed suitably in crowning and tapering processes and the cam is difficult to replace
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical cam mechanism with an NC control system using a relieving spindle motor. The motor control unit independently controls the relieving spindle motor to move the cutter in the relieving direction according to predetermined movement amounts, eliminating the need for physical cams and enabling flexible control of relieving operations for various gear types including crowned and tapered gears.
2Device complexity
If a cam mechanism is used for relieving operation, then the structure is simple, but it is not easy to replace the cam and adapt to different gear shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes the mechanical cam with an electric motor-driven system. The relieving spindle motor, controlled by a motor control unit, replaces the cam's function of determining cutter path. This substitution eliminates the need to physically replace cams when changing gear types, as control parameters can be adjusted programmatically for different gear shapes including internal gears, crowned gears, and tapered gears.
3Ease of operation
If the relieving operation is controlled by cam shape, then the path is fixed, but accurate control for desired gear shapes cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces cam-based path determination with NC control that calculates and executes precise cutter movements. The motor control unit controls the relieving spindle motor to move the cutter by predetermined amounts based on the desired gear shape, enabling accurate control for crowning, tapering, and internal gear cutting operations that cannot be achieved with fixed cam profiles.
Data Source
AI summary
This gear cutting machine, which is equipped with a cutter (15), a cutter spindle motor (11) that causes, via a crank mechanism (13) and a cutter spindle (16), the cutter (15) perform a stroke operation, and a motor control unit (10) that controls the rotation angle of the cutter spindle motor (11), is provided with a relieving spindle motor (12) that causes the cutter (15) to move in the direction of a relieving spindle via a link mechanism (four-joint link mechanism (14)). The motor control unit (10) controls the rotation angle of the relieving spindle motor (12) on the basis of the rotation angle of the cutter spindle motor (11). Consequently, a gear cutting machine that accurately controls the relieving operation in accordance with a desired shape, such as crowning and tapering of a gear to be cut can be provided.