Flank Correction for Spiral Bevel

and Hypoid Gears on a Six-Axis

Yi-Pei Shih
Ph.D.
Deputy Manager
Luren Precision Co., Ltd.,
No. 1-1, Li-Hsin 1st Rd.,
Hsinchu Science Park,
Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Zhang-Hua Fong1
Professor
e-mail: imezhf@ccu.edu.tw
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National Chung Cheng University,
No. 168, University Road,
Min-Hsiung, Chia-Yi,
Taiwan, 621, R.O.C.
CNC Hypoid Generator
Because the contact patterns of spiral bevel and hypoid gears are highly sensitive to tooth
flank geometry, it is desirable to reduce the flank deviations caused by machine errors
and heat treatment deformation. Several methods already proposed for flank correction
are based on the cutter parameters, machine settings, and kinematical flank motion
parameters of a cradle-type universal generator, which are modulated according to the
measured flank topographic deviations. However, because of the recently developed six-
axis Cartesian-type computer numerical control (CNC) hypoid generator, both face-
milling and face-hobbing cutting methods can be implemented on the same machine
using a corresponding cutter head and NC code. Nevertheless, the machine settings and
flank corrections of most commercial Cartesian-type machines are still translated from
the virtual cradle-type universal hypoid generator. In contrast, this paper proposes a
flank-correction methodology derived directly from the six-axis Cartesian-type CNC hy-
poid generator in which high-order correction is easily achieved through direct control of
the CNC axis motion. The validity of this flank-correction method is demonstrated using
a numerical example of Oerlikon Spirac face-hobbing hypoid gears made by the pro-
posed Cartesian-type CNC machine.
关DOI: 10.1115/1.2890112兴

Keywords: spiral bevel gear, hypoid gear, face-milling, face-hobbing, flank correction,
six-axis CNC Cartesian-type hypoid generator

1 Introduction structure of only three rectilinear and three rotational axes is far
simpler than that of the cradle-type hypoid machine. Not only do
Automotive spiral bevel and hypoid gears are usually manufac-
these new machines have a minimum number of movable axes for
tured in a sequence of soft cutting, heat treatment, and then lap-
bevel gear cutting but, owing to state-of-the-art CNC technology,
ping. To guarantee the quality of bevel gears after lapping, tooth
they can offer precise simultaneous six-axis movement. Moreover,
flank deviations caused by machine errors and heat treatment de-
the existing six-axis CNC hypoid generators, including Gleason’s
formation must be corrected in advance during the gear soft-
Phoenix and Oerlikon’s C series hypoid gear cutting machines,
cutting process. At one time, such correction on the pinion was
can implement both face-milling and face-hobbing cutting meth-
made by observing the contact-bearing condition of a gear pair
ods using corresponding cutter heads and NC codes. Such six-axis
from the result of V-H testing and then using a summary of the
control allows all prior auxiliary flank modification 共AFM兲 mo-
proportional changes to adjust the machine settings. However,
tions to be applied simultaneously without any complicated aux-
such a trial-and-error method is unreliable and highly inefficient.
iliary mechanism, meaning that the six-axis Cartesian-type CNC
More recently, the gear flank correction has been done in a closed-
hypoid machine can produce virtually free-form tooth surfaces.
loop process in which the machine setting adjustment is calculated
Nevertheless, in the literature, the machine settings and flank cor-
by a sensitivity matrix and the flank topographic deviations de-
rections of the Cartesian-type machine are still translated from the
rived from the coordinate measuring machine 共CMM兲 or gear
cradle-style universal hypoid generator.
measuring center. Such a closed-loop method, illustrated in Refs.
The transformation from the conventional cradle-style machine
关1–4兴, usually proceeds as follows: First, the theoretical flank co-
to a six-axis Cartesian-type CNC hypoid generator has been out-
ordinates are calculated, after which a sensitivity matrix is con-
lined by Krenzer et al. 关5兴. Somewhat earlier, Goldrich 关6兴 had
structed and the deviation on the CMM is measured based on the
developed a mathematical model to simulate such a generator.
theoretical flank coordinates; finally, the machine setting correc-
Subsequently, Gosselin et al. 关7兴 proposed a methodology for
tions to minimize real surface deviations are calculated using lin-
identifying the machine settings that produce real tooth surfaces,
ear regression. Nevertheless, most sensitivity matrices shown in
while Fong and co-worker 关8,9兴 put forward a mathematical
the literature are based on the cradle-type universal machine pro-
model for the universal hypoid gear generator that can simulate
posed by Gleason Works.
face-milling and face-hobbing bevel gear cutting as well as most
In reality, the newly developed hypoid generators, such as
AFM motions. Thomas and Vogel 关10兴 proposed an optimum
Gleason’s Phoenix and Oerlikon’s C series hypoid gear cutting
method for flank modification based on the six-axis CNC machine
machines, are all Cartesian-type structures with movable axes
and discussed the feasibility of applying it to flank correction;
controlled by computer numerical control 共CNC兲. Thus, their
however, they failed to disclose the flank-correction algorithm.
The earlier correction method for the cradle-type machine uses
1
Corresponding author. nine basic machine settings and eight AFM motions, which are
Contributed by the Power Transmission and Gearing Committee of ASME for mathematically coupled. The relative spatial motion between any
publication in the JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL DESIGN. Manuscript received May 20, two rigid bodies can be reduced to six degrees of freedom
2007; final manuscript received December 2, 2007; published online April 16, 2008.
Review conducted by Avinash Singh. Paper presented at the 2007 ASME Interna-
共DOFs兲, three linear and three rotational, so theoretically, the
tional Mechanical Engineering Congress 共IMECE2007兲, Seattle, WA, November 10– maximum independent DOF of a hypoid gear generator is 6. To
16, 2007. reduce the extra DOF of the cradle-type machine, you need to

