A gear shaping machine, or gear shaper, cuts teeth with a cutter wheel that strokes up and down while rolling with the workpiece, which is why it can make internal gears and gears next to a shoulder. If you want to sell a used gear shaping machine, we buy it. That applies to any gear shaper, mechanical or CNC, for internal and external gears, from the compact machine for small wheels to the large machine. Send us manufacturer, type, build year, maximum diameter, module, stroke data, control and a few photos, and you get a first estimate. We organise dismantling and transport; on a direct purchase, payment is made by bank transfer before pickup. The page also covers old Lorenz machines, which are still traded under that name.
Gear shaper, shaping machine, slotting machine: what is meant
Gear shaping machine and gear shaper mean the same machine class. Liebherr says Wälzstoßmaschine, most German listings say Zahnradstoßmaschine, and one dealer uses Zahnradformmaschine for it.
Someone searching for a used shaper can easily land on other machines. A classic shaper moves a chisel in a straight line over the workpiece and does planes, polygons and guideways. Keyway slotting machines cut internal keyways in gears, pulleys or hubs. This page is only about machines that cut gear teeth with a cutter wheel, a tool that is in principle a pinion with cutting edges on its end face and rolls against the workpiece as it cuts.
How gear shaping works
During shaping, cutter and workpiece turn continuously about their axes. At the same time the cutter strokes up and down and removes material on the downstroke. A radial feed brings the tool into the workpiece until the specified tooth thickness is reached. At the end of the stroke the cutter lifts off so the cutting edges do not rub on the return. For helical gears the machine guides the cutter along a helical guide. Three movements run together: rolling, stroking and radial infeed.
That is why shaping can do what a hob cannot. The cutter rolls inside a ring gear like a planet and needs only a short run-out. The main uses are:
- internal gears in smaller quantities,
- internal gears in blind holes, that is bores that do not run through,
- external gears where there is no run-out.
Typical parts are ring gears for planetary gearboxes, clutch hubs and drive shafts. Small internal gears cannot be hobbed; the usual alternatives are broaching and power skiving. In broaching, every change of tooth count or module needs its own tool, while skiving cuts internal and external gears, also against shoulders. According to EMAG, skiving is about 50 percent faster than shaping. For smaller quantities and internal gears, shaping remains the established process. If you are comparing, our page on gear hobbing machines covers the external-gear counterpart and broaching machines the alternative for internal profiles. The wider view is in Sell gear cutting machines.
Design limits that shape the used market
Practical guidance for parts made on shapers also explains what buyers ask about. The figures below are typical values given in the technical literature, not data for a particular machine.
| Parameter | Typical value or note |
|---|---|
| Usual stroke length of the machines | 80 to 200 mm, less often up to 400 mm |
| Depth of the gear | Preferably not deeper than 200 mm in the bore |
| Relief groove behind the gear | Often needed, at least 5 to 10 mm wide |
| Tool exit | At the lower end of the gear so that the chip breaks off |
| Thin, long internal gears | Difficult: a slender tool can deflect under cutting force |
| Hardened workpieces | The harder, the more problematic; broaching or eroding is often better |
Under the classic DIN 3961, shaped gears reach quality grades 5 to 9 (1 finest, 12 coarsest). DIN 3961 has been replaced by DIN ISO 1328-1, so treat that as an order of magnitude only.
Cutter head, stroke and helical guide
Besides diameter and module, stroke length and stroke rate in double strokes per minute are key figures of a gear shaper. For helical gears there are two designs:
| Design | How the helix angle arises | Examples from the manufacturers | What we ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical helical guide | Helical guides in the cutter head; the machine changes between straight and helical guides | Liebherr: cutter head SH70M and the F versions | Guides and cutter heads available, condition of the guides |
| Electronic helical guide | The angle is entered; lead and angle modifications are programmable | Liebherr: SH70E and the E versions; Gleason: Electronic Shaping (ES), optional on the GP and P series; EMAG: electronic helical guide on the CLC SZ | Control type, software version, retrofit history |
Gleason gives a maximum stroke of 110 mm for the GP series and the AM250, 250 mm for the medium P-series shapers and 600 mm for the large ones. The hydrostatic spindle of the P-series allows a fast change between straight and helical guides, according to Gleason.
