Mechanism

and
Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690
Machine Theory
www.elsevier.com/locate/mechmt

Mathematical model for tooth surfaces representation

of face-hobbed hypoid gears and its application
to contact analysis and stress calculation
M. Vimercati
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica, Politecnico di Milano, Via La Masa 34, 20156 Milano, Italy

Received 1 February 2006; accepted 9 June 2006

Available online 4 August 2006

Abstract

An accurate geometrical representation of gear tooth surfaces is the fundamental starting point for developing a reliable
computerized gear design which includes tooth contact analysis under light and heavy loads and stress analysis. Goal of
this paper is just to propose a mathematical model able to represent tooth surfaces of a complex gear drive: hypoid gears
cut by face-hobbing method. With this aim, an analytical description of the cutting process is firstly formulated: FormateÒ
and generated cut are simulated, complex blade shapes, including protuberance (TopremÒ), are studied. Starting from
here, by using theory of gearing, the mathematical representation of gear tooth surfaces is derived; the proposed model
is very accurate allowing to handle also undercutting occurrence. The discussion is ended by an application of the model
to a real case: a truck transmission is modelled and the results are critically discussed; then, the so computed tooth surfaces
are provided as input to an advanced contact solver making possible to analyze the performance of such gear drive.
Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Face-hobbing; Hypoid gear; TopremÒ; Undercutting; Contact analysis

1. Introduction

The design of a successful gear drive involves many phases: among those, it is crucial to get an accurate
geometrical representation of gear tooth surfaces; this is true specifically when complex gears, such as pairs
having intersecting or crossing axes, are handled. In fact, tooth surface description can be considered the fun-
damental input to carry out profitably a computerized performance analysis of the gear drive. The main aim of
this work is to propose a mathematical model able to compute tooth surfaces of hypoid gear drive cut by face-
hobbing method.
As known [1], hypoid pairs, which are widely applied in the automotive transmissions, are manufactured
mainly by face-hobbing (FH) or face-milling (FM) cutting process. While this latter, traditionally adopted
by the Gleason WorksÒ, utilizes a circular face mill type cutter and uses an intermittent indexing, face-hobbing

E-mail address: martino.vimercati@polimi.it

0094-114X/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.mechmachtheory.2006.06.007
 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690 669

process, employed by Oerlikon Machine Tool Works Buehrle & CompanyÒ and in the last decades by the
Gleason WorksÒ as well, utilizes a circular face hob type cutter and work-piece and cutter axis rotate in a
timed relationship. As the gear is being cut, successive cutter blade groups engage successive tooth slots guar-
anteeing a continuous indexing. It follows that FH process is more efficient in terms of machining time while
FM method remains dominant in application where grinding, which FH can not develop, is required.
Since many decades, numerous authors have carried out many studies about representation and design of
spiral bevel and hypoid gears cut by face-milling method [2–7]. On the contrary, about gear cut by continuous
indexing process, very few works are available. Stadtfeld described the generality of the FH cutting process [1];
Litvin et al. derived a mathematical model able to describe tooth surfaces of a non-generated Oerlikon gear
member [8]; Fong proposed a computerized universal hypoid generator able to simulate virtually all primary
spiral bevel and hypoid cutting methods without providing a detailed description of the FH case [9]. Referring
to the performance analysis of FH gear drive, this topic has not yet been significantly investigated. Thus, tech-
nical literature about this topic is quite lacking and, nowadays, it is possible to study this kind of gears basi-
cally by using, as a ‘‘black box’’, proprietary software which has been developed by manufacturing machine
and tools suppliers.
Goal of this paper is just to deeply analyze FH process and to present a mathematical model able to com-
pute the tooth surfaces of a gear drive cut by face-hobbing method [10]. A detailed description of all of the
steps necessary to build this model will be provided; after a brief discussion about kinematic relationships
of FH process and about the main characteristics of a FH uniform depth tooth, cutting tools, referring to
Gleason Tri-acÒ System, will be analytically described; straight and curved blade, with or without protuber-
ance (i.e. TopremÒ), will be considered. Then, according to the theory of gearing, the cutting process will be
simulated and gear tooth surfaces will be derived. The model is able to compute an accurate description of the
tooth; in particular, by means of a simple algorithm, it can handle undercutting condition, which is very com-
mon in FH tooth; moreover, it can monitor the discrepancy between nominal and actual tooth height.
The developed model will be applied to simulate a real gear drive which is employed in a truck transmis-
sion; a FormateÒ gear member and an undercut generated pinion are considered. The obtained results will be
accurately evaluated and validated by comparison with the ones provided by a reference proprietary software.
Finally, the obtained tooth surfaces will be used as input for a powerful contact solver which is based on a
unique semi-analytical finite element formulation [11,12]. Firstly, the gear drive will be analyzed under light
load – that is, Tooth Contact Analysis (TCA) will be performed – and, for drive and coast side, the contact
pattern and transmission error will be monitored. After that, with the aim to find out gear drive performance
in the real service conditions, a set of torque values will be applied and the influence of the load on contact
pattern, on transmission error and on load sharing will be accurately analyzed. Contact pressure and stress
distribution will be also evaluated.

