KHK USA Inc., a factory owned distributor of the market leading KHK brand of metric gears, announces its extensive line of metric internal ring gears. KHK’s large selection of internal ring gears are designed for use in planetary gear trains and are suitable wherever high-speed reduction is required.

Internal gears, also known as ring gears, are cylindrical disks which have involute shaped teeth cut into their interior face. KHK internal ring gears are offered in carbon steel, with many configurations of modules and numbers of teeth. All KHK internal ring gears allow for secondary operations such as adding through or tapped holes in the face. KHK’s quick customized products can be ready within 5 business days.

Two categories of KHK Internal Gears are available. KHK Steel Internal Gears (SI), typically with 50 to 100 teeth, are a low-cost option that is suitable for many applications. KHK Steel Ring Gears (SIR) are larger in size and number of teeth, typically between 120 and 200 teeth, and can be cut to make segment gears and corner racks.

The production process of KHK cylindrical gears, including internal ring gears, depends on consideration of tooth size expressed in module or DP (diametral pitch), configuration, material, heat treating, method for finishing the tooth surface, precision of the gears and manufacturing quantity. The typical production sequence involves cutting off material, blank making on a lathe, tooth cutting on a hobbing machine and deburring. KHK also offers a new method in which a 5-axis machining center is used in combination with gear manufacturing software.