Online analysis of the process-material interaction during gear grinding

 

Starting Situation

Grinding is a widely used hard fine machining process that is used to improve surface quality and produce high dimensional accuracy, also in the field of gear manufacturing. Surface quality and dimensional accuracy are significantly influenced by the selected process parameters. Unfavorably selected process parameters lead to high thermal and mechanical loads on the gear and thus to a deterioration of the surface integrity. Currently, the definition of the most suitable process parameters is carried out either by carrying out several tests or based on the experience of the employee. However, both solutions can be very time consuming. In order to take modern industrial trends into account, the definition of suitable process parameters must be based on the concept of networked, adaptive production. In this concept, the connection between machines, sensors, simulation models and databases is used to enable flexible process adjustment along the production line.

Research Objective

The aim of the research project is to develop a concept for networked, adaptive production for the gear grinding process with a focus on surface integrity. A model-based simulation is to be developed for this purpose. In the process preparation, an FE model will be developed with which concepts of the material strain gradient effect can be considered for the simulation of a single grain. The results of this simulation provide the loads that a grain generates during the process. These loads are then transferred to a second FE model for generating grinding and used as input. With this approach, the simulation of continuous grinding is expected to be less time consuming.

Simulation is a tool for predicting critical situations that occur during the process before physical machining. Therefore, the simulation requires a robust description of the process to determine the process boundaries. In addition, a database is to be created in which the relevant data about the process is stored. For this purpose, analyses are performed to determine the relevance of the data. This is followed by the development of solutions for the real-time measurement techniques and a link between real-time measurements and the FE model outputs. The project also includes the analysis of the material behaviour under certain loads during gear grinding in order to obtain the limits for certain surface integrity levels. The comparison between data from the database, from simulation and from material analysis offers a high potential for process optimization.