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 Fig. 1 Coordinate systems for the face-hobbing cutter head
know the assumptions made by the summary provider during
cradle-to-Cartesian machine setting conversion and these assump-
tions are usually not explicitly shown in the summary. To coun-
teract this disadvantage, we developed a flank-correction method-
ology for spiral bevel and hypoid gears that directly suits the
six-axis movement of the Cartesian-type machine. In this paper,
we apply this methodology by simplifying the axis movement as a
function of the cradle angle in the form of Taylor polynomials up
to six degrees. The polynomial representation is firstly introduced
by The Gleason Works in the application of AFM motions. The
resulting DOF for the proposed Cartesian-type machine is com-
patible with the Gleason Phoenix machine and, with some minute
modifications, can be used to simulate the Oerlikon C series. In-
deed, the numerical example using the Oerlikon Spirac face-
hobbing hypoid gear set cut by the proposed Cartesian-type hy-
poid generator clearly illustrates the feasibility of the proposed
flank-correction method.
2 Mathematical Model of a Face-Hobbing Cutter
Head
The primary difference between face-milling and face-hobbing
cutter heads is the arrangement of the cutting blades. The face-
hobbing cutter head, which is more complicated than the face-
milling cutter head, has z0 sets of blade groups, each consisting of
at least an inner and an outer blade that generate convex and
concave flanks, respectively, and are arranged in a strictly defined
relative position for continuous indexing. In a two-blade group
application, the pitch points of the inner and outer cutter edges are
on the same circle, but for a three-blade group cutter head, the
radii of the pitch points must be modified for appropriate tooth
thickness. Figure 1 shows the coordinate systems for a face-
hobbing cutter head that can be used to simulate Oerlikon’s FS,
SPIRON® cutter heads or Gleason’s TriAC® cutter head.
Even though the cutting edge is generally straight lined,
circular-arc blades may also be used for profile crowning. Assum-
ing that the blade edge rl共u兲 is represented as a function of the
variable u in the coordinate system Sl, the position vector of the
cutter blade in the coordinate system of cutter head St is repre-
sented as
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rt共u兲 = rt共␣0,rc, ␣h, ␦0,r0, ␤i ;u兲 共1兲
where ␣0 is the profile angle, rc is the curvature radius of the
spherical blade, ␣h is the hook angle, ␦0 is the offset angle, r0 is
the cutter radius, and ␤i is the initial setting angle of the cutter
head. In the face-milling cutter head, the inner and outer blade
groups are evenly arranged on two respective concentric circles;
therefore, in the above equation, only the profile angle and the
curvature and cutter radii need be taken into account.
3 Mathematical Model of a Universal Face-Hobbing
Hypoid Gear Generator
A mathematical model of a universal face-hobbing hypoid gear
generator for spiral bevel and hypoid gears was established in Ref.
关9兴. As shown as Fig. 2, this machine is a virtual cradle-type
machine having tilt, a cradle, work-gear support mechanisms, and
so on, so that it can simulate existing face-milling and face-
hobbing cutting systems with or without AFM motions.
The coordinate systems St共xt , y t , zt兲 and S1共x1 , y 1 , z1兲 are rigidly
connected to the cutter head and the work gear, respectively. The
transformation matrices St to S1 yield the following surface locus
for the cutting tool in coordinate system S1:
共U兲
r1共U兲共u, ␤, ␾c, ␾1兲 = M1f 共␾1兲 · M共faU兲共i, j, ␪c,SR,Em,⌬A,⌬B, ␥m ; ␾c兲
共U兲
· Mat 共␤兲 · rt共u兲 共2兲
where ␤ and ␾1 are the rotation angles of the cutter and work
gear, respectively, and u is the variable of the blade edge. In
共U兲
matrix M fa , ␾c is the cradle rotation angle, and the remainder of
the parameters are the so-called machine settings, which are con-
stants or linear functions. In addition, the AFM motions are non-
linear machine settings that can be changed according to the func-
tions of a single variable, which is normally the cradle rotation
angle.
To clearly explain the face-hobbing operations, the cradle rota-
tion angle is represented as
␾c = ␾c2 − ␾c1 = z/z p · ␾1 − z0/z p · ␤ 共3兲
where ␾c1 and ␾c2 are epicycloidal and generating cradle rotation
angles, and z, z p, and z0 are the tooth numbers of the work gear,
generating gear, and cutter starts, respectively. During the face-
Transactions of the ASME
 Fig. 2 Coordinate systems for the universal face-hobbing hypoid gear generator

