Precision Gear Milling Machines for Efficient Gear Production

Gear milling uses a rotating profiled cutter to generate gear teeth one space at a time. While slower than hobbing for production runs, milling offers unique advantages for specific scenarios: large-module teeth where hob tooling is impractical, modified tooth profiles that require custom cutter paths, and extra-large workpieces where a hobbing machine may not accommodate the setup.

Hanwei employs gear milling as a complement to our hobbing operations, particularly for:

- Girth gears and ring gears above 12 m diameter, where our milling machines provide the rigidity and reach needed for stable, accurate cuts

- Gears with module above 30, where the cutting forces involved demand the heavier structure of a milling setup

- Segmented gears being machined in sections, where each segment must be indexed precisely relative to the others

- Internal gears where hob entry is restricted, and a milling cutter can access the tooth space from above

Our milling machines cover workpieces up to 16 m in diameter, matching the full capacity of our hobbing and grinding equipment. This means we can mill, heat-treat, and grind the largest gears entirely in-house—a significant advantage when tight project schedules make outsourcing risky. Milling also serves as a cost-effective roughing method before gear grinding. By leaving controlled grinding stock after milling, we optimize total processing time while ensuring the final ground tooth meets DIN Grade 6 accuracy.

For one-off or small-batch gears where custom hob tooling cannot be justified, milling with a standard cutter and CNC-controlled tool paths offers a flexible, economical alternative without sacrificing tooth geometry accuracy.

Contact Hanwei with your gear specifications for a milling quotation—standalone or as part of an integrated manufacturing package.