NCMT to hold gear machining event

A one-day seminar and open house on the manufacturing of gears will be held at NCMT’s Coventry technical centre and showroom on 9^th July 2019.

A variety of production methods will be demonstrated on Japanese-built Makino and Okuma machining centres as well as on one of the latter manufacturer's multi-tasking turn-mill machines.

Methods covered will include hobbing, power skiving and InvoMilling, which is capable of producing different gears using the same standard machine platform. Gear grinding will also feature, involving the use of NCMT's proprietary EasyGear grinding software. Other techniques on show will be both wire-cut and ram-type production solutions on Makino electric discharge machining equipment.

The main message during the event will be the flexibility, high productivity and relatively low investment cost offered by producing external and internal gear types on 5-axis machining centres, multi-tasking lathes and EDM machines, coupled with the short lead-times and high levels of accuracy and repeatability that are achievable.

Another focus will be inspection of the gears to verify their accuracy. This will be done in-cycle via a touch probe on an Okuma Multus multi-tasking lathe, and off-line inspection on a Hexagon Metrology Leitz CMM equipped with Quindos software.

Rounding off the exhibits will be an automated system configured for gear blank production based on an Okuma Genos L3000 lathe fitted with a Cellro robotic system from Holland for automatically loading billets and unloading components.

The proceedings will include guest speakers including Dr David Curtis, senior technical fellow from the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and Dr Rob Frazer, head of gear design unit at Newcastle University, who will be present on behalf of the British Gear Association.

Anyone wishing to attend the event, which will be held at NCMT's Technical Centre, Siskin Drive, Middlemarch, Coventry, CV3 4FJ, should register with Clare Hutchins, telephone 020 8398 4277 or email florencejones@ncmt.co.uk.

NCMT www.ncmt.co.uk