Gleason Used Machines – Bevel Gear Machining and Generating Grinding

The Gleason No. 641 „G-Plete“ Generator is a mechanically/hydraulically cycle-controlled bevel gear generating machine for soft machining, i.e. cutting the gear teeth before hardening. The Phoenix 400HG and Phoenix 800HG, on the other hand, are CNC bevel gear grinding machines for hard finishing already hardened bevel gears. The Hurth 300TWG, finally, is a CNC generating gear grinder for cylindrical gears and pinions, not for bevel gears. Depending on the production step (soft or hard machining) and the type of gearing (bevel or cylindrical), a different one of these four machines is used. For an overview of all gear cutting machines currently available from our stock – including other manufacturers – please visit our gear machinery overview page.

In a bevel gear set, the pinion is virtually always generated, while the gear member can be produced either generated or non-generated (FORMATE or HELIXFORM). With a generated gear, the tooth flank is created by a continuous rolling motion between tool and workpiece, comparable to an imaginary generating gear. With FORMATE or HELIXFORM gears, on the other hand, the tooth profile is a direct image of the tool shape, produced by a pure plunge or feed motion without any rolling motion. Both the 641 G-Plete Generator for generating and the Phoenix bevel gear grinding machines are capable of both processes.

The 641 operates on a mechanical/hydraulic, cycle-controlled basis via change gears rather than CNC axes, giving it a deliberately simple and robust design. In the completing process, it uses the HELIXACT system, which means only a single cutter is required per gear pair – roughing and finishing take place in one setup. Total cycle times as short as 4.5 seconds per tooth are possible. Alongside classic generating, the machine also handles FORMATE cutting. This proven, low-maintenance design is particularly well suited to small and medium batch production in gear manufacturing.

Our 300TWG is consistently specialised in generating grinding and plays to its strengths exactly there – high productivity and process reliability, including for medium to large batch sizes. The machine is equipped with a two-station ring loader for workpieces up to Ø 300 mm as well as a pallet magazine with chain conveyor transport for approx. 16 workpieces; thanks to good accessibility of the working area and spindle, it can equally easily be loaded by hand when required. Our 300TWG comes standard with VRM grinding (Variable Rate Method) for noise-optimised gear surfaces, as well as a Gleason NC dressing unit. Precise rotary positioning of the workpiece relative to the grinding worm is handled by an electronic, non-contact indexing device with a pneumatically adjustable centering sensor that can be manually adapted to the respective workpiece diameter.