2. The basics of face-hobbing method

In Fig. 1 a sketch of face-hobbing cutting process is shown. The head cutter is provided with a proper num-
ber of blade groups Nb, each of them consists in an outer and an inner blade. In order to accomplish contin-
uous indexing, the head cutter and the being generated gear are rotating in opposite directions and the next
group of blades will start to cut the next gear tooth after that the current group of blades has finished cutting
the current tooth. It follows that the angular velocity of the cutter xb is related to the angular velocity of the
work-piece xw according to the ratio (Rb) between the number of blade groups Nb and the number of being
generated gear teeth Nw
N b xw
Rb ¼ ¼ ð1Þ
N w xb
Another way to approach the problem is to use the concept of imaginary generating gear. Referring to Fig. 1,
it consists of a roll circle that has its centre coinciding with the head cutter centre and rolls on the base circle
without slippage. A vector starting from the centre of the roll circle represents with its tip a cutting blade; if
this vector is connected solidly with the roll circle, it follows that, during cutting process, its tip tracks an
epicycloid curve. Clearly, unlike face-milling method, the effective cutting direction of the blade is not
670 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690

Fig. 1. Kinematic principle of continuous indexing process.

perpendicular to the cutter radius vector but the blade is moved in the head cutter tangentially to an offset
position to accommodate the proper epicycloid shape.
This description is referred to non-generated process (FormateÒ). If a generated gear is required, it is nec-
essary to superimpose to the shown scheme the generation motion that relates, as happens in FM case, the
rotation of the cradle to the one of the being generated gear according to the proper ratio.
Traditionally, FH gear drive has uniform depth tooth; it follows that FH tooth often shows undercut toe
section with sharp topland. This latter inconvenient can be eliminated by introducing a secondary face angle;
undercutting avoidance could be a difficult task and often FH gear drives work affected by it.

3. Mathematical model for tooth surface representation of face-hobbed hypoid gears

In the following, all details necessary to build the model able to represent tooth surfaces of a face-hobbed
hypoid gear will be provided; a real FH cutting process, Gleason Tri-acÒ, will be analyzed. The discussion will
start by formulating an analytical description of the blades; then, by means of theory of gearing, cutting pro-
cess will be simulated and equation of tooth surfaces will be derived; FormateÒ gear member and generated
pinion will be studied. Finally, a complete description on how to determine real tooth profile, by considering
TopremÒ action or undercutting occurrence, will be shown.
The input data of the model, necessary to describe the gear pair and the cutting process, are referred to the
Gleason Special Analysis FileÒ (SAF) because in this way a set of absolute measures of machine setting it will
be handled; that is, measures which are independent of the particular tooling or machine model considered for
the real cutting process [13].

3.1. Analytical description of blade geometry

As mentioned, face-hobbing head cutter carries a given number Nb of blade groups; each group contains an
inner blade for cutting convex gear side and an outer one for concave side. Fig. 2 shows, from two different
viewing points, the location of one blade group in a Gleason Tri-acÒ left-handed (LH) head cutter. A left-
handed gear or pinion is cut by a LH head cutter.
In order to properly locate the blades in the head cutter, focus the attention, for example, on the outer
blade, which is also shown in Fig. 3 (on the left). To simplify, cutting edge is schematically represented as
 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690 671

Fig. 2. Schematic view of a LH blade group mounted in the head cutter.

Fig. 3. Sketch of the LH blades.

a straight line without fillet; in the following more complex configuration it will assume. Firstly, it is necessary
to place the pitch point of the cutting edge and to introduce a set of coordinates systems. A reference frame Se
has been set up with its origin at the pitch point and its axes parallel to the edges of the tool blank. It is pos-
sible to define the angle ae (blade Angle) as the angle between the axis Ze and the projection of the cutting edge
on the plane XeZe. Moreover, it is evident that the cutting edge lies entirely on a plane, called rake plane,
which forms an angle je (rake angle, usually equal to 12°) with tool blank plane having as normal the Ye axis.
Again, consider Fig. 2, where the blades mounted in the head cutter are shown. The reference frame Sh is
set up with its origin in the center of the head cutter. The blade radius rb describes the distance between the
pitch point and the head cutter center Oh; the angle eb (eccentric angle) is introduced in order to take into
account that face-hobbing process, unlike face-milling, shows blades that are not perpendicular to the cutter
radius. Moreover, it is evident that the blade is not perpendicular to the head cutter plane XhYh, but it is
672 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690