hobbing process, the epicycloidal cradle rotation angle makes the
cutter locus an extended epicycloidal curve and the generating
rotation angle induces a generating motion.
Based on Eq. 共3兲, the work gear rotation angle is a function of
the cutter and cradle rotation angles and may be rewritten as
␾1 = z0/z · ␤ + z p/z · ␾c = Rc · ␤ + Ra · ␾c
where Ra and Rc are the roll ratio and number ratio of the cutter
starts and work gear teeth, respectively. It should be noted that the
number ratio and roll ratio are both equal to zero for face-milling
and nongenerating cutting, respectively. Substituting Eq. 共4兲 into
Eq. 共2兲 yields a cutter surface locus that consists of only three
variables—u, ␤, and ␾c—which allows the tooth surface to be
solved through the equation of meshing..
The above mathematical model can be applied to simulate both
generating and nongenerating face-hobbing processes, including
Oerlikon’s Spiroflex and Spirac, and Gleason’s TriAC® cutting
systems. It can also be easily simplified to simulate face-milling
cutting, including most existing flank modification features.
4 Mathematical Model of the Cartesian-Type Hypoid
Generator
The DOF of the proposed Cartesian-type hypoid generator is
arranged based on the Gleason Phoenix machine, which has six
axes: three rectilinear motions 共Cx , Cy , Cz兲 and three rotational
共4兲
motions 共␺a , ␺b , ␺c兲 共see Fig. 3兲. Such a machine configuration is
recognized to have a minimum number of movable axes for the
operation of spiral bevel gear cutting. Its coordinate systems
St共xt , y t , zt兲 and S1共x1 , y 1 , z1兲, respectively, are rigidly connected to
the cutter head and work gear, whose relative positions are de-
scribed by auxiliary coordinate systems from Sa to Sd. Here, ␺a
and ␺c are the rotation angles of the work gear and cutter, respec-
tively, and ␺b denotes the machine root angle. The horizontal
motion Cx and the vertical motion Cy are used for cutter position-
ing, while Cz is the sliding base for controlling cutting depth.
Parameter Cd is the distance between the pitch apex of work gear
and the origin Oc stays constant during cutting and may be repre-

Fig. 3 Coordinate systems for the Gleason Phoenix six-axis machine

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 sented as 共Tt − M d − Fh兲, where Tt is the machine constant, M d is the angle positions of the Cartesian-type machine can be derived
the mounting distance, and Fh is the fixture height. In a cutting as follows by comparison with the 3 ⫻ 3 rotation matrices in Eq.
process using the face-hobbing method, there is a timed relation- 共9兲.

冉 冊
ship between all six movable axes; however, when the face-
milling method is used, the cutter rotation angle is excluded and a23共␾c兲
⌬␺a共␾c兲 = tan−1
only five axes are relative. a33共␾c兲
The transformation matrices St to S1 give the surface locus of
the cutting tool in the coordinate system S1 as follows: ␺b共␾c兲 = sin−1共a13共␾c兲兲

冉 冊
共C兲 共C兲 共C兲 共C兲
r1共C兲共u, ␤, ␾1兲 = M1d⬘ · Md⬘d · M共dcC兲 · M共cbC兲 · Mba
共C兲
· Maa⬘ · Ma⬘t · rt共u兲
a12共␾c兲
共C兲 共C兲 共C兲 ⌬␺c共␾c兲 = tan−1 共11兲
= M1d⬘ · M d⬘a⬘ · M a⬘t · rt共u兲 共5兲 a11共␾c兲

Here, Taking into account the translation vectors in Eq. 共9兲 together with
the above results yields a solution for the translational positions:

冤 冥
1 0 0 0
Cx共␾c兲 = 共a14共␾c兲 + Cd兲cos ␺b共␾c兲 − 共a34共␾c兲cos ⌬␺a共␾c兲
共C兲 0 cos ␾1 − sin ␾1 0
M1d⬘ = 共6兲 + a24共␾c兲sin ⌬␺a共␾c兲兲sin ␺b共␾c兲
0 sin ␾1 cos ␾1 0
0 0 0 1 Cy共␾c兲 = a24共␾c兲cos ⌬␺a共␾c兲 − a34共␾c兲sin ⌬␺a共␾c兲

