Development of a Cutting Force Model for the Optimization of the Process Design of Bevel Gear Grinding

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Thomas Bergs, since 7/2019
• Subject Area: Metal-Cutting and Abrasive Manufacturing Engineering
• Term: from 2017 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 386689474

Scientific investigations on profile grinding and generating grinding of cylindrical gears have shown the fundamental importance of the cutting force calculation for the prediction of the thermal influence on the workpiece. Studies on bevel gear grinding supply simplified methods for the calculation of contact volume and grinding burn prediction. Nevertheless, no model for the cutting force calculation in bevel gear grinding exists. Therefore, the results from the state of the art shall be joined and adapted to the properties of the manufacturing process in order to obtain a comprehensive process model. This will be based on a transfer of the results from the preceding DFG project onto bevel gear grinding. By means of the developed force model, the process understanding will be improved and the process design at the application partner shall be simplified and optimized. The aim of this project is the development of a force model for the optimization of the process design of bevel gear grinding.For the cutting force prediction, a model of the process kinematics will be developed that can be used to calculate the contact volume between grinding wheel and workpiece. The kinematics of the plunging bevel gear grinding process can be modelled by adapting the results of an earlier project. The cutting force will be approximated out of the contact volume with the method of WERNER. Based on the contact conditions of bevel gear grinding, analogy trials for the different process variants will be deduced. For these analogy trials the contact volume and the process force will be approximated. During the conduction of the analogy trials, the process force will be measured to parametrize the force model. Furthermore, an analysis of the ground workpieces will take place to determine the correlation between the thermal influence on the workpiece and the process force. Subsequently, the parametrized process force model will be validated in bevel gear grinding trials at the application partner Scania. Thus, the transferability of the results of the preceding DFG project and the analogy trials onto bevel gear grinding will be secured. Based on the grinding force model, a guideline for the optimization of the process design will be developed. Limiting values for the cutting force will be determined, from which a critical thermal influence can be expected. Through this transfer into the industrial environment the scientific results will be directly applicable for the user of the bevel gear grinding technology.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants (Transfer Project)
• Application Partner: Saint-Gobain Abrasives GmbH; Standort Gerolzhofen; Scania CV AB
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Professor Dr.-Ing. Fritz Klocke, until 6/2019