Stand A43, Hall 26. Gleason will introduce two new machine products for the first time at EMO 2013 from September 16-21 in Hannover. In a 700 square meter booth Gleason will be exhibiting the latest product and process technologies and developments, combining the know-how and experience in gear production technology that customers have come to expect from Gleason. This experience is reflected in a variety of soft and hard manufacturing processes for both bevel and cylindrical gear production and inspection as well as a full line of gear cutting tools, workholding equipment, services, software and training. These products include:

The Power Skiving Machine 600PS provides machining, cutting tools, workholding and process-know-how from a single source. Gleason’s new power skiving range of 100PS to 600PS machines are suitable for the highly productive manufacturing of cylindrical internal and external gears with high gear quality and significant reductions in cost per piece, when compared with the gear shaping process. Gleason’s tool concept gives the power skiving process flexibility and simplicity of process management.  This makes the process for gear diameters up to 700 mm, swing diameters up to 850 mm and modules up to 8 mm equally suitable for small lot production runs as well as mass production.

The Titan 1200G offers a high surface finish quality combined with high productivity utilizing a fully automatic tool changer.  Manufacturers of large gears expect modern gear-grinding machines to be able to produce excellent quality gears with considerably increased productivity and maximum process reliability at low cost. The Titan 1200G can be individually configured to suit customer requirements and provides maximum productivity, flexibility and quality. Use of a fully-automatic tool changer facilitates entirely new machining strategies for grinding gears.

The Phoenix 280G is a bevel gear grinding machine that increases stiffness and higher part quality. It includes a newly designed polymer concrete column style frame and a quick change grinding wheel.  All Gleason quick change designs on the Phoenix 280G do not require a single tool which makes this machine unique in flexibility. Changeover times have been reduced to less than 5 minutes to provide customers a high level of flexibility in bevel gear machining.  The new dresser design allows complete retraction of the unit, using just one single axis. Additionally the stiffness of the unit has been increased by multiple factors compared to existing designs out in the field.

The P 90 Gear Hobbing Machine is an extremely rapid rotation loader that allows workpiece changing times of less than one second on the example of a planetary gear for automatic transmissions. Depending on the application floor-to-floor times of up to 7.5 seconds can be achieved. Appropriate automation with a stacking cell and robot facilitates customized integration in the production line with maximum autonomy. The automatic system here is of an extremely compact structure, the entire cell occupying less than four square meters. The interface between automation system and cutting machine is affected on the basis of a Profibus link. The short tooling-up times of the automation system means the entire line can be changed over in less than 15 minutes.

The Agilus 180TH multifunctional machine features a universal and highly productive multifunctional concept capable of machining shaft and disk-shaped workpieces in a single setup (one-piece flow). This machine provides state-of-the-art technology and machining processes for all types of cylindrical gears which can be produced by hobbing. The tool turret for locating fixed or driven tools allows turning, drilling and milling operations as well as hobbing and subsequent generating chamfering and deburring to be performed in the same setting. The CNC-controlled tailstock enables the machine to clamp a broad range of workpieces with support on both sides to guarantee optimum rigidity during machining. Gleason’s Quik-Flex workholding concept, the quick-clamp option for the cutting tool and optimal accessibility satisfy requirements for rapid, user-friendly workpiece change. The Agilus 180TH can be operated in a fully automatic mode in conjunction with one or more turning cells. This innovative concept allows complete manufacturing tasks to be performed on a small, compact footprint.

The Gleason 300GMS, the latest addition to the GMS Series of inspection systems (with models available for gears up to 3000 mm in diameter,) was developed specifically to meet the needs of large volume gear producers for a faster, more economical solution for complete gear and even non-gear parts inspection. It is the first GMS to feature the new Windows 7-based Gleason GAMATM 3.0 (Gleason Automated Measurement and Analysis) applications software suite which, like its GAMA 2.0 predecessor, offers users a highly intuitive user interface and simple input screens for programming of workpiece and cutting tool data. Those features, combined with ease of setup, a .NET control system, and movement optimization, reduce the cycle times required for the complete inspection of almost any gear or gear tool by up to 45 percent. The 300GMS also features a new-generation Renishaw 3-D probe head to provide maximum accuracy and flexibility for the complete inspection of all kinds of gears and gear-cutting tools. The 300GMS is equipped with new ergonomically mounted operator workstations and a Gleason Diagnostic Module (GDM) – both designed to greatly improve the operator’s effectiveness at every stage of the inspection process.  

Cutting Tools
Gleason supplies virtually every type of cutting tool for the production of cylindrical and bevel gears.  Gleason cutting tool specialists are familiar with the requirements of the process chains in modern gear production, enabling the company to optimize the customers full range of cutting tools required from start to finish. The range of products for bevel gear cutting includes tools for cutting and grinding straight, spiral and hypoid bevel gears. For cylindrical gear cutting, Gleason offer hobs, form relieved milling cutters, shaper cutters, chamfering and deburring tools, shaving cutters, honing tools, coated diamond and CBN grinding wheels, diamond dressing wheels and diamond dressing rolls and as a special highlight the Power Skiving Tools.

Workholding
Gleason designs and manufactures complete series of quick-change workholding equipment for all kinds of bevel gear and cylindrical gear machines. Changeover times are reduced by up to 70 percent by Gleason X-Pandisk fixture systems, which automatically align workpieces weighing up to 2,000 kg, providing for a consistent machining process. For large components, Gleason will also supply pallet-based set-up table systems which allow set-up to be performed in parallel with primary production. The Quik-Flex and Quick-Change designs offer dramatically reduced workholding changeover times in the production of bevel and cylindrical gears up to a diameter of 200 mm. The basic modules stay in the machine permanently while intelligent quick-change systems ensure a changeover with perfect concentricity and no need for further alignment. On measuring machines, the Gleason-LeCount expanding arbors offer a solution. They are easy to handle, allowing extremely quick clamping of any parts with bores for measurement of gears.

Additionally, Gleason offers a full range of services including machine inspection, troubleshooting, repair, preventive maintenance, machine relocation and reinstallation, recertification and Gleason Connect Remote Services. Sustainability initiatives are underway to help customers meet their own sustainability objectives and the company offers technical support that will address the ever-changing requirements of the customer.