冤 冥
cos ␤ − sin ␤ 0 0 Cz共␾c兲 = − 共a14共␾c兲 + Cd兲sin ␺b共␾c兲 − 共a34共␾c兲cos ⌬␺a共␾c兲
sin ␤ cos ␤ 0 0
共C兲
M a⬘t = 共7兲 + a24共␾c兲sin ⌬␺a共␾c兲兲cos ␺b共␾c兲 共12兲
0 0 1 0
Substituting Eq. 共4兲 in Eq. 共5兲 the cutter surface locus can be
0 0 0 1 adjusted to be a function of variables u, ␤, and ␾c. According to
differential geometry, the unit normal to surface of the work gear

冤 冥冤 冥
1 0 0 0 1 0 0 − Cd may then be represented in the coordinate system S1 by
0 cos ⌬␺a sin ⌬␺a 0 0 1 0 0
共C兲
M d⬘a⬘ = · ⳵r1共C兲共u, ␤, ␾c兲 ⳵r1共C兲共u, ␤, ␾c兲
0 − sin ⌬␺a cos ⌬␺a 0 0 0 1 0 ⫻
⳵u ⳵␤
n1共C兲共u, ␤, ␾c兲 = 共13兲

冏 冏
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
⳵r1共C兲共u, ␤, ␾c兲 ⳵r1共C兲共u, ␤, ␾c兲

冤 冥冤 冥
cos ␺b 0 sin ␺b 0 1 0 0 Cx ⫻
⳵u ⳵␤
0 1 0 0 0 1 0 Cy The tooth surface and surface normal of the nongenerating gear
· ·
− sin ␺b 0 cos ␺b 0 0 0 1 − Cz can then be determined from Eqs. 共5兲 and 共13兲 and the two bound-
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 ary equations of the gear blank. However, solving the tooth sur-
face and surface normal of the generating gear requires an addi-

冤 冥
cos ⌬␺c sin ⌬␺c 0 0 tional equation of meshing:

·
− sin ⌬␺c cos ⌬␺c 0 0
0 0 1 0
共8兲 冉
f 1共u, ␤, ␾c兲 = n1共C兲 · v1共t1兲 = n1共C兲 · ␾
˙c
⳵␾c
冊
⳵r1共C兲
=0 共14兲
0 0 0 1
where v共t1兲
1 is the relative velocity between the cutter and the work
where ⌬␺c and ⌬␺a are the phase adjustment angles of the cutter gear in coordinate system S1.
and work gear axes, respectively. Evidently, the motions of the six axes are also functions of the
The relative spatial positions of the cutter axis with respect to cradle rotation angle. Therefore, they may be represented as
the work gear axis should be the same whether the work gear is n-degree Taylor polynomials in terms of the cradle rotation angle:
cut on a cradle-type or Cartesian-type generator. Therefore, com-
paring Eq. 共5兲 with Eq. 共2兲 satisfies the following relation: C⬘x 共0兲 · ␾c C⬙x 共0兲 · ␾2c C共xn兲共0兲 · ␾nc
Cx共␾c兲 = Cx共0兲 + + + ¯ + + Rn1
共C兲 1! 2! n!
Md⬘a⬘ = M共faU兲共i, j, ␪c,SR,Em,⌬A,⌬B, ␥m ; ␾c兲 共9兲
共U兲
Here, the matrix M fa defines the relative spatial position of the C⬘y 共0兲 · ␾c C⬙y 共0兲 · ␾2c C共yn兲共0兲 · ␾nc
Cy共␾c兲 = Cy共0兲 + + + ¯ + + Rn2
cutter axis and work gear on a cradle-type generator and may be 1! 2! n!
expressed in the general form
Cz⬘共0兲 · ␾c Cz⬙共0兲 · ␾2c Cz共n兲共0兲 · ␾nc

冤 冥
a11共␾c兲 a12共␾c兲 a13共␾c兲 a14共␾c兲 Cz共␾c兲 = Cz共0兲 + + + ¯ + + Rn3
1! 2! n!
a21共␾c兲 a22共␾c兲 a23共␾c兲 a24共␾c兲
M共faU兲共␾c兲 = 共10兲
a31共␾c兲 a32共␾c兲 a33共␾c兲 a34共␾c兲 ⌬␺a⬘共0兲 · ␾c ⌬␺a⬙共0兲 · ␾2c
0 0 0 1 ⌬␺a共␾c兲 = ⌬␺a共0兲 + + + ¯
1! 2!
共U兲
where elements of the matrix are functions of the machine
M fa ⌬␺a共n兲共0兲 · ␾nc
settings and AFM motions, which in turn are functions of the + + Rn4
n!
cradle rotation angle. However, for nongenerating simulation,
those elements are constant because there is no cradle roll.
Assuming the rotational position of the work gear on the cradle- ␺b⬘共0兲 · ␾c ␺b⬙共0兲 · ␾2c ␺b共n兲共0兲 · ␾nc
␺b共␾c兲 = ␺b共0兲 + + + ¯ + + Rn5
type generator to be the same as on the Cartesian-type generator, 1! 2! n!

