Materials

The majority of gears are composed of carbon and low-alloy steels, including carburised steels. Among the carburised steels used in gears are 1018, 1524, 4026, 4118, 4320, 4620, 4820, 8620 and 9310. The intended gear use will dictate the material used in its creation. For example gears to be used in food processing

Food processing

Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...

 are made of stainless steels or nickel-base alloys because of their corrosion resistance.

Gear manufacturing processes

There are multiple ways in which gear blanks can be shaped through the cutting and finishing processes.

Gear Cutting Processes

• Broaching
  Broach (metalwork)
  Broaching is a machining process that uses a toothed tool, called a broach, to remove material. There are two main types of broaching: linear and rotary. In linear broaching, which is the more common process, the broach is run linearly against a surface of the workpiece to effect the cut...
  
  
• Hobbing
  Hobbing
  Hobbing is a machining process for making gears, splines, and sprockets on a hobbing machine, which is a special type of milling machine. The teeth or splines are progressively cut into the workpiece by a series of cuts made by a cutting tool called a hob...
  
  
• Shaping
• Lapping
  Lapping
  Lapping is a machining operation, in which two surfaces are rubbed together with an abrasive between them, by hand movement or by way of a machine.This can take two forms...
  
  
• Milling
  Milling machine
  A milling machine is a machine tool used to machine solid materials. Milling machines are often classed in two basic forms, horizontal and vertical, which refers to the orientation of the main spindle. Both types range in size from small, bench-mounted devices to room-sized machines...
  
  

Gear Finishing Processes

• Grinding
  Grinding machine
  A grinding machine, often shortened to grinder, is a machine tool used for grinding, which is a type of machining using an abrasive wheel as the cutting tool...
  
  
• Honing
  Hône
  Hône is a town and comune in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy.-Twin towns:twin towns with the year of its establishing:# Nora Municipality, Sweden...
  
  
• Shaving

Gear Forming (non-cutting) Processes

• Plastic Injection Molding
• Powder Metal Sintering
• Forging
  Forging
  Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it is performed: '"cold," "warm," or "hot" forging. Forged parts can range in weight from less than a kilogram to 580 metric tons...
  
  
• Casting
  Casting
  In metalworking, casting involves pouring liquid metal into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowing it to cool and solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process...
  
  
• Roll-Forming (Spline Rolling)

See also

• American Gear Manufacturers Association
  American Gear Manufacturers Association
  The American Gear Manufacturers Association or AGMA is the trade group of companies in manufacturing gears and gearing. AGMA was founded in 1916; there are currently about 400 AGMA member companies....
  
  Standards organization for gears