Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation

Other

Edward H Bittner

George D Mitchell, Jr

Bruce D Hansen

Christopher John Mussel

Walter S Koscomb, Iii

Yuriy Gmirya

Raymond C Benn

Clark VanTine Cooper

Bill C Giessen

Krassimir Grigorov Marchev

Harsh Vinayak

William Patrick Murphy

Ronald S Taylor

A herringbone gear includes a cylindrical body having a circumferential face having a width. A first helical gear tooth on the circumferential face has a first configuration, a second helical gear tooth on the circumferential face has a second configuration, and a transition on the circumferential face extends between the first helical gear tooth and the second helical gear tooth. An involute form taken within a transverse plane of the circumferential face remains constant over the width.

Advanced herringbone gear design

A method of manufacturing a gear, the method includes applying a first charge to a workpiece and applying a second, opposite charge to an electrochemical machining (ECM) attachment, the ECM attachment having a pattern. The method further includes simultaneously forming a plurality of surfaces of a gear tooth in the workpiece using the pattern of the ECM attachment while applying the first charge to the workpiece and applying the second charge to the ECM attachment and turning the workpiece and the ECM attachment in opposite rotational directions. The plurality of surfaces includes at least one end face and a top land of the gear tooth.

Precision electrochemical machine for gear manufacture

A method of manufacturing a gear is provided. The method includes forming a plurality of gear teeth in a surface of a gear, the gear teeth having tooth faces defining tooth edges including tooth edge flanks and tooth edge top land and generating a convex contour at an edge break of at least one of the tooth edge flanks and tooth edge top land.

Convex gear tooth edge break

A machine for machining a workpiece having a first central longitudinal axis passing through a workpiece plane that is disposed orthogonally relative to the first central longitudinal axis is provided. The machine includes a chuck or fixture on which the workpiece is disposable, a grinding spindle having a body, a wheel supporting an abrasive and an insulator electrically isolating the wheel from the body, the wheel being operable to remove material from the workpiece, the grinding spindle having a second central longitudinal axis about which the grinding spindle rotates, the second central longitudinal axis of the grinding spindle passing through the workpiece in the workpiece plane so as to create a continuous gear tooth on the workpiece and an electrochemical grinding (ECG) element configured to execute ECG processing on the grinding spindle and the workpiece to soften the workpiece as the gear tooth is being created by the grinding spindle.

Machine for machining gear teeth and gear teeth machining method

A machine for machining a workpiece having a central longitudinal axis is provided. The machine includes a chuck or fixture on which the workpiece is disposable, a grinding spindle to remove material from the workpiece, the grinding spindle having a central longitudinal axis about which the grinding spindle rotates and being disposed with the central longitudinal axes intersecting one another so as to create a continuous gear tooth on the workpiece and an electrochemical grinding (ECG) element configured to execute ECG processing on the grinding spindle and the workpiece to soften the workpiece as the gear tooth is being created by the grinding spindle.

A surface processing method and power transmission component includes transforming a surface region of a metal alloy into a hardened surface region at a temperature that is less than a heat treating temperature of the metal alloy. The metal alloy includes about 11.1 wt % Ni, about 13.4 wt % Co, about 3.0 wt % Cr, about 0.2 wt % C, and about 1.2 wt % Mo which reacts with the C to form a metal carbide precipitate of the form MC. The surface processing temperature, vacuum pressure, precursor gas flow and ratio, and time of processing are controlled to provide a desirable hardened surface region having a gradual transition in nitrogen concentration.

Method for processing alloys via plasma (ion) nitriding

A gear shaper machine system drives and maneuvers a hone tool to generate teeth geometry in a manner the teeth were machined prior to a hardening process. After heat treatment, the hone tool is indexed to the teeth geometry spacing of the workpiece so as to divide the stock removal evenly between the drive and coast sides. The hone tool may be driven with rotational and reciprocating synchronous teeth generating motion in which the hone tool reciprocates along the length of the teeth parallel to the centerline of the workpiece while the workpiece and hone tool rotate with synchronous motion.

System and method for precision machining of high hardness gear teeth and splines

An electronic ignition system for a vintage automobile includes an ignition coil and an electronic switching circuit disposed in a coil box of the vintage automobile. The coil and electronic switching circuit are mounted within a coil box module that replaces four original induction coils within the coil box. Once the coil box module is installed in the coil box, it is not detectible unless the cover on the coil box is removed. Wires from the original ignition system are utilized. A buzzer is also incorporated to simulate the sound of the vibrating switches on the original induction coils. A rotor and electronic sensor are installed within the original commutator cap, making them impossible to detect unless the commutator cap is removed.

