Optimal mechanical spindle speeder gearbox design for high-speed machining

Abstract

There are different solutions to upgrade a conventional machine tool to high-speed machining (HSM). One of the cheapest solutions is the use of mechanical spindle speeders. Mechanical spindle speeders allows the increase of the speed of a machine tool by means of a multiplier gearbox, and they have been successfully used in a variety of machining processes, such as drilling, milling, tapping and even grinding. They are mainly used in the mould and die industry, since they provide an effective solution for upgrading an existing lower speed machine tool. In this work, the design of the planetary gear trains (PGTs) used in all of the mechanical spindle speeders marketed nowadays is optimised by minimising the volume and the kinetic energy of these gearboxes, since their functionality depends directly on these two criteria. In the authors’ opinion, the results can be of great interest for spindle speeder manufacturers.