Cutting Force Fluctuation Suppression and Error Homogenization of Noncircular Gear Hobbing Based on the Tool Shifting Method

Abstract The current research on noncircular hobbing mainly focuses on the linkage model and motion realization. However, the intermittent cutting characteristics of hobbing would increase uncertainties in the manufacturing process. In this paper, a hobbing machining model with tool-shifting characteristics was proposed to solve the problems of cutting force fluctuation and inconsistency of tooth profile envelope accuracy at different positions of the pitch curve in noncircular gear hobbing. Based on the unit cutting force coefficient method, the undeformed chip volume generated by interrupted cutting was used to characterize the fluctuation trend of the hobbing force. The fluctuation characteristics of the cutting force generated by different hobbing models were compared and analyzed. Using the equivalent gear tooth and hob slotting numbers, an analysis model of the tooth profile envelope error of the noncircular gear was constructed. Subsequently, the tooth profile envelope errors at different positions of the pitch curve were compared and analyzed based on the constructed model. The transmission structure of the electronic gearbox was constructed based on the proposed hobbing model, and the hobbing experiment was conducted based on the self-developed noncircular gear CNC hobbing system. This paper proposes a hobbing method that can effectively suppress the fluctuation of the peak and whole circumference cutting force and reduce the maximum envelope error of the whole circumference gear teeth.