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 Table 1 Basic parameters of the Oerlikon Spirac hypoid gears Table 2 Universal machine settings for the uncorrected Spirac
in the numerical example: length unit: mm, angle unit: deg hypoid gears: length unit: mm, angle unit: deg

Pinion Gear Pinion Gear

Items Convex Concave Convex Concave Items Convex Concave Convex Concave

Blank and assembly data Tilt angle i 23.362 4.000

Shaft angle ⌺ 90.000 Swivel angle j −23.117 147.614
Offset V 20.000 Initial cradle angle setting ␪c 68.231 −55.299
Axial setting H −2.074 2.043 Radial setting Sn 98.459 98.409
Mean normal mn 3.334 Vertical offset Em 20.325 0.000
module Increment of machine ⌬A 3.564 0.001
Mean radius rn 25.941 85.737 center to back
Mean spiral angle ␤m 50.010 LH 37.134 RH Sliding base feed setting ⌬B 12.232 −7.677
Number of teeth z 10 41 Machine root angle ␥m −3.050 72.099
Pitch cone angle ␦ 17.614 71.961 Roll ratio Ra 4.1 —
Face width F 32 30
Pressure angle ␣n 22.134 −17.866 17.866 −22.134
Whole tooth height h 7.502
Normal backlash jn 0.150 spindle control, both phase adjustment angles must be properly
Mounting distance Md 100.000 45.000 added into the work gear rotation angle for the rotations between
Fixture height Fh 180.000 50.000 the cutter and work gear axes to match those in the cradle-type
machine. The total rotation angle of work gear can then be ex-
FS-type cutter head data pressed as
Number of cutter z0 13
starts ␺a共␾c兲 = ␾1 + ⌬␾1 = 共Rc · ␺c + Ra · ␾c兲 + 共⌬␺a共␾c兲 − Rc · ⌬␺c共␾c兲兲
Profile angle ␣0 17.322 −22.565 13.879 −26.044
共16兲
Blade curvature rc −147.000 −147.000 116.000 116.000
radius In a generating cutting process, the rotation ratio of the cutter
Offset angle ␦0 −14.270 −14.033 14.082 14.297 and work gear is a function of the cradle rotation angle, but during
Cutter radius r0 87.297 88.748 88.640 87.328 a nongenerating process, it is constant. This relationship between
Initial setting angle ␤i 66.057 56.295 −0.033 17.658 the rotation speeds of the cutter and work gear must be precisely
controlled by the electric gear box 共EGB兲 function provided by
the CNC controller. However, in the face-milling process, the cut-
ter spindle has no timed relationship with the other axes; there-
⌬␺⬘c 共0兲 · ␾c ⌬␺⬙c 共0兲 · ␾2c fore, only five axes require simultaneous movement.
⌬␺c共␾c兲 = ⌬␺c共0兲 + + + ¯
1! 2!
5 Flank Correction for Hypoid Gears Based on a Six-
⌬␺共cn兲共0兲 · ␾nc Axis Cartesian CNC Hypoid Generator
+ + Rn6 共15兲
n! The flank-correction method for spiral bevel and hypoid gears,
where Rn1–Rn6 are the remainders after n + 1, and the polynomials which has become well developed over the past decade, requires
up to degree six are used in modern sophisticated free-form CNC the following steps: 共a兲 calculation of the theoretical flank coordi-
machines like the Gleason Phoenix and Oerlikon C series. Fur- nates from the machine settings and cutter geometry, 共b兲 construc-
thermore, the derivatives in Eq. 共15兲 can be calculated by using tion of the sensitivity matrix through small changes in the ma-
the center difference method defined in the Appendix. chine settings based on the flank topographic deviation, 共c兲
Using the positions determined from Eqs. 共11兲 and 共12兲, the calculation of the deviation on the CMM based on the theoretical
six-axis CNC machine can provide the same relative movement flank coordinates, and 共d兲 calculation of the machine setting cor-
between the cutter and work gear as the cradle-type universal rections to minimize the deviations of the real surfaces using lin-
machine. Moreover, all operations for face-milling and face- ear regression. Rather than building the sensitivity matrix in the
hobbing cutting systems can be transferred into the movements conventional manner by varying the cutter parameters, cradle-type
using functions of the six-degree Taylor polynomials. The face- machine settings, and AFM motion parameters, we propose a ki-
hobbing method, however, requires simultaneous six-axis control nematical flank-correction method based on the mathematical
in which the cutter and work gear axes rotate in a timed relation- model of the six-axis hypoid generator, one that modulates only
ship for continuous indexing and the other four axes are used for the six nonlinear machine settings. This method offers a high-
the cutter and work gear setup. Additionally, because the cutter order flank correction through direct simultaneous six-axis con-
speed is normally kept constant during gear cutting for simpler trol.

