A systematic approach to automated gear assembly

Abstract

Automated assembly of gear wheels requires exact orientation of the tooth profiles in order to avoid collision and damage during the joining process. Various tactile and contactless methods can be applied for the orientation of gear wheels. A systematic overview of these methods is compiled in the presented paper. As a conclusion of research carried out at the Institute for Machine Tools, setups for contactless orientation detection using inexpensive senor devices show significant advantages. Application of these methods and sensor concepts contributes to the realization of economical operation of automated assembly systems.