Claims
- 1. A method for manufacturing precision gears (10) comprising the steps of:
- A. providing a shaped workpiece (30.sub.S) defining a plurality of gear teeth (12) each having a top land (14), said shaped workpiece furthermore defining a tooth space surface (68) defined by and between adjacent gear teeth (12),
- B. assembling a masking tool (60) in combination with said shaped workpiece (30.sub.S), said masking tool including a flexible back-plate (64) and plurality of compliant masking segments (62) bonded to and integrated by said flexible back-plate (64), each of said compliant masking segments (62) defining a surface geometry (66) which is substantially complementary to said tooth space surface (68) and adjacent compliant masking segments (62) defining an open-ended channel (70) therebetween, wherein said compliant masking segments are forcibly urged into superposed engagement with the tooth space surfaces (68);
- C. depositing a layer of masking material (28) on exposed surfaces of said shaped workpiece (30.sub.S) by an immersion process wherein said open-ended channels (70) of said masking tool (60) facilitate deposition of said masking material (28) on said top lands (14) of said gear teeth (12), said surface deposition step forming a material-masked workpiece (30.sub.MM);
- D. removing said masking tool (60) from said material-masked workpiece (30.sub.MM);
- E. hardening said material-masked workpiece (30.sub.MM) thereby forming a hardened workpiece (30.sub.H); and
- F. stripping said masking material (28) from said hardened workpiece (30.sub.H).
- 2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the surface deposition step includes the substep of: electro-plating a layer of copper plate on said exposed surfaces of said shaped workpiece (30.sub.S).
- 3. The method according to claim 2 wherein said compliant masking segments (62) of said masking tool (60) comprise an elastomer material and said flexible back-plate (64) comprises a metallic material.
- 4. The method according to claim 3 including the step of electrically charging said flexible back-plate (64) to augment the deposition of said copper plate on the top lands (14) of said gear teeth (12).
- 5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the hardening step includes the substeps of:
- a) carburizing said material masked workpiece (30.sub.MM) to form a carburized workpiece;
- b) heat treating said carburized workpiece; and
- c) quenching said carburized workpiece to form said hardened workpiece(30.sub.H).
- 6. The method according to claim 1 wherein said assembly step includes the step of:
- clamping said masking tool (60) in combination with said shaped workpiece (30.sub.S) so as to effect a contact pressure between said compliant masking segments (62) and said tooth space surface (68) of greater than about 1.0 lbs/in.sup.2 (6940 Pa).
- 7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the clamping step effects a contact pressure of greater than about 3.5 lbs/in.sup.2 (24290 Pa).
METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING PRECISION GEARS
This invention was made with Government support Contract No. DAAJ09-91-C-A004 awarded by the Department of the Army. The Government has certain rights in this invention.
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