Proceedings of the International MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists 2009 Vol II

IMECS 2009, 18-20 March, 2009, Hong Kong

Research on Gear Plunge Shaving for Gears with

Tooth Modifications
Jia-Hung Liu Shinn-Liang Chang

et al. [9] proposed a method for shaving gears with double

Abstract—Plunge shaving is the most advanced gear finishing crowning by CNC shaving machine. For shaving methods
technique which only needs radial infeed. Its advantages other than plunge shaving, the gear tooth modification is
include increased productivity, accuracy, long tool life, and a accomplished by tooth modifications of the shaving cutter
simple machine structure. For the plunge shaving method, the
gear tooth modification only depends on the surface geometry
and the coordinated motions between cutter and gear. For the
of the plunge shaving cutter. The analytical description of the plunge shaving method, however, it only depends on the
gear with tooth modifications is firstly constructed by B-spline surface geometry of the plunge shaving cutter. Focusing on
surface fitting. Then, the grinding wheel profile is the surface geometry of shaving cutter, what’s really
parameterized and optimized for minimizing the surface significant is precision of the region between SAP. (start of
deviations of theoretical and ground (from re-sharpening active profile) and EAP. (end of active profile) as shown in
machine) tooth surfaces of the plunge shaving cutter, in which
the topographic error has been reduced. The cutting trace of
Fig. 1. In gear shaving, SAP. of cutter tooth shaves the gear
plunge shaving cutter has also been analyzed so that the shaving tooth tip while EAP. shaves the gear tooth root. Traditionally,
efficiency can be improved. the cutter surface geometry results from a cutter
re-sharpening machine by trial and error, which is very
Index Terms—Gear plunge shaving, Cone grinding wheel, time-consuming.
Topographic error, Shaving cutter serration.

I. INTRODUCTION
Gears are the most important components in transmission
systems. Modifications of gear teeth can accommodate errors
and deformations encountered in the manufacture, assembly,
and operation of gear pairs. Litvin [1] provided a double
crowned gear modified both in lead and in profile with
improved transmission error. Wagaj and Kahraman [2]
investigated the durability of helical gear affected by tooth
modifications. Kahraman et al. [3] presented a gear wear
model analyzing the influences of tooth modification.
Gear shaving is one of the most efficient and economical
processes for gear finishing after hobbing or shaping. Among
Fig. 1 SAP. and EAP. of a shaving cutter tooth.
the four basic shaving methods, plunge shaving is the most
advanced gear finishing technique which only needs radial
(a) (b)
infeed. Its advantages include increased productivity,
accuracy, long tool life, and a simple machine structure [4].
The basic meshing condition of 3D crossed-axis helical gear
pair was first derived by Litvin [5], and it has been widely
adopted as the fundamental assumption for simulation of gear
shaving.
In recent years, how to induce gear tooth modification by
shaving has become an important subject of research. Chang
et al. and Hung et al. [6]-[8] derived the mathematical model
of traditional shaving machine and investigated the
influences of parameters on tooth lead modifications. Litvin

Fig. 2. Design parameters of plunge shaving cutter serration (a) serration

Shinn-Liang Chang, corresponding author, Institute of Mechanical and
pitch (b) serration displacement.
Electro-mechanical Engineering, National Formosa University, Huwei
Township, Yunlin County 632, Taiwan, ROC (email: [email protected]),
Phone: 886-5-6315429, Fax: 886-5-6312110. Moreover, the shaving cutter tooth surfaces have
Jia-Hung Liu, Mechanical Engineering Department, National Chiao Tung serrations extending from the top land to the root fillet of the
University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan, ROC (email: teeth whose sharp edges exert a cutting action on the work
[email protected])

