Development of a Novel CNC Worm Grinding Machine

To satisfy the grinding requirements of all kinds of worm tooth surface, a novel CNC worm grinding machine is demonstrated in this paper. Based on the generating theory, the mathematical models of the worm tooth surface is developed. A novel structure of the worm grinding machine is proposed based on the virtual center distance manufacturing principle, and a seven-axis four-linkage CNC worm grinding machine is developed to verify the practicability of the new structure. A sample of hourglass worm tooth surface is ground on this novel CNC worm grinding machine, the accuracy of hourglass worm tooth surface is certificated by the accuracy detection and contact area test, which proves that the accuracy of this sample is up to level 5. This study is expected to provide a theoretical foundation and experimental support for the grinding of hourglass worm tooth surface.