CNC Gear Cutting Machines

Gear cutting machines produce the teeth of gears, splines and worms. Hobbing rolls a rotating hob against the turning blank so that the teeth form continuously. Shaping uses a reciprocating cutter and reaches internal gears and teeth next to a shoulder. Power skiving does similar work at higher speed. After heat treatment, gear grinding machines finish the hardened flanks, and gear measuring centers check the result.

Bevel gears need their own machines for cutting, grinding and lapping, because their teeth lie on a cone. Small quantities and very large gears are sometimes cut on 5-axis machining centers or mill-turn machines with gear software instead of on a dedicated machine. General grinders for round and flat work are listed under grinding machines.

Module range and maximum workpiece diameter define what a machine can cut, so compare them first. Then face width or axial travel, and for shafts the workpiece length between centres. Check which processes one machine combines, for example hobbing with chamfering, or grinding with dressing and on-board measuring, and what loading automation is offered.