Effect of Cutter Performance on Finished Tooth Form in Gear Shaving

The authors have been developed a computer simulation program of gear shaving. In the present paper, a new cutting model of shaving process is proposed so as to incorporate an effect of a cutting performance of shaving cutter into the simulation program. In this cutting model, it is assumed that a tooth flank material of work gear can be removed only when a depth of cut of a cutting edge exceeds a certain criterion. It is also assumed that the criterion have no definite value but has the nominal distribution over the tooth surface. The mean value of the distribution can define a characteristic of cutting performance of shaving cutter. The small mean value means that even small depth of cut can cause a stock removal; i.e. a good cutter performance. The computer simulations on gear shaving are performed to reveal the effect of the cutter performance on shaved tooth form. Under the conditions used in these simulations, the pressure angle error on the shaved tooth profile becomes remarkable as the cutter performance becomes worse. Thus, the developed computer simulation program of gear shaving has a reliability on the prediction of shaved tooth form. It will be useful for design of shaving cutter, judgement of tool life, and so on.