Higher productivity, faster setup times and single unattended operations are just a few of the capabilities gear manufacturers seek in the multifunctional machine tool market.

Imagine the flexibility of having one machine capable of milling, turning, tapping and gear cutting with deburring included for hard and soft material. No, you’re not in gear fantasy land. The technology to manufacture gears on non gear-dedicated, mult-axis machines has existed for a few years in Europe, but has not yet ventured into mainstream manufacturing. Deckel Maho Pfronten, a member of the Gildemeister Group, took the sales plunge this year, making the technology available on most of its 2009 machines.

The complete product news section from the June 2009 issue of Gear Technology.