Grinder Finishes Hard Spurs And Helical Gears

Gleason’s Genesis 130TWG high speed, threaded wheel grinder is designed to reduce floor space and improve cycle times for the finishing of hard spur and helical gears with diameters as large as 130 mm. Like other machines in the Genesis line, the grinder features a single-piece, polymer composite frame. According to the company, this cast iron alternative offers rigidity, and it allows users to easily relocate the machine without special lifting equipment. The grinder uses ceramic-bonded grinding worms as abrasive tools. To adapt the machine to suit customer-specific requirements, these grinding worms can be dressed with either diamond dressing wheels or the company’s dressing tool. The diamond option enables rapid dressing independent of the number of grinding wheel starts, which is useful in high-volume applications. By contrast, the company’s automatic dressing system uses conventional technology and is designed for flexibility. The machine also features an integrated double-gripper loader, which can provide short part load/unload times, the company says. To further reduce change-over times, a rapid, automatic stock-dividing system is used for workpiece indexing. In addition, the grinder is equipped with direct-drive spindle motors designed to offer high torque and acceleration/deceleration rates.