Table 3 Kinematic positions of the Gleason Phoenix machine axes for the uncorrected Spirac hypoid gears

Pinion Gear
Items Convex Concave Convex Concave

Cx horizontal axis
Cy vertical axis
Cz work slide axis
⌬␺a work axis increment
␺b machine root angle
⌬␺c cutter axis increment
53.5407− 94.4217␾c − 20.1547␾c2 + 21.5426␾c3 + 3.6273␾c4 − 5.1496␾c5 − 1.0353␾c6 130.959
−71.2110− 40.6038␾c + 50.2269␾c2 + 9.5816␾c3 − 10.0505␾c4 − 2.1274␾c5 + 3.0340␾c6 67.501
−9.6132+ 8.2106␾c + 3.1584␾c2 − 1.3684␾c3 − 0.2632␾c4 + 0.0684␾c5 + 0.0088␾c6 −200.292
−0.5699− 24.2175␾c + 0.3675␾c2 + 5.2036␾c3 − 0.1134␾c4 − 0.9617␾c5 + 0.0441␾c6 −12.889
20.3054− 0.5690␾c − 12.0910␾c2 + 0.1393␾c3 + 1.4786␾c4 − 0.0337␾c5 − 0.2383␾c6 73.259
1.4352+ 61.0028␾c − 0.2403␾c2 − 3.4013␾c3 + 0.1215␾c4 + 1.0305␾c5 − 0.0441␾c6 79.397

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 Fig. 5 Simulated tooth surfaces of the Spirac hypoid gears
according to the proposed mathematical model of a Cartesian-
Fig. 4 Kinematic relationships of the Gleason Phoenix ma- type hypoid generator
chine axes for the uncorrected Spirac hypoid gears

The tooth surface can be expressed as a function of parameters r1 = r1共u, ␤, ␨ j兲 共j = 1, . . . ,q兲 共17兲
共u , ␤兲, which are derived from Eq. 共5兲 and the additional equation
of meshing for the generated surface. Using the polynomial coef- where ␨ j indicates the polynomial coefficients and q is the number
ficients of the six-axis motion as variables, the tooth surface may of polynomial coefficients. According to the differential geometry,
be represented as the surface variation vector is as follows:

Fig. 6 Flank topographic deviations for the numerical example

Fig. 7 Flank sensitivity topographies corresponding to the cutter parameters:

pinion

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 Fig. 8 Flank sensitivity topographies corresponding to the cutter parameters:
gear

Fig. 9 Flank sensitivity topographies corresponding to the zero-degree Taylor

coefficients for the six-axis movement: pinion

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 Fig. 10 Flank sensitivity topographies corresponding to the first-degree Tay-
lor coefficients for the six-axis movement: pinion

⳵r1 ⳵r
q
⳵r1 兵␦␨ j其 = 共关Sij兴T关Sij兴兲−1关Sij兴T兵␦Ri其 共21兲
␦r1 =
⳵u
␦u + 1 ␦␤ +
⳵␤ 兺j=1 ⳵␨ j
␦␨ j 共18兲 Since the sensitivity matrix is ill conditioned and, in most cases,
nearly singular, the singular value decomposition 共SVD兲 is used to
Because vectors ⳵r1 / ⳵u and ⳵r1 / ⳵␤ are both perpendicular to calculate the corrections of polynomial coefficient for avoiding
the surface normal, taking the inner product of the above equation numerical divergence.
with the surface normal gives the following simplified normal
surface variation: 6 Numerical Example and Discussion

␦r1 · n1 = 冉 ⳵r1
⳵u
⳵r
␦u + 1 ␦␤ +
⳵␤
q

j=1
⳵r1
兺 ⳵␨ ␦␨ j
j 冊 · n1 =
q

兺
j=1
冉 ⳵r1 · n1
⳵␨ j
冊␦␨ j
An Oerlikon’s Spirac hypoid gear set as shown in Ref. 11 is
adopted here to validate the flank-correction method. The Spirac
cutting system is a face-hobbing method, commonly used in the
共19兲 autoindustry, whose pinion is cut by a generating process but
whose gear is cut by a nongenerating process. The data for the
The normal surface variations at the topographical grid points basic gear blank and FS-type cutter head are listed in Table 1.
may then be written in matrix form: Table 2 lists the uncorrected basic machine settings, which are