mounted at an angle gb (hook angle, usually equal to 4.42°) with respect to the head cutter axis Zh. In order to
take into account this angle, reference frame Sb has been set up whose origin is located in the blade pitch point,
having Xb axis coinciding with Xe axis (see also Fig. 3). Finally, reference frame St, parallel to Sb, but having
the origin coinciding with the tip of the blade has been introduced (Fig. 3); blade height hf measures the dis-
tance from XbYb plane to the blade tip.
A similar discussion can be developed for the inner blade (Fig. 3 on the right).
The setting of right-handed (RH) head cutter, which is used for cutting right-handed gear or pinion, is
obtained simply by mirroring left-handed blade group on the plane whose trace is indicated in Fig. 2.
Starting from the described configuration, it is possible to compute the analytical formulation of the cutting
edge. Firstly, it is useful to define, in the reference frame Se (Fig. 3), a vector ce oriented along cutting edge and
pointing from the pitch point to the blade tip (upper sign is referring to the outer blade, lower case to the inner
one)
2 3
 sin ae
6 7
ce ¼ 4 sin ae tan je 5 ð2Þ
cos ae
It is also convenient to derive ne, the unit vector normal to the rake plane
2 3
 sin je
6 7
ne ¼ 4  cos je 5 ð3Þ
0
By rotating vector ce and ne about Xe axis by the angle gb, a measure of these vectors in the reference frame Sb
is obtained
2 3
1 0 0
6 7
cb ¼ 4 0 cos gb  sin gb 5ce ð4Þ
0 sin gb cos gb
2 3
1 0 0
6 7
nb ¼ 4 0 cos gb  sin gb 5ne ð5Þ
0 sin gb cos gb
By using these components, it is possible to compute the angles ab and jb
ab ¼ arctanðcbx =cbz Þ ¼ f ðae ; je ; gb Þ ð6Þ
jb ¼ arctanðcby =cbx Þ ¼ f ðae ; je ; gb Þ ð7Þ
Finally, the components of the vector cb measured in reference frame Sh are needed
2 3
cos eb sin eb 0
6 7
ch ¼ 4  sin eb cos eb 0 5cb ð8Þ
0 0 1
As before, it is possible to define the angle ah (nominal blade angle)
ah ¼ arctanðchx =chz Þ ¼ f ðae ; je ; gb ; eb Þ ð9Þ
Table 1 is aimed to list the mentioned input parameters. All these parameters can assume different values for
outer and inner blade; these values are kept in Gleason SAFÒ.
In the following it will be clear that, in order to compute analytically cutting edge shape, it is also necessary
to know the value of the angle ab: by solving Eq. (9), it is very simple to obtain ae and consequently ab by
Eq. (6).
At this point all the information for starting to compute cutting edge shape are obtained. In this paper a
complex blade configuration – curved blade with TopremÒ – will be analyzed: simpler shapes as straight blade
 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690 673

Table 1
Parameters describing the head cutter and the blade for FH method
Parameter Symbol
Blade radius [mm] rb
Eccentric angle [deg] eb
Blade height [mm] hf
Nominal blade angle [deg] ah
Rake angle [deg] je
Hook angle [deg] gb

with and without TopremÒ or curved blade without TopremÒ are easily derived by modifying opportunely the
following discussion.
It is convenient to start deriving the projection of the cutting blade on the XtZt plane. Fig. 4 shows the pro-
jection on this plane of a left-handed curved blade with TopremÒ (on the left – outer blade, on the right – inner
blade); the following sections which are function of the curvilinear coordinate s are defined:

(I) Bottom: straight horizontal segment.

(II) Fillet: circular arc of radius re (edge radius) and center at point R.
(III) TopremÒ: straight inclined segment characterized by the length LT and the angle s.
(IV) Curved blade: circular arc with radius of curvature q and center at point O.

Table 2 summarized the parameters describing the cutting edge; they can assume different values depending
if they are referred to outer or inner blade; these values are kept in Gleason SAFÒ. To be noted that, because
the value stored in SAF of the radius of curvature of the blade q is calculated in the rake plane, it is necessary,
in order to obtain qt, to project q on XtZt plane.

Fig. 4. Projection of the curved LH blade on XtZt plane.

Table 2
Parameters describing the curved with protuberance cutting edge
Parameter Symbol
Edge radius [mm] re
Radius of curvature [mm] q
Toprem angle [deg] s
Toprem length [mm] LT
674 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690

With the aim to calculate the coordinates of an arbitrary point of these four sections, it is useful to calculate
the coordinates of some particular points. Referring to Fig. 4, the coordinates of the projection on XtZt plane
of blade pitch point P and of the center of curvature O of the curved blade are computed (upper sign is refer-
ring to the outer blade, lower case to the inner one)
   
xP hf tan ab
¼ ð10Þ
zP hf
   
xO xP  qt cos ab
¼ ð11Þ
zO zP þ qt sin ab

Then, coordinates of point A, intersection of the Xt axis with the straight line that forms Section 3 correspond-
ing to the TopremÒ, are searched. Consider the triangle OAB, where point B is the intersection of the curved
blade with the TopremÒ; the length OB is equal to the radius of curvature qt, AB is equal to the TopremÒ
length and the angle OBA ^ is equal to p/2  s. Using the law of cosines, the length of the third side OA is easily
computed
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
OA ¼ q2t þ L2T  2qt LT cosðp=2  sÞ ð12Þ

^ can be calculated by the law of sines

The angle AOB
 
^ ¼ arcsin LT sinðp=2  sÞ
AOB ð13Þ
OA

By computing the angle k as

z 
O
k ¼ arcsin ð14Þ
OA
it is easy to obtain the coordinates of point A
   
xA xO  OA cos k
¼ ð15Þ
zA 0

and to compute the angle d

^
d ¼ k þ AOB ð16Þ
From here, it is possible to calculate the angle c subtended by Section 2 and the length L1 of Section 2
c ¼ p=2  ðd  sÞ ð17Þ
L1 ¼ re c ð18Þ
At this point, the coordinates of the center (point R) of the circular arc forming the blade fillet are derived
   
xR xA  re tanðc=2Þ
¼ ð19Þ
zR re
Finally, the length of Section 3 L2 can be computed
L2 ¼ LT  re tanðc=2Þ ð20Þ
Now all the information to write out, in reference frame St, the x and z components of the position vector of
an arbitrary blade point have been collected; using apex ‘‘p’’ to distinguish the four blade parts, the relations
reported in Table 3 are obtained.
In order to compute y component, it is necessary to consider that y component at blade pitch point is
known
y P ¼ hf tan ab tan jb ð21Þ
 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690 675

Table 3
Components along Xt and Zt axis of the position vector of an arbitrary point of a curve blade with TopremÒ
 p 
Blade part p sp x1 ðsÞ
zp1 ðsÞ
 
