Intended for tools up to 1/2'' (12.7-mm) diam shank and lengths to 6'' (152 mm), including burrs and router bits, the dual-spindle MGX (made by ANCA Inc., Farmington Hills, MI), is a precision tool grinder featuring an integrated robotic loader and tool change times of less than 5 sec. Pallet loading with as many as 280 tools/pallet permits untended operation.

The MGX has nine axes-five traditional rotary and linear axes and four patented soft axes. By exploiting the CNC's capabilities, the four soft axes allow ANCA to offer a nine-axis machine with the relatively simple mechanical design of a five-axis machine.

The offset dual-spindle design can provide as many as six grinding wheels in a single cycle with minimum interference or repositioning. Spindles can be set up with high-speed and low-speed wheel packs. Each spindle can deliver a maximum of 11 hp (8.2 kW) at speeds to 10,000 rpm. An optional 20,000-rpm spindle is available for polishing or grinding with small wheels.

This system's patented precision collet assembly and precision adjustable popup steady means runout as low as 0.000008-0.000016'' (2-4 pm) in a production environment is typical. Using this assembly permits setup in as little as ten minutes.

The MGX can be programmed to produce any combination of tools from a single pallet of blanks. Because it's a Windows NT-based system, the control system enables operators to use the ANCA ToolRoom software. ToolRoom permits users to develop new parts by entering the new tool's parameters into the CNC, avoiding trial-and-error machining of new tools.