Abstract: High precision and minimal noise are considered critical performance measures for top-tier gear transmission systems. To ensure optimum gear trans mission performance, the tooth surface texture should be enhanced without comparing the gear precision. By integrating the principle of internal gearing power honing with tooth surface topology modifications, the adjusted honing texture can be forecasted, and proactive control can be achieved, both of which are considered as crucial for the reduction of gear vibration and noise. In this study, a manufacturing technique for high-order modified helical gears is introduced. The formation rules and modeling of the honing texture are explored, leading to a novel method for three-dimensional modeling and control of the altered honing texture. The direction of the cutting speed of abrasive grains at the contact point between the honing wheel and working gear tooth surface was examined. Using the discrete abrasive grain motion trajectory method, the honing texture was produced, through which the formation mechanisms and control strategies of the curved honing texture were illuminated. Based on these findings, a method for flexible topology modifications of the tooth surface is suggested. This is achieved by adjusting the motion coefficients of each axis of the honing machine and adding additional motion in the form of higher-order polynomials to three motion axes, including the radial feed and oscillation axes of the honing wheel and the interleaved axes of the work gear and honing wheel. A least-squares estimation method, based on a sensitivity matrix, was employed to determine the additional motion coefficients. By this method, the texture of the modified tooth surface can also be predicted and controlled. In a numerical example, the efficacy of the flexible topology modification method was confirmed. In this case, the altered honing texture was managed by modifying the axis intersection angle, while the accuracy of tooth surface modifications was maintained. This study has theoretical and application value in the field of gear manufacturing, oriented to the demand for gear vibration and noise reduction functions.

The full text can be downloaded at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40436-024-00501-4

Key words: Internal gearing power honing, Honing texture, Texture modulation, Topology modification, Sensitivity matrix