Electronic ignition system for vintage automobiles

A masking tool (60) for use in combination with a shaped-workpiece (30.sub.S) in the manufacture of a precision gear (10), which shaped workpiece (30.sub.S) defines a plurality of gear teeth (12) and tooth space surfaces (68) defined by and between adjacent gear teeth (12). The masking tool (60) is, furthermore, operative to mask the tooth space surfaces (68) during surface deposition of a masking material (28) while facilitating deposition of the masking material (28) upon the top lands (14) of the gear teeth (12). The masking tool includes a flexible back-plate (64) and a plurality of compliant masking segments (62) bonded to and integrated by the flexible back-plate (64). Each of the compliant masking segments (62) define a surface geometry (66) which is substantially complementary to the respective tooth space surface (68). Furthermore, adjacent compliant masking segments (62) define an open-ended channel (70) therebetween. In use, the masking tool (60) is forcibly urged in combination with the precision gear (10) such that the compliant masking segments (62) are disposed in superposed engagement with the tooth space surfaces (68) for prohibiting deposition of the masking material thereupon, and the open-ended channels (70) permit deposition of the masking material (28) on the top lands (14) of the gear teeth (12). The masking tool (60) is fabricated by: forming an accurate representation of the shaped workpiece (30.sub.S); preparing a surface of a flexible back-plate (64) so as to promote adhesion; situating the flexible back-plate (64) proximal to the gear teeth (12); and, forming a compliant material (62.sub.M) between the flexible back-plate (64) and the tooth space surfaces (68) so as to produce the compliant masking segments (62).

Masking tool for manufacturing precision gears and method for making the

A masking tool (60) for use in combination with a shaped-workpiece (30.sub.S) in the manufacture of a precision gear (10), which shaped workpiece (30.sub.S) defines a plurality of gear teeth (12) and tooth space surfaces (68) defined by and between adjacent gear teeth (12). The masking tool (60) is, furthermore, operative to mask the tooth space surfaces (68) during surface deposition of a masking material (28) while facilitating deposition of the masking material (28) upon the top lands (14) of the gear teeth (12). The masking tool includes a flexible back-plate (64) and a plurality of compliant masking segments (62) bonded to and integrated by the flexible back-plate (64). Each of the compliant masking segments (62) define a surface geometry (66) which is substantially complementary to the respective tooth space surface (68). Furthermore, adjacent compliant masking segments (62) define an open-ended channel (70) therebetween. In use, the masking tool (60) is forcibly urged in combination with the precision gear (10) such that the compliant masking segments (62) are disposed in superposed engagement with the tooth space surfaces (68) for prohibiting deposition of the masking material thereupon, and the open-ended channels (70) permit deposition of the masking material (28) on the top lands (14) of the gear teeth (12). A method for manufacturing the masking tool (60) is also disclosed comprising the steps of: forming an accurate representation of the shaped workpiece (30.sub.S); preparing a surface of a flexible back-plate (64) so as to promote adhesion; situating the flexible back-plate (64) proximal to the gear teeth (12); and, forming a compliant material (62.sub.M) between the flexible back-plate (64) and the tooth space surfaces (68) so as to produce the compliant masking segments (62).

Masking tool for manufacturing precision gears

A precision center for mounting a workpiece for precision machining thereof includes a modified head center, an actuating assembly, a drive assembly, and a double-arcuate floating collet. The actuating assembly is mounted within the modified head center and operative to generate an actuating force. The drive assembly is mounted within the modified head center, is mechanically coupled in combination with the actuating assembly, and is operative in response to the actuating force to generate a drive force. The double-arcuate floating collet is integrated in combination with the modified head center, is mechanically coupled in combination with the drive assembly, and is operative in response to the drive force to be alternatively reconfigured to an expanded condition wherein the double-arcuate floating collet is expanded to simultaneously frictionally engage the modified head center and the workpiece for precision machining thereof and to a contracted condition wherein the workpiece may be disengaged from the modified head center.

Precision center with an interchangeable double-arcuate floating collet

A method for manufacturing precision gears (10) including an initial step of providing a shaped workpiece (30.sub.S) defining a plurality of gear teeth (12) and, furthermore, defining a tooth space surface (68) defined by and between adjacent gear teeth (12). Next, a masking tool (60) is assembled in combination with the shaped workpiece (30.sub.S), which masking tool (60) includes a flexible back-plate (64) and plurality of compliant masking segments (62) bonded to and integrated by the flexible back-plate. Each of the compliant masking segments (62) defines a surface geometry (66) which is substantially complementary to the tooth space surface (68), and adjacent compliant masking segments (62) define an open-ended channel (70) therebetween. As assembled, the compliant masking segments (62) are forcibly urged into superposed engagement with the tooth space surfaces (68). In a subsequent step, a layer of masking material (28) is deposited on exposed surfaces of the shaped workpiece (30.sub.S) by an immersion process wherein the open-ended channels (70) of the masking tool (60) facilitate deposition of the masking material (28) on the top lands (14) of the gear teeth (12). The masking tool (60) is then removed from the material-masked workpiece (30.sub.MM) in preparation for a subsequent hardening step. Final steps of the method include hardening of the material-masked workpiece (30.sub.MM), and stripping of the masking material (28) from the hardened workpiece (30.sub.H).

Growing community of inventors

Madison, CT, United States of America

Edward H Bittner