A dedicated CNC gear inspection machine, or a gear-capable coordinate measuring machine, that probes each tooth and prints profile and helix traces along with pitch and runout results against a quality class. On the floor the word also means the inspector who runs it. Production gears are pulled for the gear checker at setup, at hob or wheel changes and on a sampling plan.
Pull the first piece and take it to the gear checker before you run the lot, the hob was just resharpened.
Also heard as
- gear analyzer
- gear measuring machine
Related terms
Trace
The printed plot of a tooth's measured profile or helix from a gear checker, read against tolerance bands.
Profile deviation
How far a tooth's actual shape from root to tip departs from the intended involute and modifications.
Helix deviation
How far a tooth's actual path across the face width departs from the intended helix, including crowning.
AGMA quality number
A grade that sets how accurate a gear's teeth must be, on either the Q-number or the A-number scale.