Method for producing conical or hypoid wheels using the plunging process

A method of chip-removal machining of at least one tooth gap of a bevel gear or hypoid gear work piece comprising rotating a cutting tool having a first main cutting edge and a second main cutting edge about an axis of rotation of the cutting tool, and performing the following steps during said rotating step:

• (a) moving the cutting tool in a first relative linear plunging direction along a first plunge vector that extends substantially perpendicularly to a foot cone of the work piece, to a position in the work piece that is more than 10% of a slot depth of the tooth gap to be fabricated, thereby machining with the first main cutting edge a region of the work piece near a tooth head of a first tooth flank of the tooth gap;
• (b) moving the cutting tool relatively transversely along a transverse vector so as to move the second main cutting edge in a direction of a second tooth flank of the tooth gap, and machine a region of the work piece near a tooth head of the second tooth flank of the tooth gap;
• and
• (c) moving the cutting tool in a second plunging movement along a vector path to a position in the work piece approximately corresponding to the slot depth of the tooth gap to be fabricated.