Series on the market
The table shows current series with the values the manufacturers state on their own pages (checked 29 September 2026). Older machines, such as the Pfauter PSA 300, the Gleason-Pfauter GP 130 S, P 150 S and P 1501, the Liebherr WS, WSC and LFS series and the Lorenz types, are not tabulated because we cannot document manufacturer data for them; for those, nameplate and test report count. The values are nominal for the series.
| Series | Maker | Process | Max. diameter (mm) | Max. module |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LS 80 to LS 280 (LS 180 to LS 280 in F and E) | Liebherr | Gear shaping | 80 to 280 | 3 to 5 |
| LS 300 E, LS 500 E, LS 500 E DC, LS 700 EM | Liebherr | Gear shaping, electronic helical guide | 300 / 500 / 500 / 700 | 12 / 8 (depending on cutter head) |
| LS 600 E to LS 2000 H | Liebherr | Gear shaping, large machines | 600 to 2,000 | 8 to 22 |
| LS 1800 to LS 3500 H | Liebherr | Gear shaping, very large machines | 1,800 to 3,500 | 22 |
| GP 200 S / GP 300 S | Gleason | Gear shaping, compact | 300 (400 optional) | 6 |
| AM250 | Gleason | Gear shaping | 300 | 8 |
| P 500 S / P 600 S / P 600/800 S | Gleason | Gear shaping, medium sizes | 800 | 12 |
| P-series for large gears | Gleason | Gear shaping, large | 3,200 (larger on request) | 24 |
| CLC SZ | EMAG | Gear shaping with electronic helical guide | 500 | 10 |
More on the brands is on the pages Sell Liebherr gear machines and Sell Gleason-Pfauter gear machines.
Old Lorenz shapers
Lorenz is not a current manufacturer brand. The Maschinenfabrik Lorenz in Ettlingen built gear shaping machines and later became part of Liebherr-Verzahntechnik. According to the manufacturer pages we checked, no machines are offered under the Lorenz name any more. This section is therefore for owners of used older machines. Sources disagree about the year of the takeover and about where and when the company was founded, so we state neither. Liebherr-Verzahntechnik still runs a plant for gear cutting tools in Ettlingen. Klingelnberg’s Höfler brand is also based in Ettlingen, but the two companies are unrelated.
Lorenz LS or Liebherr LS?
The biggest trap when advertising is the “LS” in the name. It stands for the historical Lorenz shapers (LS 400, LS 420, LS 424, LS 426, LS 630, LS 1000) and for the current Liebherr shapers (LS 180, LS 300, LS 500 and the series LS 600 to LS 1600). The number ranges overlap too. A listing for a “Lorenz LS 1000” and a Liebherr series with a similar number come from different makers in different eras.
| Feature | Lorenz LS (historical) | Liebherr LS (current) |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Maschinenfabrik Lorenz, Ettlingen | Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH, Kempten |
| Examples | LS 400, LS 420, LS 424, LS 426, LS 630, LS 1000 | LS 180, LS 300, LS 500, LS 600 to LS 1600 |
| Market status | Used only; no new machines under the Lorenz name | Current ranges with manufacturer data on liebherr.com |
| Typical suffixes | “CNC” on CNC versions (for example “LS 152 CNC”); spellings with and without a space | F, E, H; on the LS 200 to LS 500 series F means mechanical and E electronically controlled helical guide |
| Service | Only through third parties, by their own statements | Manufacturer service: original spare parts, maintenance packages, remote service |
Check the maker’s name on the nameplate first. If it says Lorenz, your machine belongs to the historical range and you are on the right page. If it says Liebherr, a current Liebherr series is meant.
Designations in the market
We found no manufacturer catalogue for Lorenz. Model data online comes almost entirely from dealer listings and partly contradicts itself, so we give no key figures here, only the designations under which Lorenz machines are advertised:
- LS 152 CNC, LS 304, LS 400, LS 420, LS 424, LS 426, LS 630, LS 1000: gear shapers of the historical Lorenz LS range. Spellings vary, for example “LS426” and “LS 426”.
- SN 4, SN 5, SN 7, SN 8: gear shapers of the Lorenz SN range; also “SN4”. “SNJ 5/Z” appears in one listing next to “SN 5”.
