Machine for producing spiral-toothed bevel gears

Abstract

A CNC machine for producing spiral-toothed bevel gears is described, which has a first carriage supporting a tool spindle and is displaceable in height, and whose guide is disposed on a lateral surface of a machine housing, which is horizontally guided in a straight coordinate axis on a machine base. The tool spindle axis is parallel with the lateral surface and with the coordinate axis. Furthermore, the machine has a workpiece spindle support having a second carriage and a pivoting device with a vertical axis and is also horizontally guided on the machine base. The parallel arrangement of the tool spindle axis results in a new machine concept with a compact structure and optimal chip flow. Therefore the machine is particularly suited for heavy-duty dry milling. Since the tool spindle is not located above the area of the machine having a horizontal guide, it is possible to arrange a chip collector underneath the tool spindle, which can be reached by the chips essentially under the force of gravity.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The basic structure of a CNC machine 2 for producing spiral-toothed bevel gears is shown in FIG. 1 in a perspective representation and in a view from the operator side. A machine housing 6 is horizontally and linearly guided along a straight coordinate axis X on a machine base 4 along at least one horizontal guide 28. A first carriage 8 can be displaced in height by means of a spindle drive 17 on a straight coordinate axis Z on a guide 16 disposed on a lateral surface 10 of the machine housing 6. A workpiece spindle support 14 with a second carriage 12 is horizontally and linearly guided on the machine base 4 along a straight coordinate axis along at least one horizontal guide 13, which is at right angles to the X-axis. A pivoting device 22 with a vertical axis C is located on the second carriage 12. The guide 16 of the first carriage 8 and the Z-axis are inclined in respect to the vertical direction. Because of this arrangement, the machine housing 6 tapers with increasing distance from the machine base 4. On the bottom it has a correspondingly wide base 7.

The first carriage 8 supports a tool spindle 20, which is supported for rotation around a tool spindle axis 18. The tool spindle 20 supports a tool 21, in this case by way of example a cutter head. Depending on the type of machining desired, the tool 21 can also be a grinding disk, a milling cutter, or the like.

A workpiece spindle 23 is horizontally guided on the machine base 4 by means of the second carriage 12 and the pivoting device 22, and is linearly displaceable and pivotable, respectively. The pivoting device 22 supports the workpiece spindle 23, which is rotatable around a workpiece spindle axis 25. The workpiece spindle 23 supports a workpiece 24, in the instant case a spiral-toothed bevel gear. The pivoting device 22 is horizontally pivotably guided around the C-axis in order to pivot the workpiece 24 from the loading position into a processing position and to perform movements during the gear cutting, if required.

The tool spindle axis 18 is parallel with the lateral surface 10. The lateral surface 10 has been selected from several lateral surfaces of the machine housing 6 for the attachment of the guide 16 with the first carriage 8, so that the tool spindle axis 18 is also parallel with the X-axis and is not located above an area of the machine 2 having one of the horizontal guides 28, 13 of the tool spindle support 14 or the machine housing 6.

The machine base 4 is recessed below the first carriage 8, and a chip collector 30 is disposed there, which is reached by the chips generated during gear cutting essentially under the force of gravity.

The upper area of the second carriage 12, which is not occupied by the pivoting device 22, has a concertina cover 32, which is oriented inclined toward the chip collector 30. The machine 2 furthermore has a sheathing 34, which is fixedly connected with the machine base 4 and is arranged between the machine housing 6 and the second carriage 12. The sheathing 34 is connected with the machine housing 6 by means of a concertina cover 35. The sheathing 34 and the concertina cover 35 are also oriented inclined towards the chip collector 30. A shielding 36 follows the sheathing 34, which surrounds the pivoting device 22 in the shape of a semicircle and is fastened on the second carriage 12.

At the start of the gear cutting process, the workpiece 24 is pivoted around the C-axis into a processing position. The tool 21 is moved by means of the horizontal movement of the machine housing 6 in the X-axis against the workpiece 24. In the simplest case a generating movement is created by the cooperation between the second carriage 12 in the direction of the Y-axis and the first carriage 8 in the direction of the Z-axis. In other cases a CNC control, not represented, sees to it that the three axes X, Y and Z and the rotations around the tool spindle axis 20, the workpiece spindle axis 25 and the pivot axis C simultaneously perform the required movements for the gear cutting process in a known manner. In this case the workpiece spindle 23 and the tool spindle 18 are arranged during gear cutting in such a way, that the workpiece 24 and the tool 21 are essentially located in the area of the machine 2 in which there is no horizontal guide.

Claims

1. A machine for producing spiral-toothed bevel gears comprising:

a base having first and second transversely located horizontal guides;

a housing horizontally guided in a straight coordinate axis on the first horizontal guide, the housing having a lateral surface with a third guide being disposed thereon;

a first carriage mounted on the housing, the first carriage being displaceable in an upward and a downward direction along the third guide;

a tool spindle supported on the first carriage, the tool spindle having a tool spindle axis, a tool being mountable on the tool spindle, the tool spindle axis being parallel with the straight coordinate axis;

a second carriage mounted on the base, the second carriage being horizontally guided transverse to the straight coordinate axis on the second horizontal guide, the second carriage including a pivoting device mounted for movement about a vertical axis;

a workpiece spindle support being located on the pivoting device, a workpiece spindle being supported by the workpiece spindle support, and a workpiece being mountable on the workpiece spindle, the first and second horizontal guides located away from an area beneath the tool spindle axis such that a chip collector can be mounted in an area of the base away from the first and second horizontal guides and that during gear cutting the workpiece spindle (23) and the tool spindle (20) come into engagement over the area of the base away from the horizontal guides.

2. The machine in accordance with claim 1, wherein the lateral surface has been selected in such a way that the tool spindle is located above an area of the machine which is free of the first and second horizontal guides.

3. The machine in accordance with claim 2, wherein a chip collector is arranged underneath the tool spindle, which chips essentially reach under the force of gravity.

4. The machine in accordance with claim 2, wherein the workpiece spindle and the tool spindle are disposed such that during gear cutting, the workpiece and the tool come into engagement at a location over the area of the machine which is free of the first and second horizontal guides.

5. The machine in accordance with claim 1, wherein the third guide for the first carriage is disposed on the machine housing in a further straight coordinate axis which is inclined in respect to the vertical direction.

6. The machine in accordance with claim 3, wherein the workpiece spindle and the tool spindle are disposed such that during gear cutting the workpiece and the tool come into engagement at a place which is essentially located over the area of the machine which is free of the first and second horizontal guides.

7. The machine in accordance with claim 2, wherein the first carriage has on the machine housing a guide in a further straight coordinate axis which is inclined in respect to the vertical direction.

8. The machine in accordance with claim 3, wherein the first carriage has on the machine housing a guide in a further straight coordinate axis which is inclined in respect to the vertical direction.

9. The machine in accordance with claim 4, wherein the first carriage has on the machine housing a guide in a further straight coordinate axis which is inclined in respect to the vertical direction.