抄録
Gleason gear cutting machine has been very popular in the Hypoid gear manufacturers. The machine settings for obtaining desirable tooth bearing gear are given by Gleason's instruction sheets called "summary". However, a gear pair with a desirable tooth bearing is difficult to obtain at the first cut because of machine setting errors, inherent errors of the gear cutting method, heat-treatment distortion, and other factors. In order to obtain a gear pair with a desirable tooth bearing, it is necessary to re-cut based on observation of the tooth bearing. Such re-cutting process depending on iterative cutting process is carried out by the skilled workers. Accordingly, the tooth surface of gear obtained usually does not correspond to that of the initial machine settings in the summary. In this paper, the tooth surfaces of hypoid ring gear cut by Helixform method are measured using coordinate measuring machine (CMM) and real machine settings in ring gear cutting are estimated from the measured data. The least square method is basically used for this estimation. The ring gear cut by helixform method is mainly used for middle and small size motorcars which are mass produced. When this method is used in the gear manufacturing process, the iterative cutting process carried out by the skilled workers can be eliminated and it contributes to increase the productivity.