Bottom I sI 6 0 sI þ xR
0
 
II xR  re sinðsII =re Þ
Fillet II 0 6 s 6 L1
re ð1  cosðsII =re ÞÞ
 
xR  re sinðsIII =re Þ  ðsIII  L1 Þ sinðd  sÞ
Toprem III L1 6 sIII 6 L1 + L2
re ð1  cosðsIII =re ÞÞ  ðsIII  L1 Þ cosðd  sÞ
 
xO  qt cosðd þ ðsIV  L1  L2 Þ=qt Þ
Curved blade IV L1 + L2 6 sIV
zO  qt sinðd þ ðsIV  L1  L2 Þ=qt Þ

and that all the points of cutting edge lie in rake plane. By imposing that an arbitrary point of the blade rpt ðsÞ
and the pitch point P lie on the same plane (i.e. rake plane having as normal vector nb (Eq. (5))), it is possible
to obtain expression for y pt ðsÞ
ðxP  xpt ðsÞÞnb;x þ ðzP  zpt ðsÞÞnb;z
y pt ðsÞ ¼ y P þ ð22Þ
nb;y
Referring to Fig. 4, it is possible to note that, when TopremÒ exists, the vector normal to the cutting edge does
not vary continuously but it presents a discontinuity at the intersection between TopremÒ and curved blade
(point B). In the next section, the consequences that this discontinuity induces in the generation process will be
discussed.
Finally, it is necessary to measure vector rpt ðsÞ in the head cutter reference frame Sh; considering Fig. 2, it is
easy to derive vector rph ðsÞ:
2 3
rb þ ðxpt ðsÞ  xP Þ cos eb þ ðy pt ðsÞ  y P Þ sin eb
6 7
rph ðsÞ ¼ 4 ðxpt ðsÞ  xP Þ sin eb þ ðy pt ðsÞ  y P Þ cos eb 5 ð23Þ
zpt ðsÞ  zP
By properly redefining vector ce and vector nb, a similar expression of rph ðsÞ for outer/inner blades of a right-
handed (RH) head cutter can be obtained.

3.2. Simulation of FH cutting process and computation of gear tooth surfaces equations

The representation of cutting blade in head cutter reference frame Sh, which has been derived in the pre-
vious section (Eq. (23)), is the starting point for the computation of tooth surfaces equations. With this
aim, according to theory of gearing [14,15], a proper coordinate transformation able to simulate the cutting
process and to represent the cutting edge in reference frame of being generated gear, has to be developed.
In the following, the relations computed to describe both type of cutting process – with and without gen-
eration motion – will be proposed; as known [1], these two processes are usually employed to manufacture
respectively the pinion and the gear member.

3.2.1. FH cutting process without generation motion

Fig. 5 reports a FH cutting machine which is set up to cut a FormateÒ gear member. In order to describe
the machine settings, a proper set of reference frames has to be defined. In particular, it is convenient to focus
the attention on three reference frames. The first one, already defined in previous section, is Sh that is rigidly
connected to the head cutter and has Zh axis coinciding with cutter rotation axis; the rotation of the cutter is
described by the angle h. Then, it is placed Sm that is fixed and rigidly connected to the cutting machine; it has
the origin Om in the machine centre and Zm axis is parallel to the head cutter rotation axis. Finally reference
frame Sw has been set up; it is rigidly connected to the work-piece, with the origin Ow placed in the crossing
676 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690

Fig. 5. Cutting machine setup for manufacturing a non-generated gear.

point of gear drives and Zw axis coinciding with the gear rotation axis. In order to accomplish the face-hob-
bing continuous indexing motion, Sw has to rotate about Zw axis by an angle equal to Rbh, where the ratio Rb
has been defined in Eq. (1). In this way, one blade group exactly passes through each tooth space on the work-
piece.
Gleason SAFÒ provides the details to properly locate, with respect to reference frame Sm (see Fig. 5), the
blank (cm: machine root angle and DXp: machine center to back) and the head cutter (H: Horizontal setting, V:
Vertical setting).
At this point, starting from the analytical description of cutting edge in reference frame Sh (Eq. (23)), by
operating the proper coordinates transformations, the cutting edge representation in Sw is derived

rpw ðh; sÞ ¼ M w2 M 2m M m1 M 1h rph ðsÞ ð24Þ

Table 4 summarized the coordinates transformation; Appendix A provides the details of the matrices.
Eq. (24) represents the tooth surface; by using values of h and s that satisfy Eq. (24) and the tooth geometric
boundaries, a surface for each part ‘‘p’’ of the blade is generated. For example, considering previously dis-
cussed blade, four surfaces, corresponding to the four blade parts (bottom, fillet, TopremÒ and curved blade),
are obtained; in the next section, how to handle these surfaces in order to compute final tooth profile it will be
shown.
The normal vector to these surfaces is computed as follows:

o p o
npw ðh; sÞ ¼ rw ðh; sÞ  rpw ðh; sÞ ð25Þ
os oh

Table 4
Definitions of the matrix transformations for non-generated FH cutting process simulation
Matrix Transformation Machine setting Symbol
M1h Sh ! S1 Cutter rotation h
Mm1 S1 ! Sm Horizontal setting H
Vertical Setting V
M2m Sm ! S2 Machine center to back DXp
Machine root angle cm
Mw2 S2 ! Sw Work-piece rotation Rbh
 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690 677

Fig. 6. Cutting machine setup for manufacturing a generated gear.