- S8/630 and S7/1000: gear shapers in the spelling of dealer listings; do not treat the figures in the listings as reliable.
- SV00, SV 00: a vertical shaper (“Senkrechtstoßmaschine” in the dealer title).
- Cugir-Lorenz MD 631 (LS 630): a Romanian licence build, not a product of the Ettlingen plant. One dealer describes it as identical in design to the Lorenz LS 630.
For the LS 630 and LS 1000, module figures in listings and on service sites contradict each other, so we rely on the nameplate and your documents, not on a listing value.
Service and retrofit for Lorenz machines
Liebherr’s pages that we checked name no Lorenz product and no service for Lorenz machines. Third parties offer such services, and we only repeat what they say about themselves. STORK GmbH (Billigheim) names spare parts, maintenance, repair, overhaul and a control change for Lorenz shapers and hobbing machines. SerWeMa GmbH & Co. KG (Chemnitz) names overhaul and retrofit and advertises an overhauled Lorenz LS 1000 with a Sinumerik 840 D SL control. Neither is a recommendation from us.
Whether a retrofit pays for you or a sale is the better answer depends on whether you still need the capacity. If you want to let the machine go, we buy it.
What decides the value of a gear shaper
| Factor | What we ask | Why it moves the value |
|---|---|---|
| Workpiece diameter and module | Outside and inside diameter, maximum module | They set which gears can be shaped and so which buyers come into question. |
| Stroke length and stroke rate | Stroke in mm, double strokes per minute | They set how deep and how fast the machine can cut. |
| Helical guide | Mechanical (guides) or electronic | It decides how flexibly the machine cuts helical gears and how much setup work there is. |
| Control and CNC retrofit | Control type, retrofit | It sets usability and spare-parts supply. For Lorenz machines, third parties offer control retrofits; with older machines the control is often the biggest lever. |
| Operating hours, spindle, guides | Hours, running behaviour, documented repairs | Cutter spindle and guides decide the gear quality still achievable. |
| Accuracy proof | Test or acceptance report | A report documents the condition of the machine. |
| Cutter heads and accessories | Cutter heads, tool holders, counter-supports | A complete set saves the buyer the sourcing. |
| Automation | Ring, gantry or robot loader | Gleason names ring, gantry and robot loaders for the GP series. |
| Service and spare parts | Manufacturer support or third party | Liebherr names original spare parts, remote service and a Reman programme for machines built since 2000; for historical Lorenz machines service lies with third parties. |
| Weight, foundation, dismantling | Weight, installation, lifting equipment | It decides the effort of removal and reinstallation. |
The full matrix is in What is my gear machine worth?.
What we need from you
- Nameplate photo with the maker’s name and designation exactly as printed, build year and serial number
- Outside and inside diameter, module, stroke length and stroke rate
- Type of helical guide, control (conventional, CNC or retrofitted) and operating hours
- Test or acceptance report; for a retrofit the conversion and acceptance documents
- Photos of the whole machine, cutter head, table, control panel and electrical cabinet
Missing documents are not a reason to hold back. Take the build year from the nameplate; years in listings are unreliable, and one listing for an LS 1000 even shows a build year in the future.
How a sale works
- Send the data and photos.
- First estimate after receiving the basic data.
- The offer usually follows 24–48 hours on working days after we have all the details. We buy your machine. Sale through our buyer network: commission stated upfront; you are paid before pickup. An urgent on-site visit can take place, usually within 48 to 72 hours on working days.
- On a direct purchase, payment is made by bank transfer and confirmed before pickup.
- We organise dismantling and transport; for large machines with a foundation we plan cranes and heavy transport. Whether those costs are included is stated in the offer upfront.
For a single machine the whole process usually takes 7 to 15 working days on a direct purchase. See also How it works.
What we do not buy
- Finished gears and gearboxes
- Shaper cutters and other single tools without a machine
- Spare parts such as single cutter spindles
- Gear pumps
- Machines of other companies named Lorenz that are not gear machines, and woodworking or hobby machines
Slotting and keyway machines are not gear machines and not the subject of this page; if in doubt, ask briefly. Other gear machines have their own pages: gear hobbing machines, gear grinding machines and broaching machines. The overview of the whole field is Sell gear cutting machines.