Advanced Grinding Solutions

Coventry based Advanced Grinding Solutions will be very busy at this year’s Grindtec exhibition with no less than nine of their Principal machine suppliers all exhibiting; Gerber and Magnetfinish (Deburring machines) are in hall 1 – on stands 1016 and 1054, Krebs & Riedel (Grinding wheels) are also in hall 1 on stand 1029, and Nova (Internal/external Grinders) are in hall 4 on stand 4096. Haas (Universal Grinding machines) are in hall 7 on stand 7001. Finally Bahmuller (internal/external grinders), HandlingTech (Automation), and Tschudin (Centerless grinders) are all on stand 7013 in hall 7.

Advanced Grinding Solutions recently concluded a sole UK agency agreement with the large Swiss based manufacture of coating machines, Platit, who are based near Solothurn and are showing their new Pi111 plus coating machine for the very first time. This is a new compact and cost effective coating machine aimed at smaller manufacturers of cutting tools who have a need to coat up to 1,000 cutters a day (output is based upon 10mm dia milling cutters). Platit offer all types of coating solutions including all standard coatings e.g. TiN, TiCN, AlTiN, AlCrN, special so called triple coatings with Nanocomposite structures, e.g. nACo3, nACRo3 and also new quad coatings; the latest cutting tool coating technology for very highest performance: ALL4, TiXCo4.

Chris Boraston of AGS comments "We have noticed that the coating of cutting tools of all kinds including end-mills, drills and hobs is becoming more important and many tool manufacturers wish to control the coating of their tools themselves rather than to sub-contract that out to specialist coating centres. Platit offer a wide variety of coating equipment capable of providing cutting tool manufacturers with easy to use coating solutions and we are very pleased indeed to be working with them here in the UK. Platit has sold over 425 coating machines in 38 countries and we look forward to adding to their UK reference list. Platit do much more than just building coating machines; they are constantly developing new coatings for their customers’ needs and offer a full consultancy service for their end users to ensure that they are using the optimum coating for their application. The machines themselves are very user friendly and are extremely versatile. Coating is no longer a black art!"

Tschudin have also chosen the Grindtec to launch their latest machine, the Proline Centreless Grinder, that answers Industries demands for highly consistent production quality. With its latest development of “ProLine” machines, Tschudin has taken on the task to eliminate almost all of the mechanical procedures for set up and grinding, especially the adjustment of the workrest blade height, and to create a centerless grinding machine which can be set up and operated by everyone. Additionally, the number of components on the machine has been extremely reduced resulting in lower maintenance costs.

As a world’s first in centerless grinding, and covered by a patent, the regulating wheel on the new Tschudin machine is automatically adjusted in height by an independent CNC axis (Y-axis). The optimum height of the workpiece in order to achieve the best possible roundness is done simply by digitally adjusting the height position of the regulating wheel. During the production process, the Y-Axis will also compensate automatically for any change of grinding geometry due to wear of both the grinding and the regulating wheels. Therefore the quality produced will remain consistent.

Another unique feature on all Tschudin machines is also the patented movable workrest axis (W-Axis) which allows for additional grinding processes such as the highly efficient multi part grinding of several parts at a time or to split up grinding processes in the same grinding cycle to have both a rough and also a finish grind operation in one automatic set-up.

Thanks to the W-axis, the loading and unloading of the workpieces is always outside of the grinding zone, allowing simplified and safe automation or safe manual loading. This feature is highly attractive for those looking to meet health & safety obligations because otherwise the hand loading of parts to centerless grinding machines can be dangerous.

With the Tschudin’s machine base and spindle blocks made from natural granite and the optionally and newly available grinding spindle housing made from Invar, Tschudin is mastering the worst enemy of grinding which is thermal expansion due to heat variances. Ultra-precise linear slides, linear axis motors and programmable cooling supply systems are state of the art technology for the highest production demands.

