During its recent All Axes LIVE virtual event in February, Mazak showed shops how they can add gear cutting to their part-processing repertoires and eliminate contracting out such work with the company’s INTEGREX i-630V AG HYBRID Multi-Tasking Machine. The machine is built on Mazak’s powerful INTEGREX milling and turning platform and performs gear milling, hobbing and skiving with its SMOOTH Gear Cutting software suite featuring SMOOTH Gear Milling, SMOOTH Gear Hobbing and SMOOTH Gear Skiving.

Equipped with Mazak’s MAZATROL SmoothAi control, SMOOTH Gear Cutting software and additional rotary axis scale feedback, the INTEGREX i-630V AG eliminates the guesswork often associated with gear cutting, particularly in terms of programming and the synchronization of turning/milling spindles at high rpm. The results are a far more refined cutting action and smoother gear teeth surface finishes.

Designed for heavy-duty 5-axis machining and large, highly complex parts, the INTEGREX i-630V AG employs a powerful turning spindle with C-axis control and a rigid milling spindle with B-axis tilt of -30/+120 degrees, both of which are monitored via rotary axis scale feedback. During the All Axes LIVE event demonstration, the machine power skived a 35” diameter gear made from 4140 steel.

For effective gear skiving, the mill spindle and the turning spindle must be synchronized, as any fluctuation in the turning spindle or milling spindle speeds will cause vibration and poor surface quality. If either spindle starts to fluctuate or drift off target speed, the SMOOTH Gear Cutting software automatically adjusts cutting parameters. Without the software, such corrections are very difficult to make in real time, if not impossible.

The software eliminates the need to program the part offline or on a CAM system and ensures synchronization. It provides a graphical user interface on the machine’s control, and users simply fill in various fields with information such as number of gear teeth, pressure angles and the like. With this information, the control will then generate a program that runs in the background as the toolpath is created.

The SmoothAi control runs the SMOOTH Gear Cutting software and delivers powerful digital enhancements that add efficiency and value throughout the machining process with the power of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and advanced data management technology. The control incorporates a wide variety of advanced programming functions for complete ease of use and to ensure high-speed, high-accuracy machining performance.