Machine and method for the finishing of gears
AssigneeSamp S.P.A. Con Unico Socio
InventorEnrico Landi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A machine and method for the finishing of gears with a finishing tool, in particular a grinding wheel; the machine having a plurality of workpiece carrier slides, a plurality of workpiece carrier spindles, each of which is mounted on a respective workpiece carrier slide, and a plurality of loading-unloading stations; each workpiece carrier spindle is rotating and supports a gear; each workpiece carrier slide slides from a respective loading-unloading station to a working station and vice versa; in which the control unit synchronizes the rotation of each gear with the rotation of the finishing tool outside of the working station so that by entering the working station the gear meshes with the finishing tool without collisions.
Claims14
A machine capable of finishing gears comprising:
- a plurality of workpiece carrier slides;
- a plurality of workpiece carrier spindles, each workpiece carrier spindle of said plurality of workpiece carrier spindles being mounted on a respective workpiece carrier slide, each workpiece carrier spindle of said plurality of workpiece carrier spindles also being configured to support a gear and being mounted so as to rotate around a respective axis;
- a plurality of loading-unloading stations, each loading-unloading station of said plurality of loading-unloading stations being associated with one of said workpiece carrier slides;
- each workpiece carrier slide being configured and mounted so as to slide on a respective linear guide means from a respective loading-unloading station to one or more working stations and vice versa;
- a finishing tool being configured to mesh, in use, with a gear supported on a respective said workpiece carrier spindle to be finished;
- wherein the finishing tool is configured and mounted so as to rotate around a longitudinal axis;
- wherein the machine further comprises a control unit, which is configured so that it synchronizes rotation of each gear supported on a respective said workpiece carrier spindle with the rotation of the finishing tool, while each gear is outside of a said working station, so that when each gear enters a said working station each gear meshes with the finishing tool without collisions;
- and
- wherein each said respective linear guide means is configured such that it is capable of translating its said respective workpiece carrier slide independent of movements of said other workpiece carrier slides and so that the axis of its said respective workpiece carrier spindle is translated along a generally horizontal, linear path, to and from a said respective loading-unloading station and a said working station;
- said machine being further configured such that each said workpiece carrier slide carries a gear upon its said respective workpiece carrier spindle to the same finishing tool.
A method for finishing gears in a machine, the machine comprising a plurality of workpiece carrier slides and a finishing tool rotating about its longitudinal axis;
- the machine also having one or more working stations and a plurality of loading-unloading stations;
- the method comprising the steps of:
- fitting a first gear onto a first workpiece carrier spindle, which is mounted so as to rotate on a first workpiece carrier slide at a first loading-unloading station of said plurality of loading-unloading stations;
- translating a first workpiece carrier slide of said plurality of workpiece carrier slides from the first loading-unloading station to a first working station of said one or more working stations, so as to perform a delivery stroke and rotating the first workpiece carrier spindle during the delivery stroke;
- synchronizing, with respect to each other, the rotation of the finishing tool, the rotation of the first workpiece carrier spindle, and the translation of the first workpiece carrier slide during the delivery stroke, so that when the first gear enters the first working station the first gear meshes with the finishing tool without collisions;
- finishing the first gear at the first working station utilizing the finishing tool;
- disengaging the first gear from the finishing tool;
- and
- during the steps of fitting and/or translating and/or finishing and/or disengaging the first gear, carrying out the steps of fitting and/or translating and/or synchronizing with a second gear and a second workpiece carrier spindle, which is mounted so as to rotate on a second workpiece carrier slide so that when the second gear enters the first or a second working station of said one or more working stations, the second gear meshes with the finishing tool without collisions, after the first gear has been disengaged from the finishing tool;
- and
- wherein each said workpiece carrier slide, carrying said first and said second gears, respectively, translates back and forth along a generally horizontal, linear path, independent of movement of said other workpiece carrier slides and to and from said respective loading-unloading station and a said respective working station.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.