Description

The hob is a cutting tool used to cut the teeth into the workpiece. It is cylindrical in shape with helical cutting teeth. These teeth have grooves that run the length of the hob, which aid in cutting and chip removal. There are also special hobs designed for special gears such as the spline and sprocket gears.

The cross-sectional shape of the hob teeth are almost the same shape as teeth of a rack gear that would be used with the finished product. There are slight changes to the shape for generating purposes, such as extending the hob’s tooth length to create a clearance in the gear’s roots. Each hob tooth is relieved on the back side to reduce friction.

Most hobs are single-thread hobs, but double-, and triple-thread hobs increase production rates. The downside is that they are not as accurate as single-thread hobs. Depending on type of gear teeth to be cut, there are custom made hobs and general purpose hobs. Custom made hobs are different from other hobs as they are suited to make gears with modified tooth profiles. The tooth profile is modified to add strength and reduce size and gear noise.