冦 冧冤 冥冦 冧
␦R1 ⳵R1/⳵␨1 ¯ ¯ ⳵R1/⳵␨q ␦␨1 calculated based on the universal hypoid gear generator. Because
the Spirac method employs a double-flank cut for both the pinion
] ]
] ] and the gear, the machine settings are identical for the convex and
=
] ]
] ] concave sides. The tooth depth of the Spirac gears is constant,
␦R p ⳵R p/⳵␨1 ¯ ¯ ⳵R p/⳵␨q ␦␨q with an epicycloidal flank line.
In the Spirac cutting system, the pinion and gear are made by
兵␦Ri其 = 关Sij兴兵␦␨ j其 共i = 1, . . . ,p and j = 1, . . . ,q兲 共20兲 generating and nongenerating cutting processes, respectively.
Therefore, for the gear finishing operation, the CNC axes remain
where 兵␦Ri其 represents the normal surface deviations of the grid in fixed positions because there is no cradle roll. However, the
points, 关Sij兴 is the sensitivity matrix with respect to the polyno- pinion must be cut by a synchronous multiaxial motion for the
mial coefficients, and 兵␦␨ j其 represents the corrections to the poly- generating movement. Our numerical example uses a virtual
nomial coefficients. Because the number of polynomial coeffi- Cartesian-type hypoid generator, which is comparable to the Glea-
cients q is smaller than the number of the grid points p, Eq. 共20兲 son Phoenix six-axis machine. Assuming that the machine con-
is overdetermined. The corrections can be approximated using a stant Tt is equal to 300 mm, the CNC axis positions can be trans-
linear regression technique like the least squares method: lated from the universal hypoid gear generator 共see Table 3兲,

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 Fig. 11 Flank sensitivity topographies corresponding to the zero-degree Tay-
lor coefficients for the six-axis movement: gear
where the unit of the cradle angle ␾c is in radians. The values of
the six-axis movement during pinion and gear finishing operations
are given in Fig. 4, while the simulated tooth surfaces of both
gears are shown in Fig. 5.
The flank deviations for this numerical example, which result
from machine error and heat treatment deformation, are shown in
Fig. 6 and are measured before gear lapping. The flank deviation
of the ring gear is more regular than that of the pinion.
These flank deviations can be minimized by modulating the
cutter parameters and CNC axis movement. As shown in Figs.
7–11, the flank sensitivity topographies can be obtained by chang-
ing the cutter parameters and the polynomial coefficients of the
six-axis movement, respectively.
For the cutter parameters, only the profile angle and cutter ra-
dius are taken into account, because investigation shows that they
more obviously influence the tooth flanks than do the other pa-
rameters. As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the profile angle change
causes pressure angle difference. Moreover, the cutter radius used
for lengthwise crowning has a huge effect on the tooth thickness
change.
For the pinion, all polynomial coefficients of the six axes are
investigated, but only the flank sensitivity topographies linked to
the coefficients of zero and first degrees are shown in Figs. 9 and
10. As Fig. 9 illustrates, in the zero-degree coefficient, the Z 共for
cutting depth兲 and B 共for the machine root angle兲 axes are more
sensitive than other axes and greatly influence tooth thickness.
The change in the X and Y axes causes the pressure angle and
spiral angle differences, respectively. However, the change in the
A and C axes has no influence on the flank geography because the
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initial setting angles of the cutter and work gear have no effect on
it. As Fig. 10 shows, all first-degree coefficients influence the
flank geometry in the bias direction.
Because the gear is made by a nongenerating cutting process,
only the constant term needs to be investigated, as shown in Fig.
11. Most axial influences are similar to those shown in Fig. 9,
except for the X and B axes whose changes have an obvious
influence on the spiral angle.
Another good reason to use the sensitivity matrix built on the
Taylor polynomial for the six-axis Cartesian-type machine 共rather
than the sensitivity matrix for the cradle-type machine兲 is that the
former complies with the DOF of modern CNC Cartesian-type
machines. Thus, the coefficients of the polynomial give sound
physical meaning to the machine condition, and the gear’s calcu-
lated corrective polynomial coefficient measured immediately af-
ter soft cutting provides good user information about the cutting
machine. For example, a zero order coefficient indicates the accu-
racy of the homing position of the linear and rotation displace-
ment, while first order coefficients indicate the accurate perpen-
dicularity of the linear axes. Recording these corrective
coefficients allows evaluation of the cutting machine’s precision.
Moreover, since the corrective machine settings are calculated di-
rectly for a six-axis movement without conversion from cradle-
type machine settings to Cartesian-type machine settings, the ac-
curacy of the flank correction is very high.
The corrected cutter parameters and polynomial coefficients of
the pinion and gear are listed in Table 4 and the kinematical rela-
tionships of the example machine after correction are shown in
Fig. 12. Figures 13共c兲 and 13共d兲 show the simulated flank topo-
JUNE 2008, Vol. 130 / 062604-9
 Table 4 Corrections of the cutter parameters and kinematic positions of the example machine axes; length unit: mm, angle unit:
deg, ␾c unit: rad

Pinion Gear
Items Convex Concave Convex Concave

Cutter parameters
Profile angle 16.456 −23.312 14.036 −26.072
Cutter radius 87.187 88.867 88.605 87.362