3.2.2. FH cutting process with generation motion

Consider now a FH cutting machine which is ready to cut a generated pinion (Fig. 6). As shown for the
non-generated gear member, the reference frames Sh, Sm and Sw have rigidly connected respectively to head
cutter, machine centre and work-piece. With the aim to that into account the generation motion it is also nec-
essary to place the reference frame Sc which is rigidly connected to the cradle. Doing so, the rotation of the
work-piece (i.e. of the reference frame Sw) is, now, described by means of the sum of two independent terms:
one necessary to take into account the continuous indexing motion (the angle Rbh) and one to consider that
the work-piece rotates in a timed relationship with the cradle (the angle Ra/ where Ra is the ratio of roll and /
is the rotation angle of the cradle, i.e. the rotation of reference frame Sc – see Fig. 6).
In Gleason SAFÒ are kept the values of Ra and of all the settings to properly locate, with respect to ref-
erence frame Sm (see Fig. 6), the blank (Em: blank offset, cm: machine root angle, DXp: machine center to back,
DXb: sliding base) and the head cutter (Sr: radial setting, i: tilt angle, j: swivel angle, q: cradle angle).
At this point, by operating the proper coordinates transformation, the cutting edge representation in Sw is
derived
rpw ðh; /; sÞ ¼ M w5 M 54 M 4m M mc M c3 M 32 M 21 M 1h rph ðsÞ ð26Þ
where rph ðsÞ is the analytical description of cutting edge in reference frame Sh (Eq. (23)); Table 5 and Appendix
B summarizes the details describing the coordinates transformation.
It is simple to note that Eq. (26), unlike the non-generated tooth, is not a surface but it represents a family
of surfaces; with the aim to derive tooth surfaces, the envelope of this family of surfaces has to be computed,
i.e. it is necessary to calculate the set of points for whom the equation of meshing is satisfied:
 
o p o o p
rw ðh; /; sÞ  rpw ðh; /; sÞ  r ðh; /; sÞ ¼ 0 ð27Þ
os oh o/ w
By using values of h, / and s that satisfy Eqs. (26) and (27) and the tooth geometric boundaries, a surface for
each part ‘‘p’’ of the blade is generated.
678 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690

Table 5
Definitions of the matrix transformations for generated FH cutting process simulation
Matrix Transformation Machine setting Symbol
M1h Sh ! S1 Cutter rotation h
M21 S1 ! S2 Tilt angle i
M32 S2 ! S3 Swivel angle j
Mc3 S3 ! Sc Radial setting Sr
Cradle angle q
Mmc Sc ! Sm Cradle rotation /
M4m Sm ! S4 Blank offset Em
Sliding base DXb
M54 S4 ! S5 Machine center to back DXp
Machine root angle cm
Mw5 S5 ! Sw Work-piece rotation Rbh + Ra/

The normal vector to these surfaces is obtained as follows:

o p o
npw ðh; /; sÞ ¼ r ðh; /; sÞ  rpw ðh; /; sÞ ð28Þ
os w oh

3.3. Gear tooth profile determination

Due to the complexity of the equations involved in the definition of cutting tools and in the simulation of
cutting process, analytical computation of the tooth surfaces is a quite cumbersome task. A convenient way to
accomplish this step is to slice the tooth by means of perpendicular to the pitch line cross sections (Fig. 7) and
to compute numerically the tooth profiles belonging to these cross sections. Consider as example a non-gen-
erated tooth cut by curved blade with TopremÒ and focus the attention on one blade, for example the outer
one. As mentioned (see Fig. 4), each blade section ‘‘p’’ is defined over an interval of values of the curvilinear
coordinate ½spmin ; spmax ; at this stage it is convenient to uniformly divide each interval into np parts, obtaining the
following np + 1 calculation points:

sp  sp sp  sp sp  sp
spmin ; max p min þ spmin ; 2 max p min þ spmin ; . . . ; ðnp  1Þ max p min þ spmin ; spmax ð29Þ
n n n
By solving a non-linear problem, for each values of sp, the coordinates of the point belonging to the selected
cross-section of the tooth and satisfying Eq. (24) are computed. By applying the same procedure to the inner
blade, the complete profile of the tooth section, which is shown in Fig. 8, is obtained. By means of the different
shapes of the markers, the profiles cut by the four parts of the blades are highlighted. Due to the non-gener-

Fig. 7. Cross sections for tooth representation.

 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690 679

Fig. 8. Example of cross-section profile of a non-generated tooth.

ated cutting process, it is evident that the profile is very regular and it is very similar to the shape of the cutting
blade. With the aim to represent the whole tooth, a given number of sections along the tooth lead has to be
derived.
If a generated pinion is considered, discussion becomes more complicated; in fact, searched points must
also satisfy equation of meshing (Eq. (27)). Fig. 9 reports the profile of a generated tooth section cut by curved
blade with TopremÒ; it is clear that generation process develops a quite intricate profile. In particular, convex
side (zoom on the right) shows an intersection between profile generated by TopremÒ (marker: triangle) and
the one generated by curved blade (marker: square); this is due to the previously mentioned discontinuity in
the definition of the normal vector of the blade profile. The zoom on the left reports what happens on the
concave side; fillet (marker: circle) intersects active flank (marker: square) and undercutting, which is a com-
mon occurrence in uniform depth tooth, takes place; now TopremÒ does not cut any part of real tooth profile.
It is evident that, in both of cases, in order to derive the real tooth profile, intersections have to be detected
and the points not belonging to the tooth profile have to be eliminated and to be replaced by the intersection
points; the remaining points define the final tooth profile. With this aim, a simple numerical procedure for
checking and solving intersection between segments, which is based on simple properties of vectors [16],

Fig. 9. Example of cross-section profile of a generated tooth.

