A system for lapping gear sets with a ring gear and a pinion gear. The
system includes a lapping machine tool and a robot. The lapping machine
tool has a first spindle and a second spindle. The second spindle is
rotatable about an axis that is generally perpendicular to a rotational
axis of the first spindle. The lapping machine tool has a loading zone
for loading the first and second spindles. The robot has an end effector
with a first end that is configured to hold one of the gear sets. The
robot is configured to position the first end of the end effector into
the loading zone and to load the first gear set to the lapping machine
tool without removing the end effector from the loading zone such that
the ring gear is loaded onto the first spindle and the pinion gear is
loaded onto the second spindle.