A Geometric Framework for Cutting Force Prediction in Gear Shaping Process

Cutting force prediction in gear shaping is complicated due to variations in uncut chip geometry, as a result of the generation motion and prior cutting history. This paper presents a kinematic and geometric model for cutting force prediction, which is under development, for virtual simulation of gear shaping processes. Using a kinematic model of the gear shaping operation, a volumetric description of the uncut chip geometry is obtained through solid modeling as well as dexel-based modeling approaches. This information is to be used to compute the incremental force contributions coming from each edge segment. Currently, the framework is being implemented and force predictions are to be validated with experimental cutting force measurements.