What is the versacut method and how is it used to cut spiral bevel gears?
Gleason’s Versacut method was developed to cut spiral bevel gears on a No. 26 machine. Also known as Single Side (SS) method, there may be three separate cutting setups per member: Roughing, OB, and IB. After roughing, Each tooth flank is generated in separate setups. A stock dividing gage is used to position the blank for the second (IB) cutting. This method is very flexible in controlling tooth bearing and profile, relying on a calculated modified roll rather than exacting cutter specifications. This means that very accurate gear sets in small quantities can be achieved using a small inventory of cutters. Four different diameter bodies will cut a wide range of gear sets. Spread-blade or duplex methods require specific cutter dimensions for specific tooth proportions, depth, pitch, etc. Spread-blade methods are advantageous in production quantities because the part is finished in one operation. For jobbing quantities, however, the advantages of a small cutter inventory can far outweig
