Coventry based Advanced Grinding Solutions (AGS) has 8 of its Principals exhibiting at this year’s Grindtec show.
Comat (hall 7 stand 7091) are showcasing their range of Superfiltration Systems for all types of machine using neat cutting oil as a coolant. Today, more than 20,000 machine-tools use Comat Filtration Systems, with more than 20,000,000 litres of metal working oil super-filtered by them every single day. Comat operates globally and have a 30-year history in developing the most advanced filtration systems that are available.
Comat’s Superfiltration Technology uses continuously regenerating filtering media (diatomaceous earth, cellulose or other vegetable media), to ensure that particles larger than ≤ 3 μm are removed from cutting fluids and that the fluid is maintained at a stable desired fixed temperature. Oil that is filtered by Comat systems does not need to be replaced and many clients report that they have never changed the oil for up to 20 years (save top-ups due to oil loss). AGS has already supplied a number of these units into the UK for grinding applications such as those carried out on Rollomatic grinding machines.
Rollomatic (hall 5 stand 5077) will be showing its latest range of CNC tool grinding machines such as their new NP50 machine for the grinding of cutting tool blanks. The new design of the workhead, with direct drive, offers more rigidity, finer, and more precise indexing control that is especially useful for applications requiring flat surfaces as well as for non-round punches. The roughing station has been designed to enable different wheel positions with a rotation change from 0° to 10° and 90° in just a few minutes. This innovation offers both a huge savings on set-up times and positions the machine as the most flexible on the market. The two synchronous spindles make the production process very quiet and their power is increased to 14 kW and allows roughing operations to be carried out on both axes.
Rollomatic’s 6-axis 830XW machine is used for manufacturing large diameter cutting tools and has a unique combination of hydrostatic guides and linear motors giving superior surface finishes on milling cutters and drills. This concept provides an exceptionally high degree of rigidity and dampens vibrations that naturally occur during grinding, thereby increasing the life of the grinding wheels and guaranteeing surface finishes and sharp cutting edges that give users a real competitive advantage. Unattended production is an additional process that has been integrated into this machine to allow long-term manufacturing without human intervention. The use of the same oil for the hydrostatic slides, cooling of grinding spindle, and coolant during grinding, allows the machine to be kept at a constant temperature and provides a remarkably high level of thermal stability, both during setup and grinding. All Rollomatic grinding machines benefit from their industry leading 3 years parts and labour warranty and free software updates for life.
Tschudin (hall 7 stand 7086) are exhibiting their latest Cube 350 grinding machine stated as being the world’s most compact CNC centreless grinding machine. A feature on all Tschudin machines is their 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 grinding 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 centreless grinding machines can be dangerous. With the machine base and the spindle blocks made from natural granite; Tschudin is mastering the worst enemy of grinding which is thermal expansion due to heat variances. The Tschudin Cube machine that has a plunge grinding capacity for parts from 0.1 to 20mm in diameter will also be a central feature on the AGS stand at the forthcoming Mach show.
New to the AGS range of finishing and deburring machines is GPA Innova (hall 5 stand 5026). GPA has introduced the world’s first dry electropolishing process, DLyte, that does not use any liquid as the electrolyte. This is a patented and unique one step automated process for grinding and polishing metals by ion transport using free solid bodies.
DLyte machines are used for polishing Steel and Stainless-Steel, Cobalt Chrome, Titanium, Aluminum, Nickel and alloys for the Medical, Aerospace, Automotive and other industries. Unlike traditional polishing methods, the DLyte system obtains consistent finishes whilst avoiding producing any marks on the surface of components and is able to process complex geometries without generating micro scratches on the surface. DLyte respects the tolerances of the workpiece, delivering a mirror finish without affecting part geometry. Typical applications for this process include the polishing of cutting tools, all kind of medical parts such as artificial knee joints and hip joints, and aerospace parts such as aeroengine blades.
Grinding of course would not be easy without the best grinding wheels and Krebs & Riedel will be highlighting their large range of grinding wheels in hall 2 on stand 2031. Krebs & Riedel is one of the leading German abrasives manufacturers with over 250 employees and an annual turnover of 33 million euros. An export share of about 45% shows their international orientation. The wide product range includes corundum and silicon carbide wheels in ceramic and synthetic resin bonds for most industrial grinding applications up to 900 mm outside diameter. Diamond and CBN grinding wheels in ceramic bonds with a working speed of up to 200m/s for internal, external and special grinding processes are also offered. Such has been the success that Advanced Grinding Solutions had in the UK with the Krebs & Riedel wheels they now hold over £75,000 worth of wheels in stock for the same day/next day delivery to key UK customers and this stock holding is growing as more and more engineering companies discover the advantages in improved part quality and the cost savings that the Krebs wheels brings to them.
In hall 4 on stand 4037, FLP will be exhibiting several fine grinding and lapping machines whose range includes for both twin wheel – double sided CNC Lapping machines and also single sided Lapping machines. The size of machines ranges from the most basic of 400mm in diameter having three working stations up to the world’s largest 100 ton 4-meter diameter monsters. FLP holds over £2.5million worth of lapping consumables in stock and offers end users of all types of lapping machine the largest range of wear parts and consumables. The range is vast and includes items such as Lapping and polishing oils, Fine classified silicon carbide, boron carbide, and special fused aluminium Lapping Powders, Lapping and polishing fluids in water derived concentrates with integrated rust protection, Honing oils for machining steel, non-ferrous metals, hard metals and ceramic, and diamond sprays, suspensions, powders and pastes with micro-grains of various specifications and grades from 0.25um up to 45um.
Gerber are showing 4 deburring machines on their stand 1020 in hall 1, the BP Smart, BS Power, BP MX and the new CompactPolish machine. The technique of brush honing hard materials has been pioneered by Gerber for more than 40 years. The Gerber BP-M machines use advanced part dedicated brushes which result in a repeatable material erosion during the honing/polishing process. For simple shapes, nylon brushes impregnated with abrasive grit are used. A different approach is used for parts with more complicated shapes or with higher requirements on the quality of the surface polishing. Here brushes are made from natural materials and a special diamond paste is applied. Both single sided and double sided deburring is catered for from simple stand-alone machines to ones with full automation.
In hall 3 on stand 3094 you will find Platit; a leading manufacturer of highly advanced coating machines that are based on plasma generating PVD technology (Physical Vapour Deposition). One of the main applications for Platit coating machines is the coating (usually TiN, TiCN, CrTin, etc) of cutting tools (end mills, form tools, and drills) and also inserts, saw blades, hobs and broaches. Here Platit leads the way in offering cost effective solutions that means that tool manufacturers can now easily and cost efficiently coat their own tools and cutters instead of relying upon expensive subcontract solutions. 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.
AGS will have staff on hand throughout the Grindtec show to meet UK engineers and more information is available at www.advancedgrindingsolutions.co.uk
