Gleason, a worldwide leader in gear production solutions, has introduced PENTAC® PLUS, the next generation of its renowned PENTAC bevel gear cutting system. This new cutting system is specifically engineered to provide significantly higher tool life and improved productivity, especially with cutters using multiple face blade geometry. Another important enhancement is the new blade clamp block design that makes it easier and faster to perform height and radial adjustments, resulting in very precise axial blade movement during cutter building and truing.
Prior cutter designs often resulted in chip packing, the accumulation of chips between cutter blades during the gear cutting process. Typically chip flow is not sufficient in front of the outside blades because the side rake angle obstructs the chip chamber in the direction of centrifugal force, causing poor chip evacuation. Left unchecked the increasing pressure and extreme temperatures of the highly compressed chip packing will distort blade geometry causing premature blade failure and rejected parts. In the most severe case it can result in the breakage of multiple cutting blades.
“To avoid chip packing, machines are usually operated with fewer cutting blades, at conservative speeds and lower feed rates. The new PENTAC PLUS is designed to enhance chip flow and prevent chip packing. Therefore, gears can be cut with more efficient cycles without premature degradation of the cutting blade efficiency. The net result is longer tool life and lower cost per part,” says Dr. Hermann J. Stadtfeld, vice president of bevel gear technology.
The PENTAC PLUS cutting system is available for face hobbing and face milling in all cutter sizes and can be easily adapted to any existing Gleason gear cutting process without additional software or hardware requirements.
Gleason Corporation’s mission is to be The Total Gear Solutions Provider to its global customer based. Gleason is a world leader in the development, manufacture and sale of gear production machinery and related equipment. The company’s products are used by customers in automotive, truck, aircraft, agriculture, mining, windpower, construction, power tool and marine industries and by a diverse set of customers serving various industrial equipment markets. Go online to [www.gleason.com].