ISBN: 978-988-17012-7-5 IMECS 2009

Proceedings of the International MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists 2009 Vol II
IMECS 2009, 18-20 March, 2009, Hong Kong

gear due to the relatively lengthwise sliding motion. modifications, such as rounding and reliving. Given a grid of
Serrations are an important feature for all shaving cutters, but sampling points Dk ,A ( 0 ≤ k ≤ m and 0 ≤ A ≤ n ) and orders
for plunge cutters their importance is vital. The serrations p and q (degrees p − 1 and q − 1 ), it can be represented as
related to such type of cutter must have a helical pattern, as
below [10]:
shown in Fig. 2, and they have to be manufactured with a m n
very high precision CNC slotting machine in order to obtain Dk ,A = ∑∑ N i , p ( sk ) N j , q (tA )Pi , j (1)
the best results. Thus, the surface roughness of the work gear i =0 j =0

after shaving is affected primarily by the arrangement of , where sk ’s and tl ’s are the chosen parameter
these serrations. In this paper, the analytical description of values; N i , p ( sk ) ( N j , q (tA ) ) is the i-th (j-th) B-spline basis
the gear with tooth modifications is first constructed by
B-spline surface fitting. Then, the grinding wheel profile is function of order p ( q ); and Pi , j ’s ( 0 ≤ i ≤ m and
parameterized and optimized for minimizing the surface 0 ≤ j ≤ n ) are the control points. Once the numbers of
deviations of theoretical and ground (from re-sharpening sampling points m and n are selected, then the B-spline orders
machine) tooth surfaces of the plunge shaving cutter. p and q are limited by (2):
Efficiency is greatly improved by avoiding the traditional 3m + 1 3n + 1
trial and error method. Then, based on the optimized cutter p≥ , q≥ (2)
m +1 n +1
surface, a method for optimizing the serration displacement is
, that is, p ≥ 3 and q ≥ 3 .
proposed to improve the cutting efficiency.
Solving (1), Pi , j ’s can be obtained, and the interpolated
B-spline surface ∑ 2I can be represented as follows:
II. SURFACE INTERPOLATION OF THE MODIFIED GEAR TOOTH m n
SURFACE ∑ 2I (u, v) = ∑∑ N i , p (u ) N j , q (v)Pi , j (3)
i =0 j =0
To integrate the modified gear tooth surfaces into the
analytical process, especially for those with both lead and , where u and v denote the surface parameters; 2 denotes
profile modifications, B-spline surface interpolation is the surface of gear tooth; and I denotes the surface obtained
selected for its ease of manipulation. In practice, the sampling by interpolation.
points of the modified surface can be obtained by CMM
(Coordinate Measuring Machine) or from other sources. In TABLE 1 BASIC DATA OF THE TARGET GEAR TOOTH SURFACE.

this paper, for studying purposes, the most commonly used Gear data
numerical model is adopted for generation of interpolating Normal module mn 1.5
points: the tooth flank is modified in profile (root to tip) and Diameter of base circle db 2 119.618mm
lead (side to side) directions independently as shown in Fig. 3
Diameter of addendum circle d add 2 126.71mm
[2]. The magnitude at the tip at and the gear roll angle at the
Diameter of root circle d r 2 119.33mm
start α t define the boundaries of the tip relief. Between these
Diameter of pitch circle d p 2 123.915mm
two points, the profile follows a linear trajectory. Similarly,
the magnitude ar and the starting roll angle α r define the Normal pressure angle in pitch circle α pn 2 14.5°
starting point of a root modification. The amount of lead Face width fw2 18mm
crowning is denoted by h . Gear tooth number Z 2 79
Helix angle in pitch circle β p 2 17°
Normal circular tooth thickness s pn 2 2.32mm

TABLE 2 DATA OF GEAR TOOTH MODIFICATIONS OF THE TARGET SURFACES.

Parameter at at at at at
∑ I
2 6e-3mm 31.8° 6e-3mm 28.2° 6e-3mm

According to the data listed in Table 1 and 2, the result of

interpolation is shown in Fig. 4, in which the solid lines
denote the standard involute tooth surface (without
modifications) while the doted lines denote the interpolated
surface. It presents the double crowned (profile and lead
modified) gear tooth surface, and the values in the figure
denote the variations of circular tooth thickness between
standard and double crowned surfaces.

