Pfauter P 400 CNC Gear Hobbing Machine

The Pfauter P 400 is a CNC gear hobbing machine produced under the Pfauter brand — historically one of the most respected names in gear hobbing — now part of Liebherr Machine Tools. The P 400 handles external spur and helical gears up to 400 mm diameter and module 10, addressing the medium-large production gear market including commercial vehicle transmissions, agricultural equipment, and industrial gearboxes. The Pfauter nameplate carries decades of installed base credibility in North American and European gear shops, and the P 400 continues that legacy with contemporary CNC architecture and electronic synchronization.

The P 400 uses a fully CNC-controlled 6-axis configuration covering radial infeed, axial feed, hob shift, hob spindle, workpiece rotation, and tangential (diagonal) motion. All axes are servo-driven, and the workpiece and hob spindles are electronically synchronized through a software gearbox — a key modernization over older Pfauter machines that relied on mechanical change gears. This architecture allows operators to change from one gear program to another by recalling a stored CNC program rather than physically exchanging gear trains, reducing changeover time to minutes and enabling flexible multi-part-number production scheduling.

The machine structure draws on Pfauter's traditional emphasis on rigidity and thermal stability. The cast-iron base and column are precision-scraped during assembly for geometric accuracy, and the hob spindle runs in precision hydrostatic or rolling-element bearings depending on specification. The hob head tilts to accommodate a wide range of helix angles, and the machine supports climb hobbing and conventional hobbing strategies with programmable selection. Both wet (flood coolant) and dry hobbing setups are supported, giving shops the flexibility to align process choice with their environmental, cost, and quality objectives.

New Pfauter P 400 machines, sourced through Liebherr's distribution network, typically price from $600,000 to $950,000 depending on configuration and automation. The P 400 competes directly with the Gleason Genesis 400H, Liebherr LG 400, and Mitsubishi GE20A. Pfauter's brand equity and large installed base means excellent used machine availability and a deep secondary market for tooling, workholding, and service parts.