680 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690

has been used. Clearly, each section presents a different type of intersection between the parts of profile; the
implemented algorithm has to be so general to detect all of them and to compute the correct final profile.

4. Application of the model to a real case

By means of the developed mathematical model, a real gear drive of a truck transmission has been simu-
lated. In Table 6 are reported the basic geometric data of the example; a hypoid gear drive carrying a For-
mateÒ gear with 44 teeth and a generated pinion with 15 teeth is analyzed. Gleason Tri-acÒ head cutter
having a nominal radius equal to 76 mm and 13 blade groups is employed; the gear is cut by curved blades,
the pinion by curved blades with TopremÒ. For both the member, blade radius of curvature q is equal to
762 mm.
In Fig. 10a a picture of the gear member computed by the model is shown. By observing a particular of two
gear teeth (Fig. 10b), it is evident that the non-generated member presents profiles which are very regular and
similar to the shape of the cutting edge. The pinion, which is illustrated in Fig. 11, requires a wider discussion.
Consider Fig. 12, where toe (A), mid (B) and heel (B) cross sections, including the trace of root cone, are
reported. Toe section presents the typical characteristic of a face-hobbed generated tooth: convex and concave
profiles are undercut and the topland is very sharp. Due to the slightly different pressure angles of the blades,
concave profile of all the sections is different from the convex one. Moreover, neither of the sections has tooth
height equal to the nominal one (NTH); in particular the heel section concave side height is about 4% higher
than the nominal one.

Table 6
Basic geometric data of the modelled transmission
Pinion Gear
Module [mm] m 5.11
Shaft angle [deg] R 90
Number of teeth N 15 44
Mean spiral angle [deg] b 43.00 28.90
Hand of spiral LH RH
Face width [mm] FW 41.43 38.00
Outer cone distance [mm] OCD 106.40 126.10
Pitch angle [mm] c 26.88 62.41
Addendum [mm] Ad 5.09 2.96
Dedendum [mm] De 3.91 6.04

Fig. 10. Computerized representation of the gear: (a) whole gear; (b) zoom of two gear teeth.
 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690 681

Fig. 11. Computerized representation of the pinion: (a) whole pinion; (b) zoom of two pinion teeth.

Fig. 12. Pinion cross-sections and discrepancies between nominal tooth height (NTH) and the actual one: (a) toe section; (b) mean section;
(c) heel section.

It is interesting to analyze deeper what happens in tooth fillet area which is the most critical region for stress
distribution. By means of the presented model it is possible to derive the real root line (RRL), the TopremÒ
682 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690

junction line (junction line between the surface generated by curved blade and the one obtained by TopremÒ –
TJL) and either the amount of undercutting (if there is undercutting) or the height of fillet (if there is not
undercutting) (UC/FL). In Fig. 13 the results obtained from concave and convex side of the pinion are
reported. It is evident that, referring to concave side, the real root line is always below the nominal root line
(NRL) while for the convex side it is always above. Moreover, it is possible to detect undercutting zone simply
by considering where the TopremÒ junction line vanishes; concave side shows a wider undercutting area and a
smaller TopremÒ region than the convex one.
In order to validate the results of the model, the obtained surfaces are compared with the ones generated by
GleasonÒ software which is considered a reliable reference. By means of the two theoretical models, coordi-
nates of the concave and convex active flanks for both of gear and pinion are computed; calculation points
consist in a grid containing 15 points along lead (coordinate i) and 9 points along tooth profile (coordinate
j). Defining rij the position vector of an arbitrary point calculated by means of the presented model and rG ij ,
nGij respectively the position vector and the normal vector derived by Gleason software, discrepancies between
the two surfaces are computed as normal deviation of two homologue points using the following relation:

Drij ¼ ðrij  rG G
ij Þ  nij ð30Þ

For both the pinion and the gear, the normal deviation between the two theoretical models is small (mean
normal deviation below 0.1 lm – Table 7) and randomly distributed over the flank (see Figs. 14 and 15). Thus,
this comparison allows to affirm that the results obtained by the model presented in this paper are able to
predict effectively the FH tooth geometry.

Fig. 13. Detailed representation of the pinion fillet area: (a) concave side; (b) convex side.

Table 7
Normal deviation between results obtained by the proposed model and by Gleason software
Pinion Gear
Concave Convex Concave Convex
jDrmaxj [lm] 0.2426 0.1863 0.2294 0.2307
jDrminj [lm] 0.0016 0.0001 0.0005 0.0006
Drmeana [lm] 0.0884 0.0700 0.0849 0.0803
Drdev.stda [lm] 0.0566 0.0471 0.0628 0.0502
a
Calculated on absolute values of normal deviation.
 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690 683

Fig. 14. Normal deviation between results obtained by the proposed model and by Gleason software referring to pinion active flank: (a)
concave side; (b) convex side.

Fig. 15. Normal deviation between results obtained by the proposed model and by Gleason software referring to gear active flank: (a)
concave side; (b) convex side.

