CYLINDRICAL GEARS
AND SPLINES

NON-STANDARD CYLINDRICAL GEARS ARE OUR EVERYDAY TASK

Like all gears, cylindrical gears are used for transmitting rotating motion and torque between shafts. With cylindrical gears, the shafts are usually parallel, while for bevel gears the shafts are at an angle – often at 90 degrees. As a means of mechanical power transmission, cylindrical gears and splines are ubiquitous. You may not see them, but they keep things in motion. Cylindrically shaped gears with internal or external teeth are called by many names, too, spur gears (with straight teeth), helical gears (with angled teeth) – in contrast to bevel gears, which are conical in shape.
ATA’s cylindrical gear production capability and knowhow are the result of years of experience and development with all viable technologies for bevel gear excellence, including 5-axis machining. These highly flexible methods enable efficient manufacturing solutions to meet the often seemingly contradictory design needs and continuously tightening requirements for transmissions and other drive components.

STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY

STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY

Big helical angles, complex ease-offs, pressure angles other than 20 degrees, accurate or complex internal teeth, new innovative geometries… They all demand a lot from design engineers and manufacturing departments. We at ATA Gears are ready to take on those challenges and manufacture any tooth type and size. We produce cylindrical gears and splines for all kinds of applications using both conventional tooth-cutting methods – for example hobbing and shaping – as well as 5-axis methods.

Because we use 5-axis machining, ATA Gears is not limited by the restrictions related to conventional gear machines. This enables alternative and innovative gear and gearbox construction solutions. Our process requires no special tooling, which decisively reduces tooling costs and lead time. Some good reasons for you to rely on ATA Gears for your cylindrical gear needs.  5-axis machining also avoids most of the limitations of conventional machines relating to different forms and shaft layouts – a truly flexible solution for producing high-quality bevel gears for demanding applications. ATA’s Gear Doctors have also innovated and designed special drills for tooth root machining.

IN-HOUSE MANUFACTURING

IN-HOUSE MANUFACTURING

Cylindrical gears are both very similar to bevel gears and also very different from them. The biggest difference is that for cylindrical gears, the contact pattern and tooth backlash cannot be adjusted during assembly. This implies many differences in the manufacturing requirements and process. As ATA Gears’ customer, it is your privilege to enjoy high gear quality produced by a fully in-house-controlled manufacturing process.

ATA’s process is designed to carefully execute the specified gear: material, design, accuracy, heat treatment, NDT, so that failure risk is minimized. It starts with innovative design based on our Gear Doctors’ experience from hundreds of power transmission applications in a vast range of industries around the world. And ATA follows through with profound knowledge of the raw material 18CrNiMo7-6 and QT steels. We apply rigorous testing to all solutions in our large-scale test bench facility. For case-carburized gears our own heat-treatment facilities and related extensive know-how raises us to a totally different level regarding quality compared to companies who have to out-source their heat-treatment.

LIFETIME VIEW

LIFETIME VIEW

Gears are usually among the key components in a driveline, meaning that gear failure leads to power loss, costly repairs and even more costly downtime. Because the cost of a gear is only a fraction of the total costs of a power transmission line, gears are not the optimal place to cut costs. Of course quality comes at a cost, but it brings along hassle-free assembly and trouble-free operation, and that can have a major effect on your total lifecycle costs. With over 80 years of history in gear making, ATA Gears has invested a lot in research and development and is 100% committed to producing gears, which ensure optimal performance and reliability in the final application. In practice, extend the service life of any gear pair we supply.

APPLICATION KNOW-HOW

APPLICATION KNOW-HOW

A final gear product is often a complex, interdependent optimization of variables like competitiveness – for example power density – reliability, price, failure risk, etc. Although ATA’s process is designed to carefully execute the specified gear – material, design, accuracy, heat-treatment, NDT – and minimize any failure risks, gears inevitably break down from time to time. Gear damage is rarely due to the gear itself but a consequence of subjection to unforeseen loads. One of the keys to ATA’s success is undoubtedly the intense co-operation with our customers to truly understand the applications and prevent those potential problems from rising just as efficiently as possible. Our vast databank of detailed empirical knowledge is an invaluable source for further progress and processing gears that are truly cost-effective.

ATA’s Gear Doctors are always ready to help to keep your machine or process in motion. We have extensive experience of damage analysis and enjoy a great reputation for this service. Many times we also analyse failed gears by other manufacturers. ATA ReViveTM remanufacturing and reverse engineering service is often a cost-efficient alternative to a new component.

Whatever your special needs, however tight your project schedules and however atypical your gear design – you can always consult ATA’s Gear Doctors!

ISOTROPIC SUPERFINISHING

ISOTROPIC SUPERFINISHING

ISF is recommended specifically for gears with higher risk of scuffing and micropitting.

This method increases:

• Efficiency
• Micropitting resistance
• Pitting resistance
• Scuffing resistance
• Tooth root strength

These advantages add up to increased power density (10-30 %) as well as increased operational safety. The ISF method is also applicable to shrink fit connected gears.

CASE HELICAL GEARS

CASE HELICAL GEARS

Here’s a case in point, what all ATA Gears can offer to produce the helical gears that you’re your needs exactly, a complete delivery:

• Precision machining and measuring
• High-precision finishing
• Case hardened, quenched and tempered or cast materials
• Hard finishing of complex shapes, HRC 60
• High accuracy topography and fine surface roughness:
• Quality grade ISO Q=5, surface roughness Ra 0.4
• No upper limit module or DP: all non-standard tooth geometries feasible

 

PINION SHAFTS UP TO:

• Diameter ø1000 mm / 40″
• Length 4000 mm / 13 ft
• Weight 3000 kg / 6700 lbs

GEAR WHEELS UP TO:

• Diameter ø3100 mm / 120″
• Width 1000 mm / 40″
• Weight 10000 kg / 22000 lbs

CONSULT THE GEAR DOCTORS

Any questions? Ideas you want to share? Our mechanical power transmission experts will be glad to hear about any problem or idea you may have. Just fill in the details below and we will get back to you soon. Together we can achieve the impossible and make it possible.

    Ask the gear doctors - ATA GEARS