Geometry strategies for the repair of cylindrical gears teeth using laser-directed energy deposition

Gears are essential components in power transmission systems. The replacement of the transmission of a wind turbine can reach more than $300 000 and face long lead times. Previous studies have shown that laser-directed energy deposition (L-DED) has the potential to be used in the repair of gears. However, there is a lack of understanding of the appropriate toolpath planning strategies and their impact on the performance of the gears repaired by L-DED. In this work, we study several strategies for the repair of cylindrical (straight and helical) gears. The strategies consider several types of gear tooth failures, allowing for the repair of a portion of the tooth and the reconstruction of the whole tooth. The studied strategies encompass planar and nonplanar slicing procedures. We manufactured several gear teeth to demonstrate the geometrical and kinematic feasibility of some strategies. We performed destructive analyses on the manufactured teeth to check for manufacturing faults. We used AISI 316L for these experiments, although we are assessing and testing powdered materials for their potential use in gear repair using L-DED. Future work will be devoted to the evaluation of the mechanical performance (e.g., wear resistance and bending fatigue) of the teeth manufactured with L-DED.