AGS’s providers of deburring machines are also showing new machines. Magnetfinish are showing their MF63 machine for deburring cutting tools that offers the automatic measurement of the gripped tools length and functional diameter to avoid operator errors. It is equipped with a new high resolution touch panel with integrated hardware buttons for the fast and reliable access to all machine functions

Gerber are exhibiting two machines for the edge preparation, deburring and polishing of all types of cutting tool inserts and customers include Plansee-Tizit, Sandvik, P.Horn, Sumitomo, Iscar, and Kennametal. Inserts are brushed on a planetary table with the rotary motions of the table, workpiece carriers and brush producing an equal and highly controlled radius on the edges of cutting tool inserts. Through the use of various types of brush combined with variable machine parameters it is possible to produce various contours and shapes on insert edges including the full radius, waterfall and flat forms that are used throughout the insert manufacturing industry.

Krebs & Riedel are introducing new types of grinding wheels with improved grain structures and novel bonding systems that enhance grinding wheel quality and optimise performance. Special wheels for gear and thread grinding will also be exhibited along with the Diamond and CBN wheels that have been manufactured by Krebs & Riedel for more than 20 years and are available from 3mm to over 900mm in diameter with peripheral grinding speeds of up to 160 m/s.

Haas are showing several machines including their latest Haas Multigrind CU grinding machine that is ideal for manufacturing all kinds of precision cutting tools. The CU grinds tools up to a length of 300 mm and a diameter of 180 mm and leaves nothing to be desired when it comes to universal multi-axis machining. This compact powerhouse only requires 3.84 square meters of space and offers superior grinding technology and also includes a tool changer for 9 grinding wheel sets, a flexible wheel dresser unit, and a fully integrated pallet loader.

Haas will also be exhibiting the latest grinding technology for demanding applications such as the production of various aerospace components such as turbine blades, vanes and segments and for medical applications such as artificial knee joints, hip joints and rasps. Advanced Grinding Solutions currently has several Haas grinding machines under order for UK customers in the aerospace and other industries as Haas continues to offer highly competitive production solutions for the multi-axis grinding of demanding components.

Bahmuller who recently celebrated 70 years of innovation in grinding technology will be present to present their latest machine designs of their fast production grinders for the mass production of automotive parts such as turbo charger wheels and shafts and various fuel injection components. Bahmuller has supplied numerous machines to Delphi Diesel Systems here in the UK and have recently been highly successful in providing machines with full automation to the turbo-charger industry.

Nova manufactures flexible CNC Grinding machines that feature excellent accessibility for quick change-over, serviceability and maximum up-time whilst providing the rigidity required for the most demanding of grinding applications. The range comprises of Internal, External, Combined and Special grinding machines that are most suited for the Bearing and Constant Velocity Joint industries.

Chris Boraston comments on the use of the HandlingTech loader systems that "automation is ever more important and that it’s only through the heavy automation of most manufacturing processes that UK industry can compete against lower wage cost countries. We are selling more HandlingTech loaders to a variety of customers as automation after part quality becomes the most important issue to ensure that machine output is increased and machine running costs reduced and therefore the all-important cost per part is also reduced".

HandlingTech are exhibiting their space saving robot cell type "SRZ 300" loader and will present, for the first time, their "HaTPad", an innovative operator interface to fully visualize the automation process. The HandlingTech award winning SRZ loaders bring stability, robustness and accuracy for the load and unloading of all kinds of machine tools. The HT loaders have a distinctively shaped frame in the form of a stable welded base frame with a smooth and continuous flush trim The SRZ 300 loader is equipped with a 6-axis Fanuc robot for the fast loading of components weighing up to 6Kg with a part capacity of some 12-24 pallets allowing for many hours of unmanned production. HandlingTech loaders can incorporate a large number of additional processes such as pressing, marking, deburring, cleaning and the laser measuring of parts to add value to the automated loading process.

The Grindtec show is in Augsberg, Germany and runs from March 16th to 19th. Staff from Advanced Grinding Solutions will be present throughout the Grindtec exhibition to meet up with UK engineers and may be contacted on 02476 22 66 11 or via their website Advanced Grinding Solutions