Laser cladding with grinding processing of orthogonal offset face gear

Abstract

To further develop the advantages of face gear drives and improve their anti-sticking performance and wear resistance, a novel method using laser cladding as the primary process is proposed; here, grinding processing is used as the secondary process, i.e., achieving tooth surface strengthening of the orthogonal offset face gear using two types of materials to form a material gradient based on a laser cladding technology. Then, grinding processing is performed using a five-axis grinding machining. First, according to the forming principle of the face gear tooth surface, we establish the coordinate system of the orthogonal offset face gear and the gear cutter coordinate system; we also derive the tooth surface equation of the virtual gear cutter and the tooth surface equation of the orthogonal offset face gear. Second, we research the principles of the laser cladding and establish a laser cladding test bed for the orthogonal offset face gear. Based on the analysis of the design of the cladding layer and the process parameters of the face gear, the selection of the scanning path, the heat accumulation during the laser cladding process, and the accuracy control of the scanning position, we perform a laser cladding experiment on the offset orthogonal face gear. Third, we establish the machining coordinate system of the face gear based on the machine tool structure and conduct a grinding experiment for the face gear after the cladding process. Finally, we analyze the morphology and hardness of the face gear after grinding. A bench test verification of the axle face gear transmission system is completed. The results show that the precision and surface hardness of the tooth surface are significantly improved after grinding. Meanwhile, the accuracy and feasibility of the laser cladding surface of the face gear are verified.