Gear loading station

In a loading and unloading unit of a tractor manufacturer, semi-finished products (gear wheels) needed to be inserted into a hydraulic expansion chuck of a grinding machine. Other challenges included the machine's internal loading and unloading over a distance of two meters, short cycle times and a large range of components.

A loading concept was developed as a solution. It consisted of a two-meter servo axis for loading/unloading, a rugged but sensitive XYZ axis compensation module for placing the gear wheels on a clamping mandrel and a 180° swivel unit for changing between semi-finished and finished parts. The large range of components was made possible by a gripper jaw quick-change system.