5. Computerized performance analysis of Face Hobbed hypoid gear

By properly inquiring the mathematical model which has been proposed in the previous section, the input
(i.e. the gear tooth surfaces) for the performance analysis of the gear drive has been provided. With this aim,
an advanced contact solver which combines a semi-analytical approach based on the Boussinesq theory for
computing relative displacement in the contact zone with traditional finite element method for calculation
of gross deflections associated with tooth bending (i.e. displacements far from contact region) [11,12] has been
adopted. In this way, an accurate numerical model with a relative coarse mesh can be built allowing very effi-
cient contact analysis and stress calculation.
684 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690

Fig. 16. Settings of the numerical model used for performance analysis: (a) instalment errors; (b) pinion rotation.

Fig. 16 shows the settings of the model prepared for these analyses. Gear meshing is studied in the fixed
reference frame Sg that is rigidly connected to the housing; the system Sf,1 and Sf,2 are defined in order to take
into account the relative position of pinion and of gear with respect of the system Sg; in this way, it is also
simple to introduce the instalment errors (DE, DP, DG and DC). According to Fig. 16 (on the right), pinion
rotation is considered by means of system Sw,1 which is rigidly connected to the pinion; as mentioned, this
frame has been also used to compute tooth surface equations. Gear rotation is similarly handled.
Boundaries conditions are placed according to a simplified approach, already seen in the literature [4]: the
internal pinion rim is constrained to 5 degrees of freedom and the torque is imposed; the internal gear rim is
fully constrained. When drive side is analyzed, contacting surfaces are pinion concave/gear convex, the con-
trary for coast side condition. The contact is simulated as frictionless.
The material is defined as steel with the properties of Young’s modulus E = 210,000 N/mm2 and the
Poisson’s ratio m = 0.3.
The analyses carried out in this paper are static: that is, the whole cycle of meshing has been divided and
analyzed in many instants.

5.1. Contact analysis – light load

According to most of proprietary software, contact analysis under light load (also known as Tooth Contact
Analysis – TCA) is based on the assumption that the applied torque is strictly null and the gear teeth are rigid
[17]. In this paper, due to the fact that the contact solver employs finite element method, a torque, though very
light (0.0001 Nm), has to be applied; moreover the teeth show the stiffness which is deriving from the charac-
teristics of geometry and material.
The cases which have been analyzed in this paper are reported in Table 8; for drive and coast side, toe,
mean and heel contact position have been considered. Instalment errors for toe and heel position are com-

Table 8
Studied cases for contact analysis under light load
ID case Side Contact Position DE [mm] DP [mm] Torque [Nm]
1 Drive Toe 0.254 0.102 0
2 Drive Mean 0 0 0
3 Drive Heel 0.508 0.280 0
4 Coast Toe 0.254 0.051 0
5 Coast Mean 0 0 0
6 Coast Heel 0.508 0.254 0
 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690 685

Table 9
Results computed for contact analysis under light load

puted considering a distance from the mean point of 0.25FW respectively towards the toe and towards the
heel.
Table 9 illustrates the results obtained by means of the proposed model; for each analyzed case, contact
pattern and transmission error (TE) are reported; Peak to Peak transmission error (PPTE), which gives an
idea of the gear noise level, is summarized as well. TE has been defined as the difference in the angular dis-
placement of the gear member from the theoretically exact position based on the ratio of the numbers of teeth,
at different pinion angular rotation
N1
TE ¼ Du2 ¼ u2  u ð31Þ
N2 1

Path of contact (i.e. white points superimposed to contact pattern) is oblique and remains correctly in the
tooth boundaries. Transmission error shows the typical negative parabolic shape according to the examples
in the literature [18].
These results have been compared with the ones calculated by TCA module of a reference proprietary soft-
ware (Gleason T2000Ò) obtaining satisfactory agreement, i.e. very similar contact patters and small differences
(lower than 7%) on PPTE have been computed.
686 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690

5.2. Contact analysis – heavy load

A set of contact analyses under heavy load have been performed in order to study contact pattern and
motion error in loaded state, allowing a better understanding of the real gear drive performance [19]. By
means of the proposed model, the truck transmission has been analyzed to seven values of torque which
are usually applied in service condition (Table 10); drive side at mean contact point is considered.

Table 10
Studied cases for contact analysis under heavy load
Side Contact position DE [mm] DP [mm] Torque [Nm]
Drive Mean 0 0 940
Drive Mean 0 0 670
Drive Mean 0 0 500
Drive Mean 0 0 335
Drive Mean 0 0 250
Drive Mean 0 0 170
Drive Mean 0 0 100

Table 11
Contact pattern and pressure distribution computed in contact analysis under heavy load
 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690 687

Table 11 summarizes the results; for each applied torque value, path of contact (i.e. white points corre-
sponding to the point in the tooth where, in a given instant of meshing, maximum value of contact pressure
is reached) superimposed to the contact pattern (i.e. envelope of contact pressure) is shown. The diagram on
the right reports, for each values of applied torque, maximum contact pressure value at successive positions of
roll corresponding to previously mentioned white points. Observing these results, it is possible to note that, as
load increases, the contact pattern enlarges until, for torque above to 250 Nm, edge contact with pressure
peaks happens. Actually, most of these peaks are flattened due to material plasticity or to corner smoothing
induced by wear.
Considering motion transmission, in Fig. 17a, Harris map (i.e. plotting, for each applied torque, of trans-
mission error versus two pinion angular pitches) superimposed to TCA results (continuous lines) are reported.
In Fig. 17b, PPTE and load sharing (i.e. actual total contact ratio ec,act) trends versus applied torque are
summarized as well. These diagrams makes evident that as load increases, TE curve flattens shifting the phase;

Fig. 17. Results computed by the proposed model regarding motion transmission: (a) Harris map; (b) PPTE-actual total contact ratio ec vs
applied torque.

