Effect of gear honing by tools with various elasticity on vehicle gear quality

Abstract

Gear honing withthe abrasive gear hones is used for batch and mass production of vehicles to ensure high quality of gear teeth lateral faces. The service life of vehicle systems as well as the vehicle noise level depend on accuracy of the parameters and gear machining quality. In terms of the elasticity modulus, gear hones can be hard and elastic, depending on the bonding agent type. The gear hone material undergoes deformation during operation. The gear hone tooth deformation value depends on the contact point height; it increases by ten folds from the lowest point to the top. Deformation values are comparable to metal removal values and initial-error values of machined details. Besides, the kinematic parameters of engagement vary, the values of specific sliding and contact-pattern areas are distributed along the tooth height more uniformly. It affects the nature and values of post-machining rectification of gear inaccuracy. The studies made it clear that increase of the gear hone material elasticity degree is associated with more significant rectification of gear defects and substantial decrease of the roughness value, even in case of a large grit size, as a consequence of aligning of abrasive grain peaks along the bearing surface, increased contact time of grains and the machined surface, contact pattern area, and machining fullness. Though such coarse irregularities as dints and burrs are removed better by hard gear hones. Increased quality of gear manufacture results in a decreased noise level of vehicle gears.