Method and apparatus for manufacturing a gear wheel with stub toothing

1. A method for manufacturing a gear wheel for use in a gearbox,

the gear wheel comprising a finish-swaged stub toothing;

the method comprising the steps of:

(a) drop-forging a gear-wheel body having an initial stub toothing, the initial stub-toothing comprising a plurality of teeth and a plurality of inter-tooth spaces, each tooth having a tooth flank and a tooth root, and respective adjacent teeth being separated by a respective inter-tooth space of the plurality of inter-tooth spaces;

(b) holding the gear-wheel body between an upper holding plate and a lower holding plate;

(c) subsequent to step (a), cold die-grooving the initial stub toothing using a swaging tool to transform the initial stub-toothing into the finish-swaged stub toothing the swaging tool comprising a plurality of swaging parts disposed in a fan-like pattern and a plurality of swaging ends, each swaging part having a respective swaging end, the cold-die grooving being performed by

guiding the plurality of swaging parts together between the upper holding plate and the lower holding plate, and

moving, in a pre-determined direction, the plurality of swaging parts radially inward and plunging, in the pre-determined direction, the plurality of swaging ends into the inter-tooth spaces to precisely form the plurality of teeth, wherein excess material flows from the tooth flanks into the tooth roots;

wherein the pre-determined direction is oblique to the tooth root for flowing material after complete filling of a hollow profile of a die flows into a cavity of the die adjoining a region of the tooth roots.

2. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of

during step (c) pressing the gear-wheel body under a spring-loaded hydraulic force against the upper holding plate and pushing the swaging parts inward against a stop between the upper and lower holding plates.

3. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising the steps of

forcing the swaging parts together with their swaging ends using a vertically movable actuating ring via mutually engaging conical pressure faces on the swaging parts and the actuating ring into the inter-tooth spaces.

4. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising

a first grooving step comprising swaging the stub toothing with parallel tooth flanks;

a second grooving step comprising finish grooving by undercutting tooth flanks using the swaging parts of the swaging tool produce and rounding the tooth root.

5. An apparatus for manufacturing a gear wheel for use in a gearbox, the gear wheel comprising a finish-swaged stub toothing, the stub toothing comprising a plurality of teeth separated by respective inter-tooth spaces, the apparatus comprising:

a swaging tool comprising a plurality of swaging parts disposed in a fan-like pattern and a plurality of swaging ends, each swaging part having a respective swaging end, the swaging ends plunge into the inter-tooth spaces; and

the swaging parts of the swaging tool being individual flat pushing parts disposed circumferentially in axial planes relative to an axis of a die at angular intervals corresponding to a circumferential pitch of the finish-swaged stub toothing;

the pushing parts are guided between an upper and a lower holding plate and are radially inward displaceable in a direction from a starting position to an end position (PE) corresponding to a shape of the finish-swaged stub toothing;

wherein the pushing parts comprises a displacement that is oblique relative to the axis of the die and directed toward the root region of the stub toothing.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5 ,

wherein the displacement is between 5° and 20°.

7. An apparatus according to claim 5 ,

wherein the upper and lower holding plates are securely connected to one another and define guides for holding the pushing parts.

8. An apparatus according to claim 5 ,

further comprising a collar part,

wherein the lower holding plate comprises a radially inner side, the radially inner side defining an end of the lower holding plate, the radially inner side being proximate to the collar part, the collar part pointing toward the gear-wheel body and the radially outer circumferential face of the collar part acts as a stop in the end position of the pushing parts.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8 ,

wherein a ring-shaped projection of the gear-wheel body is seated on the upper side of the collar part of the lower holding plate.

10. An apparatus according to claim 5 ,

further comprising a vertically movable actuating ring, the pushing part having a first conical pressure face and the vertically movable actuating ring having a second conical pressure face,

wherein the pushing parts are displaceable into their end position by the first conical pressure face engaging the second conical pressure face.