Fig. 18. Bending stress versus time computed by means of proposed model.
688 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690

this evidence is due to the meshing stiffness variation as the number of teeth in contact changes. At the torque
value equal to 335 Nm, where the load is shared between 2 and 3, almost uniform motion is achieved (PPTE
equal to 8 lrad); this evidence agrees with Welbourne’s work [20] where he points out that there is an optimum
for PPTE value corresponding to minimum noise condition. For torque values above 500 Nm, motion curve
changes again because now the load is shared between 3 and 4 teeth; in this case, the difference in stiffness for 4
versus 3 teeth is less than for 3 versus 2 so the smoothing of the motion curve occurs at a slower rate.

5.3. Stress calculation

The proposed model makes also possible to compute stress distribution on the teeth. For example, it is use-
ful to monitor, for each value of applied torque, the bending stress. With this aim, in the fillet region, it has
been searched for the coordinates of the point on the pinion and on the gear, where, during the whole meshing
cycle, maximum value of Von Mises stress has been taken place; when, as in this case, drive condition and
mean contact point is considered, this point is usually located in the middle of face width. Once this location
is known, here, the trend of Von Mises stress versus time has been plotted. Fig. 18 shows obtained results; it is
evident that the gear drive is properly design with the aim to uniformly balance stress on the gear member and
on the pinion; moreover these graphs allow to study fatigue loading condition of gear drive.

6. Conclusion

In this paper an accurate mathematical model for tooth surface representation of FH hypoid gear and its
application for computerized design of these gears have been presented.
The model is based on the simulation of FH cutting process. A real FH head cutter (Gleason Tri-AcÒ) has
been considered and complex blade configuration (curved blade with protuberance) has been studied; cutting
process with or without generation motion have been simulated. The proposed model computes a fine tooth
surface description; it is also able to give an accurate description of the fillet area; in particular, by means of a
simple numerical procedure, it handles undercutting which is a common occurrence in FH uniform depth
tooth. In order to validate the model, gear tooth surfaces of a real case (truck differential system) have been
computed and the results compared with the ones calculated by a reference software obtaining good
agreement.
Then, these tooth surfaces have been provided to a powerful contact solver and performance analysis has
been developed. The truck transmission has been studied, monitoring contact pattern and transmission error,
in TCA condition at several contact positions. After that, in order to examine thoroughly gear drive perfor-
mance in the real service conditions, contact analysis under heavy load has been developed; the influence of
variation of the applied torque value on tooth contact pattern, on transmission error and on load sharing has
been accurately analyzed. Contact pressure on the active flank and stress distribution in the fillet region has
been monitored as well.

Appendix A. Expressions for matrices describing the cutting process without generation motion

(upper sign for left-handed gear; lower sign for right-handed gear)
2 3
cos h sin h 0 0
6 7
6  sin h cos h 0 07
M 1h ¼ 6
6 0
7
4 0 1 07 5
0 0 0 1
2 3
1 0 0 H
6 7
60 1 0 V 7
M m1 ¼6
60
7
4 0 1 0 7
5
0 0 0 1
 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690 689

2 3
cosðp=2  cm Þ 0 sinðp=2  cm Þ 0
6 0 1 0 0 7
6 7
M 2m ¼ 6 7
4  sinðp=2  cm Þ 0 cosðp=2  cm Þ DX p 5
0 0 0 1
2 3
cosðRb hÞ sinðRb hÞ 0 0
6  sinðR hÞ cosðR hÞ 0 07
6 b b 7
M w2 ¼6 7
4 0 0 1 05
0 0 0 1

Appendix B. Expressions for matrices describing the cutting process with generation motion

(upper sign for left-handed gear; lower sign for right-handed gear)
2 3
cos h sin h 0 0
6  sin h cos h 0 0 7
6 7
M 1h ¼ 6 7
4 0 0 1 05
0 0 0 1
2 3
cos i 0 sin i 0
6 0 1 0 07
6 7
M 21 ¼ 6 7
4  sin i 0 cos i 0 5
0 0 0 1
2 3
cos j  sin j 0 0
6  sin j cos j 0 0 7
6 7
M 32 ¼ 6 7
4 0 0 1 05
0 0 0 1
2 3
cosðp=2  qÞ  sinðp=2  qÞ 0 0
6  sinðp=2  qÞ cosðp=2  qÞ 0 S r 7
6 7
M c3 ¼ 6 7
4 0 0 1 0 5
0 0 0 1
2 3
cos /  sin / 0 0
6 sin / cos / 0 0 7
6 7
M mc ¼ 6 7
4 0 0 1 05
0 0 0 1
2 3
1 0 0 0
6 0 1 0 E 7
6 m 7
M 4m ¼ 6 7
4 0 0 1 DX b 5
0 0 0 1
2 3
cosðp=2  cm Þ 0 sinðp=2  cm Þ 0
6 0 1 0 0 7
6 7
M 54 ¼ 6 7
4  sinðp=2  cm Þ 0 cosðp=2  cm Þ DX p 5
0 0 0 1
2 3
cosðRb h þ Ra /Þ sinðRb h þ Ra /Þ 0 0
6  sinðR h þ R /Þ cosðR h þ R /Þ 0 07
6 b a b a 7
M w5 ¼ 6 7
4 0 0 1 05
0 0 0 1
690 M. Vimercati / Mechanism and Machine Theory 42 (2007) 668–690

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