Gear Tooth Flank Depression for Single-Pass Top Land Clearance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gear manufacturing processes require complex machining to ensure sufficient clearance between top lands and mating member tooth surfaces, necessitating two machining processes which complicates the manufacturing process.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a gear member with a depression in the tooth surface near the top land, allowing for a single machining process that shapes the top land to avoid contact with mating member tooth surfaces, thereby simplifying the configuration and enhancing productivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If two machining processes are applied to the top land to ensure sufficient clearance, then the clearance between top land edges and mating member tooth surfaces is sufficient, but the manufacturing process becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The depression is formed in the tooth surface before the final machining process, pre-positioning the material removal zone. This preliminary action allows the subsequent single machining process to efficiently create the top land with proper clearance without requiring multiple machining steps, thus resolving the contradiction between precision and process complexity
2Manufacturing precision
If two machining processes are applied to the top land, then sufficient clearance is achieved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By forming the depression beforehand, the patent prepares the workpiece in advance so that only one machining process is needed to complete the top land formation with adequate clearance. This eliminates the time-consuming second machining process, thereby improving productivity while maintaining the required manufacturing precision
3Productivity
If the configuration is simplified to use a single machining process, then productivity improves, but achieving sufficient clearance becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The depression is created as a preliminary feature that defines the boundary for material removal. This pre-established geometric constraint guides the single machining process to automatically produce the correct clearance, making it easy to achieve sufficient gap without complex machining operations or multiple steps
Data Source
AI summary
[Means for Solution] A gear member includes a tooth having a tooth flank whose profile is an involute curve, wherein in a cross-section of the tooth perpendicular to a face width direction, the tooth has a depression, near a top land, hollowed in the tooth flank relative to the involute curve.