Fig. 3. Model of gear tooth modifications [2].

A B-spline representation enables the simulation of

surface irregularities and the control of small tooth geometric

ISBN: 978-988-17012-7-5 IMECS 2009

Proceedings of the International MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists 2009 Vol II
IMECS 2009, 18-20 March, 2009, Hong Kong

cutter)
rs = [ xs ys zs 1]T = M sg rg
(6)
n s = [nxs nzs ]T = L sg n g
n ys
and the meshing equation
g (u g , θ g , φ ) = n m ‧ v m( sg ) = 0 (7)

Fig. 4. Validations of the interpolated gear tooth surface.

III. OPTIMIZATION OF TOPOGRAPHIC ERRORS OF GEAR

PLUNGE SHAVING CUTTER
The tooth surface of the shaving cutter is usually finished
last using a cone grinding wheel on the shaving cutter
re-sharpening machine. Because the topographic accuracy of
the plunge shaving cutter maps directly onto the work gear, it
is important to identify the topographic error of the ground
tooth surfaces ∑1G in comparison to the theoretical
∑1T where 1 denotes the surface of shaving cutter tooth; G
and T denote the surfaces derived from the re-sharpening Fig. 5. Coordinate systems of gear shaving machine [11].
machine and the interpolated surfaces, respectively.
The basic meshing condition for the crossed helical gear
set [5] is used to calculate the basic geometric data for the
shaving cutter. It needs the following eight basic items: the
tooth number Z1 , the normal circular tooth thickness s pn1 ,
the helix angle β p1 of the shaving cutter; the tooth number
Z 2 , the normal circular tooth thickness s pn 2 , the helix angle
β p 2 of the work gear, and the normal module m pn and
pressure angle α pn , of the shaving cutter and work gear. Fig.
5 [11] shows the coordinate system of the CNC shaving
machine. Considering coordinate transformation
r1 = [ x1 y1 z1 1]T = M12 (φ2 )r2 ( R2 , Z 2 )
(4)
n1 = [nx1 n y1 nz1 ]T = L12 (φ2 )n 2 ( R2 , Z 2 )
and meshing equation
f ( R2 , Z 2 , φ2 ) = n h ‧ v h(12) = 0 (5)
simultaneously, the theoretical tooth surface of shaving cutter Fig. 6. Coordinate systems of shaving cutter re-sharpening machine [11].

∑1Tcan be derived from surface ∑ . M12 and L12 are

I
2

matrices for transforming position and unit normal vectors For interpolated gear tooth surfaces ∑ 2I , the
( r2 and n 2 ) of surface ∑1 from coordinate system S2 (gear)
T corresponding data of plunge shaving cutter and grinding
wheel are presented in Table 3. Obtaining theoretical tooth
to S1 (shaving cutter), and v (12) denotes the vector of
surface ∑1 as well as ground tooth surfaces ∑1 through
h T G
relative velocity on auxiliary coordinate system Sh..
(4)-(7), the topographic errors are calculated by
Likewise, as shown in Fig. 6 [11], the ground surfaces of
yiT, j yiG, j
shaving cutters ∑1 = ri , j (tan −1 ( T ) − tan −1 ( G )) , i=1,2,…,5, j=1,2,…,9 (9)
G eiTopo
can be obtained by coordinate ,j
xi , j xi , j
transformations from Sg (grinding wheel) to Ss (shaving
and illustrated in Fig. 7 by 5×9 grids of specified radiuses and

ISBN: 978-988-17012-7-5 IMECS 2009

Proceedings of the International MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists 2009 Vol II
IMECS 2009, 18-20 March, 2009, Hong Kong

Z cross-sections, in which theoretical surfaces are presented

in straight solid lines, while the corresponding ground ones
are shown in dashed lines. From S.A.P to E.A.P. of the cutter
tooth, errors are obvious that the grinding wheel needs to be
dressed. Traditionally, it is modified back and forth for the
desired accuracy, which is very time-consuming. In this
section, optimization is performed by adjusting the cone
angle of the grinding wheel θ c and the profile of the grinding
wheel.
TABLE 3 DATA OF CUTTER AND GRINDING WHEEL.

