From standardization to automated, Industry 4.0 capable broachers, here's the latest in what's being developed in the field of broaching.

Automotive gear manufacturers have implemented significant improvements in external planetary gear manufacturing yielding quieter gears. In addition, process stability has increased due to the post-heat treatment finishing processes employed. This article explains various complete solutions for cutting and finishing internal ring gears.

Back around 2005-2010, the most exciting things that were happening in broaching had little to do with broaching. What was happening - and continues to evolve today - was the emergence of on-the-edge CNC, software and servo drive technology. Together, they practically transformed a metalworking process as old as water into a viable, alternative consideration for producing high-volume part runs.

During a year with a strong dollar, tanked oil prices and a number of soft markets that just aren't buying, one might expect spline manufacturers to be experiencing the same tumult everyone else is. But when I got a chance to speak with some of the suppliers to spline manufacturers at IMTS about how business is going, many of the manufacturing industry's recent woes never came up, and instead were replaced by a shrug and an "eh, business is doing pretty well."

Broaching is a machining technique commonly used to cut gear teeth or cam profiles for the high volume manufacture of power transmission parts used in vehicles (Refs. 1–2). This article shows how the right gear blank material can make all the difference if you want to get more parts out of each tool.

In 1964, a young and tidy Bob Dylan sang away in that infamous voice of his, all nasally and grating yet wonderfully distinct, opining to the fervent masses: “The times, they are a-changin.”

There are a number of companies working to change the way broaching is perceived, and over the past 10 years, they’ve incorporated significant technological changes to make the process more flexible, productive and accurate.

Faster, more efficient manufacturing offered with table-top design from American Broach & Machine.

Broaching is a process in which a cutting tool passes over or through a part piece to produce a desired form. A broach removes part material with a series of teeth, each one removing a specified amount of stock.

The cutting tool is basic to gear manufacturing. Whether it's a hob, broach, shaper cutter or EDM wire, not much gets done without it. And the mission of the tool remains the same as always; removing material as quickly, accurately and cost-effectively as possible. Progress in the field tends to be evolutionary, coming gradually over time, but recently, a confluence of emerging technologies and new customer demands has caused significant changes in the machines, the materials and the coatings that make cutting tools.