Practical Gear Characteristics: Process Characteristics of the Most Popular Cutting Methods

The cutting process consists of either a roll only (only generating motion), a plunge only or a combination of plunging and rolling. The material removal and flank forming due to a pure generating motion is demonstrated in the simplified sketch in Figure 1 in four steps. In the start roll position (step 1), the cutter profile has not yet contacted the work. A rotation of the work around its axis (indicated by the rotation arrow) is coupled with a rotation of the cutter around the axis of the generating gear (indicated by the vertical arrow) and initiates a generating motion between the not-yet-existing tooth slot of the work and the cutter head (which symbolizes one tooth of the generating gear).