Cx horizontal axis
Cy vertical axis
Cz work slide axis
⌬␺a work axis increment
␺b machine root angle
⌬␺c cutter axis increment
Positional functions
53.5634− 94.4128␾c − 20.1570␾c2 + 21.5422␾c3 + 3.6272␾c4 − 5.1496␾c5 − 1.0352␾c6 130.945
−71.3328− 40.6200␾c + 50.2307␾c2 + 9.5807␾c3 − 10.0504␾c4 − 2.1275␾c5 + 3.0340␾c6 67.495
−9.6889+ 8.1827␾c + 3.1594␾c2 − 1.3689␾c3 − 0.2631␾c4 + 0.0684␾c5 + 0.0088␾c6 −200.316
−0.5716− 23.9638␾c + 0.5480␾c2 + 5.9256␾c3 − 0.1443␾c4 − 0.9208␾c5 + 0.0412␾c6 −12.889
20.5434+ 0.1250␾c − 12.0933␾c2 − 1.3835␾c3 + 1.9666␾c4 − 0.1088␾c5 − 0.2179␾c6 73.324
1.4346+ 60.6591␾c − 0.4782␾c2 − 4.3409␾c3 + 0.1600␾c4 + 0.9755␾c5 − 0.0405␾c6 79.397

Fig. 12 Kinematic relationships of the Gleason Phoenix machine axes after

correction

Fig. 13 Simulated flank topographic deviations of the Oerlikon Spirac gears

after correction

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 graphic deviations of the pinion and gear, respectively, after cor- ⌬B ⫽ sliding base feed setting
rection. As the figure shows, the proposed correction can effi- ⌬␺a ⫽ phase adjustment angle of the work gear axis
ciently reduce the flank deviations. ⌬␺c ⫽ phase adjustment angle of the cutter axis
Nevertheless, it remains to be established how many terms of ␾1 ⫽ rotation angle of the work gear during gear
the polynomial are needed for a successful flank correction, a cutting
query investigated here using two cases of pinion correction. The ␾c ⫽ cradle rotation angle
result of the first case, which takes into account only the constant ␾c1 ⫽ epicycloidal cradle rotation angle
term of the polynomial, is shown in Fig. 13共a兲. As is evident, there ␾c2 ⫽ generating cradle rotation angle
is still a large error and high-order deviations cannot be elimi- ␥m ⫽ machine root angle
nated. Figure 13共b兲 illustrates the second case, which uses a poly- ␪c ⫽ initial cradle angle setting
nomial up to degree 4 to correct flank deviation. In this case, the ␺a,b,c ⫽ rotational axes of the six-axis Cartesian-type
flank correction is as good as that corrected by a sixth order poly- machine
nomial. Normally, during the generating process, the cradle range
is between −0.4 and 0.4. Therefore, a polynomial up to degree 4 is
Appendix
accurate enough for flank correction, but a polynomial up to order
6 is a safe choice for machine setup. Using the center difference method, the formulas for calculating
the derivatives up to order 6 can be given as follows:
7 Conclusions
− f 2 + 8f 1 − 8f −1 + f −2
This paper has established a mathematical model of the f i共 ␾ c兲 = + O共h4兲
12h
Cartesian-type hypoid generator, which is comparable to the Glea-
son Phoenix machine. In this model, the machine settings are − f 2 + 16f 1 − 30f 0 + 16f −1 − f −2
formulated as a function of Taylor polynomials up to the sixth f ii共␾c兲 = + O共h4兲
order, which can be converted from the previously proposed uni- 12h2
versal hypoid generator. The proposed mathematical model of a
Cartesian-type CNC machine enables successful cutting in all cut- − f 3 + 8f 2 − 13f 1 + 13f −1 − 8f −2 + f −3
f iii共␾c兲 = + O共h4兲
ting systems for spiral bevel and hypoid gears, including face- 8h3
milling and face-hobbing methods with or without AFM motions.
Based on the proposed mathematical model, we also developed − f 3 + 12f 2 − 39f 1 + 56f 0 − 39f −1 + 12f −2 − f −3
a kinematic flank-correction method, which is validated by the f iv共␾c兲 = + O共h4兲
6h4
numerical example. To provide more accurate flank correction, we
built the sensitivity matrix for the model using a topographical − f 4 + 9f 3 − 26f 2 + 29f 1 − 29f −1 + 26f −2 − 9f −3 + f −4
deviation that corresponds to the cutter parameters and polyno- f v共 ␾ c兲 =
mial coefficients. An additional advantage of the proposed sensi- 6h5
tivity approach is that the calculated corrective polynomial coef- + O共h4兲
ficients provide the user valuable information about the cutting
machine. Thus, recording these corrective coefficients allows sta- − f 4 + 12f 3 − 52f 2 + 116f 1 − 150f 0 + 116f −1 − 52f −2 + 12f −3 − f −4
tistical evaluation of cutting machine precision. f vi共␾c兲 =
4h6
Acknowledgment + O共h4兲
The authors are grateful to the National Science Council of where the truncation error terms are O共h4兲.
Taiwan for financial support. Part of this work was performed
under Contract No. NSC 95-2221-E-194-057.
References
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