Multitasking Machines Perform Gear Work, Traditional Machining

Mazak Corp. will demonstrate its multitasking equipped with the latest Mazatrol Smooth CNC and Mazak Smooth Gear Cutting Solutions for making precision gears of all shapes and sizes. More than 90 model configurations of Mazak’s multitasking machines can be paired with software and CAD/CAM systems to perform a variety of operations in a single setup, including hobbing, forming, surfacing and skiving. The machines are ideal for shops with occasional gear work because they can be used to turn a part’s internal and outer diameters, process its mating features and power-skive its gear tooth pattern, as well as process a range of non-gear components. The ability to process so many features on one machine is said to improve overall accuracy, because each part feature runs true to the gear teeth.

The Mazatrol SmoothX CNC is said to operate four times faster than the company’s previous-generation controls. It is designed to provide faster rotary axis speeds, enabling the machine tool to quickly perform gear hobbing and skiving operations.

The company will also highlight its closed-loop gear machining strategy designed to simplify the measurement and validation of gear tooth profiles.