Large cylindrical gears have been used for a very
wide range of drives since the beginning of industrialization.
Due to the size of these workpieces, however,
it was only possible to check quality-relevant
features on these gears to a very limited extent.
In addition to simple manual inspection devices, e.g.
for the determination of the individual component
error, or mechanically controlled inspection machines
for the definition of profile and lead deviations, large
gears were almost exclusively evaluated by means of
a test run with definition of the contact pattern. Official
acceptance of large gears after a test run also remains
obligatory today in many large companies.
However, modern CNC-controlled systems are available
today, which allow individual parameters to be
checked on large gears, thus enabling control of the
manufacturing process and subsequent production of
a quality record.
The design and functioning of such systems are described
in the following contribution and supplemented
with practical application examples.