Plunge shaving cutter

Normal circular tooth thickness s pn1 2.464mm
Tooth number Z1 139
Helix angle in pitch circle β p1 20°
Fig. 8. Parameterized profile of grinding wheel for optimization.
Face width fw1 20mm
Diameter of start of active profile (SAP.) 225.922mm TABLE 4 RESULTS OF OPTIMIZED PROFILE PARAMETERS.
Diameter of end of active profile (EAP.) 219.537mm Initial design (mm) Optimum design (mm)
wA 0.1 0.561
Operating center distance Eo 173.04mm hA 0 0.056
Operating crossed angle γ o 3.002° wB 0.1 0.538
hB 0 0.235
Grinding wheel and grinding machine
Operating cone pitch radius Rc 350mm
Cone angle θ c 10°
Pressure angle α 4.675°
Operating radius ro 111.03mm

Fig. 9. Topographic errors between theoretical and ground shaving cutter

tooth surfaces after optimization.

To improve the topographic errors between ∑1T and ∑1G ,

the problem formulation is formulated:
find x = [θ c , wA , hA , wB , hB ]
Fig. 7. Topographic errors between theoretical and ground shaving cutter 5 9
tooth surfaces. that minimizes ∑∑ e
i =1 j =1
Topo
i, j ( x)
The grinding wheel is further parameterized as shown in
subject to eiTopo
,j < 10−3 mm , i=1,2,…,5, j=1,2,…,9,
Fig. 8. Coordinate system S g′ is attached to the unmodified
and 0.5° ≤ θ c ≤ 30°
profile. Within the effective length LA + LB (LA=4.2mm,
10−4 < wA < LA − 10−4 ; 0 < hA < 3 ; 10−4 < wB < LB − 10−4 ;
LB=5.5mm), the profile with four sections are defined by wA ,
0 < hB < 3 (unit: mm)
hA , wB and hB . Represented in S g ′ , the four points A2, A1, The optimized profile parameters are presented in Table 4,
B1 and B2 are fitted by a B-spline curve with order 4. and the cone angle converges to θ c = 2.382D . The profile of
the grinding wheel is considered straight sided initially.
When it reaches the optimum, the profile is modified for

ISBN: 978-988-17012-7-5 IMECS 2009

Proceedings of the International MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists 2009 Vol II
IMECS 2009, 18-20 March, 2009, Hong Kong

conjugation to the shaving cutter. The topographic errors

between ∑1 and ∑1 are shown in Fig. 9, where the errors
T G

are all controlled below 10-3mm.

IV. DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF THE GEAR PLUNGE SHAVING First cut

CUTTER SERRATIONS
Plunge shaving is characterized by a radial feed stroke
without transverse feed. The serrations in consecutive
shaving cutter teeth must be shifted longitudinally so that the (a)
cutting marks on the work gear move in a lengthwise
direction, which can even the cutting residue and improve the
surface roughness. As shown in Fig. 2, the design parameters
for the serrations of the plunge shaving cutter are the
serration pitch ps and the serration shift SF between
consecutive cutter teeth.
The trace of the plunge shaving cutter’s cutting edge on First peak
the work gear during the cutting process is illustrated
schematically in Fig. 10 [11]. At the beginning of a shaving
cycle, the cutting edge presses into the work gear surface,
moves on its tooth surface due to the relative motion, and (b)
then removes chips when contact stress reaches local ultimate
stress. Therefore, the front cutting edge produces the desired
cutting action.

