Reishauer RZ 400

The Reishauer RZ 400 is a continuous generating gear grinding machine positioned between the RZ 260 and RZ 550 in Reishauer's production grinding lineup, handling gears up to 400 mm outside diameter and module 8. Reishauer, the Swiss company that pioneered continuous generating gear grinding, developed the RZ 400 to address the medium-to-large gear segment where the RZ 260 reaches its size limit but the full capacity of the RZ 550 is not required. It serves automotive driveline gears, commercial vehicle transmission components, construction equipment gears, and medium industrial gearbox elements — the class of gears that defines the largest volume segment of the precision gear grinding market outside the small automotive gear category.

The continuous generating grinding process that defines the RZ 400 operates by meshing a threaded grinding wheel with the workpiece in a continuous rolling motion, grinding all teeth simultaneously rather than indexing tooth by tooth as in profile grinding. This fundamental process difference produces cycle time advantages of two to five times over profile grinding on production volumes, while achieving gear quality reaching DIN 3962 Class 3-4 (AGMA Q13-14). The threaded grinding wheel is maintained by Reishauer's integrated diamond roller dressing system, which profiles the wheel automatically during production and maintains consistent gear geometry over millions of parts between wheel changes.

The RZ 400 features direct-drive motors on both the grinding spindle and workpiece spindle, eliminating backlash from mechanical transmissions and providing the precise speed synchronization that continuous generating grinding demands. The grinding spindle runs at up to 6,000 RPM with 32 kW continuous power, while the workpiece spindle handles parts up to 400 mm and 200 kg. Thermal management includes comprehensive temperature monitoring and real-time CNC thermal compensation, maintaining bore accuracy as the machine reaches operating temperature during production shifts. Integrated loading with a ring loader or gantry system achieves load/unload times under 8 seconds, maximizing spindle utilization on high-volume production runs.

Priced at $1,000,000–$1,800,000 new, the RZ 400 sits at a significant capital commitment that targets dedicated gear production environments. It competes with the Liebherr LGG 400, Klingelnberg C 50, and Gleason 400GX in the medium gear production grinding segment. Reishauer's century-long focus on generating gear grinding — and only generating gear grinding — means the RZ 400 benefits from the deepest application engineering expertise in this specific process, and from a global application and service network that includes process development support for new gear applications.