Over the past 20 years, Gear Expo in the USA has become a key forum for drive technology. This year, from October 24 to 26, industry experts will convene in Columbus, Ohio, for an exclusive professional exchange. At stand 1123, machine manufacturer Klingelnberg will again demonstrate its innovative strength with an exhibit showcasing leading-edge technologies in the gear-cutting industry: the Höfler Speed Viper generating grinding machine and the P 40 precision measuring center.

Gear Expo is a forum for experts by experts: Klingelnberg, a family-run business that is a technology leader in the gear industry, utilizes this platform for an intense professional exchange among peers. Not only will visitors to stand 1123 of Klingelnberg encounter a team of experts who are available for technical discussions, but Klingelnberg will also unveil its leading-edge technology “made in-house” from two different business units with the Höfler Speed Viper generating grinding machine and P 40 precision measuring center.

The new Speed Viper for highly productive generating grinding is fit for Industry 4.0
This year’s highlight in cylindrical gear technology is the Höfler Speed Viper 300 generating grinding machine. The newest Speed Viper platform shows what cost savings and efficiency gains are possible as soon as the potential of digitally assisted processes is fully utilized. With this innovation, Klingelnberg is proving itself a pioneer in Industry 4.0 – and marking a genuine first on the market: advanced engineering; a completely overhauled, ergonomically optimized design; and, with Gear Operator, a new operating concept with which Klingelnberg has set a new standard for machine operation. Operation guidance takes place via a modern 19-inch touch screen display focusing on a simple, innovative operating philosophy. Modifications and corrections thus no longer need to be entered manually but are automatically loaded using Gear Operator.

The new Speed Viper generation is designed for high productivity and robustness of the grinding process and therefore fulfills all of the requirements that are needed in modern large-scale production: short set-up times, minimum cycle times, innovative software solutions, and digital process control in a closed loop system.

P 40 Precision Measuring Center: Cutting-edge technology for maximum safety and precision
Klingelnberg also has a solution “in the bag” at Gear Expo for a gear quality management system that will stand the test of time: The fully automatic CNC-controlled P 40 precision measuring center is designed as a compact unit for the workpiece diameter range up to 400 mm. The machine and software concept is optimized for the measurement of complex drive components using a technology that replaces up to four conventional measuring methods: gear measurement, general coordinate measurement, form and position measurement, and roughness measurement. Maximum measuring and reproduction accuracies are guaranteed – the P series represents a widely used standard in the industry.

At the heart of the P 40 is the accurate, durable rotary table designed as a measuring axis. In combination with the three additional linear measuring axes, the precision measuring centers trace and inspect the functional surfaces of the workpieces. The integrated 3D tracer head enables both discrete-point probing and scanning, continuous measured value logging. Combined with the backlash-free bearings and guides on the measuring axes, the durable, stable cast-iron beds and guides ensure a high basic mechanical accuracy of the measuring centers. The powerful GINA software makes it possible to evaluate the results quickly and easily.

Industry 4.0 in practice
Klingelnberg will also be presenting the latest version of its GearEngine®, an IT platform used by Klingelnberg to implement its cyber-physical closed loop production system (CPPS): GearEngine provides all the data management services for the software programs, production equipment, and parts history and serves as the basis for data analyses aimed at troubleshooting the source of errors.

When developing the cyber-physical production system for gears, Klingelnberg systematically implemented the Industry 4.0 philosophy: Along the entire gear manufacturing process chain, the CPPS compares the real component in the physical world against a digital twin in the cyber world. For the machining steps, the digital twin provides the relevant nominal geometry for the real component. This makes it possible to introduce quality gates throughout the process chain as part of the CPPS and to use these to optimize the manufacturing process. With geometric measurements of the component in the respective production step, production deviations are identified where they occur. So-called closed loop software modules calculate modified machining parameters based on the measured production deviations to minimize the production deviation of the respective machine.

Visitors to GEAR EXPO can obtain information about Klingelnberg’s entire innovation campaign at stand 1123. The on-site team is looking forward to interesting “shop talk” and stimulating discussions.