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Over the past twenty years a number of companies have developed proprietary processes for forging net shape straight bevel gears. The inherent complexity of bevel gear geometry requires tight process control to forge gears which require no further machining on the teeth. Electrode design, die manufacture, scale control and finish machining are critical areas which require special attention to obtain functional gears with integrally forged teeth. Gears with integrally forged teeth have inherent advantages over conventionally manufactured gears. These advantages include improved strength, less raw material, design flexibility and cost savings. Examples of these benefits are discussed.

The use of a computer-aided design (CAD) system, when properly implemented, dramatically reduces the time required to take new designs to production. The CAD system furthermore improves 1st time quality of the design and tooling, as well as providing automatic documentation of the manufacturing and part design processes. The author describes the development and implementation of a math based system for designing net shape differential gears with all the contact tooling used to make the net shape gear forgings. This system successfully integrates product design, tool design and manufacturing process into a single system.