Method for repairing a gear and processing machine for carrying out the method
A method for repairing a gear ( 2 ) having a number of damaged teeth ( 4, 4′, 4″ ), wherein the method comprises the step of removing material from the gear ( 2 ) hereby providing a pocket structure ( 28, 28′, 28″, 28′″ ), wherein said material includes at least one damaged tooth ( 4, 4 ′). Said method further comprises the step of providing a segment ( 12, 12′, 12″, 12′″ ) to be inserted into the pocket structure ( 28, 28′, 28″, 28′″ ), wherein the segment ( 12, 12′, 12″, 12′″ ) has a geometry that fits the geometry of the pocket structure ( 28, 28′, 28″, 28′″ ). The method comprises the step of radially inserting the segment ( 12, 12′, 12″, 12′″ ) into the pocket structure ( 28, 28′, 28″, 28′″ ) and attaching radially extending attachment structures ( 60, 60 ′) through at least a portion ( 18, 18 ′) of the segment ( 12, 12′, 12″, 12′″ ) and further into at least a portion ( 32, 32 ′) of the underlying structure ( 64 ) of the gear ( 2 ).
1. A method for repairing a gear having at least one damaged tooth, the method comprising the steps of:
removing material including at least one damaged tooth from the gear to provide a pocket structure;
providing a segment to be inserted into the pocket structure, the segment comprising an undamaged tooth disposed upon a support structure;
wherein a bottom surface of the undamaged tooth extends beyond an outer perimeter of the support structure along a lateral dimension and a longitudinal dimension of the segment, thereby exposing the bottom surface of the undamaged tooth in two dimensions;
milling the pocket structure such that a geometry of the pocket structure fits a geometry of the segment; and
radially inserting the segment into the pocket structure such that the bottom surface of the undamaged tooth at least partially overlaps a remaining portion of the gear in a radial direction;
wherein the support structure has a concave bottom surface.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pocket structure has a convex bottom surface.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising drilling one or more radially extending holes in an underlying structure of the gear.
4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising attaching radially extending attachment structures through the segment and into the underlying structure of the gear.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising attaching radially extending attachment structures through the segment and into an underlying structure of the gear.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the segment comprises one or more holes extending vertically from a peak of the undamaged tooth to the bottom surface of the support structure.
7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising inserting radially extending attachment structures through the one or more holes and into an underlying structure of the gear.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising drilling one or more holes extending between a peak of the undamaged tooth to the bottom surface of the support structure.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising inserting radially extending attachment structures through the one or more holes and into an underlying structure of the gear.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising fixing a plurality of the segments directly adjacent each other.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the undamaged tooth extending beyond the outer perimeter of the support structure has a vertical thickness that is less than or equal to a thickness of the support structure.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pocket structure comprises a pair of raised side walls oriented parallel to one another and defining a channel therebetween.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein each end of the channel comprises an area extending longitudinally and laterally beyond the raised side walls to form a pair of symmetrical shapes.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the bottom surface of the support structure has a shape matching the channel and the pair of symmetrical shapes of the pocket structure.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gear is a cylinder having an interior surface defining a central cavity of the cylinder and an external surface comprising one or more teeth having peaks pointing radially away from the central cavity and the step of milling the pocket structure is performed on the external surface.
16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising removing additional material from the gear to provide a second pocket structure that is separated from the pocket structure only by the remaining portion.
17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
providing a second segment to be inserted into the second pocket structure, the second segment comprising a second undamaged tooth disposed upon a second support structure;
wherein a bottom surface of the second undamaged tooth extends beyond an outer perimeter of the second support structure along a lateral dimension and a longitudinal dimension of the second segment, thereby exposing the bottom surface of the second undamaged tooth in two dimensions;
milling the second pocket structure such that a geometry of the second pocket structure fits a geometry of the second segment; and
radially inserting the second segment into the second pocket structure such that the bottom surface of the second undamaged tooth at least partially overlaps the remaining portion of the gear in a radial direction.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the second pocket structure comprises a second pair of raised side walls oriented parallel to one another and defining a second channel therebetween.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein each end of the second channel comprises an area extending longitudinally and laterally beyond the second pair of raised side walls to form a second pair of the symmetrical shapes.
20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of radially inserting the segment into the pocket structure causes the bottom surface of the undamaged tooth to abut the remaining structure.