Fig. 10. Cutting path of the cutting edge on the work gear [11] Second peak
Besides, the cutting efficiency can be characterized by the (c)
“cutting-down ratio” rcd , which is the ratio between the Fig. 11. Cutting residue (a) first cut (b) first peak (c) second peak.
height of the second peak and that of the first peak, shown in
Fig. 11. Smaller rcd represents better cutting efficiency
because most of the material can be removed in the first few V. CONCLUSION
cutting cycles. For gear plunge shaving, the analytical descriptions of
According to the data of gear, shaving cutter and the crowned gear and hence plunge shaving cutter have been
grinding wheel listed in Tables 1 to 4, after optimizing the constructed so that the grinding wheel can be optimized to
cutter tooth surface, the serrations can also be optimized to minimized the topographic error. The cutting trace of plunge
improve the cutting efficiency. The problem formulated as shaving cutter has also been analyzed so that the final real
below: tooth forms can be predicted. The proposed mathematical
find serration shift SF model of design optimization can be use to calculate the
that minimizes cutting-down ration rcd optimum of grinding wheel profile and cutter serration,
subject to SF × N1 ≥ ps which can facilitate the design and manufacture of gear
shaving cutter.
The value of SF goes from 0.243 mm to 0.376 mm. For the
plunge shaving cutter with tooth number N1 = 137 and
serration pitch ps = 1.7 mm, the cutting-down ratio has been ACKNOWLEDGMENT
improved form 0.318 to 0.242 (first peak= 3.1μ m , second The authors would like to acknowledge the support of
peak= 0.7 μ m ). Taiwan National Science Council through grant No.
NSC97-2221-E-150-013.

REFERENCES
[1] Litvin, F.L., (2001) Helical and spur gear drive with double-crowned
pinion tooth surfaces and conjugated gear tooth surfaces. United States
Patent, Patent No: US6205879.

ISBN: 978-988-17012-7-5 IMECS 2009

Proceedings of the International MultiConference of Engineers and Computer Scientists 2009 Vol II
IMECS 2009, 18-20 March, 2009, Hong Kong

[2] Wagaj, P., Kahraman, A. (2002) Influence of tooth profile modification

on helical gear durability. Journal of Mechanical Design 124: 501-510.
[3] Kahraman, A., Bajpai, P., Anderson, N. E. (2005) Influence of tooth
profile deviations on helical gear wear. Journal of Mechanical Design
127: 656-663.
[4] Bianco, G. (2000) Gear Shaving. Jiuge, Beijing.
[5] Litvin, F. L. (1994) Gear Geometry and Applied Theory. PTR Prentice
Hall, New Jersey.
[6] Chang, S. L., Lin, H. J., Chu, C. H., Liu, J. H., Hung, C. H. (2007)
Simulation of gear shaving machine and tooth contact analysis of the
shaved gears. The 2007 IAENG International Conference on Industrial
Engineering, Hong Kong.
[7] Chang, S. L., Liu, J. H., Jin, K. W., Hung, C. H. and Chen, S. H. (2008).
Robust design for gear transmission error. The 2008 IAENG
International Conference on Industrial Engineering, Hong Kong.
[8] Hung, C. H., Liu, J. H., Chang, S. L., Lin, H. J. (2007) Simulation of
gear shaving with considerations of cutter assembly errors and machine
setting parameters. The International Journal of Advanced
Manufacturing Technology 35(3-4): 400-407.
[9] Litvin, F. L., Fan, Q., Vecchiato, D., Demenego, A., Handschuh, R. F.,
Sep, T. M. (2001) Computerized generation and simulation of meshing
of modified spur and helical gears manufactured by shaving. Computer
Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering 190: 5037-5055.
[10] Piegl, Les, Tiller, Wayne (1997) The NURBS Book, 2nd edition.
Springer-Verlog, Berlin.
[11] Hsu, R.H. (2006) Theoretical and practical investigations on the design
of plunge shaving cutter. Ph.D. Dissertation, National Chung Cheng
University.

Revised version 1
Date of Modification: 2009/9/19
Description of the changes:
1. Reference No. 11 is added to the reference list.
2. Reference No. 11 is added to the figure descriptions
of Figs. 5, 6 and 10.

ISBN: 978-988-17012-7-5 IMECS 2009