A CNC universal cylindrical grinding machine - that can mill and drill - has a wheel pack exchanging system and magazine holding 15 wheel packs providing up to 60 wheels to select from.
ANCA will debut its latest development, the TX7+Xchanger at the IMTS exhibition in September. The new machine has been designed with extensive customer input and incorporates an ANCA TX7+ universal grinder with a wheel pack exchanging system and magazine. The magazine holds 15 wheel packs instead of the customary two only found on most CNC grinders, which means the operator now has up to 60 wheels to select from.

This expanded selection holds productivity and cost-saving benefits for companies seeking to maximise automation in mass production of cutting tools or grind complex components that require several different wheel packs to complete.

Having multiple wheel packs set up in the Xchanger magazine provides several new benefits not possible with most grinding machines including the following.

* Immediate follow-on in mass production when the wheel pack needs to be changed due to wheel wear.

This means longer unmanned operation can be achieved.

* No downtime to change wheel packs when switching from one tool type to another, increasing production flexibility.

* Improved occupational health and safety conditions for operators as manual handling of wheel packs is reduced.

This limits exposure to oil and carbide and handling of heavy wheel packs.

* Minimal downtime to set up wheel packs as coolant manifolds and pipes are changed with the wheel pack.

Set-up is done off the machine in a set-up rig, which means production does not have to be interrupted.

All of this adds up to the possibilities of extended unmanned operation, which will deliver greater levels of productivity and lower-cost tools without compromise on precision.

To further increase the flexibility of the TX7+Xchanger, ANCA also built in milling capability.

Tools such as drills and endmills are driven by the spindle using standard Big Plus wheel arbours.

As the milling tools are also stored in the magazine and therefore also changed automatically, features such as holes, keyways and dovetails prove no problem for the TX7+Xchanger.

Although the new machine will be the flagship of ANCA's IMTS exhibit, it will certainly not be on its own.

Other products on show will include the following.

* TapX dedicated tap grinding machine, which can manufacture a complete tap.

* CLX compact loader, which provides an economical automated solution.

* iQual automatical wheel qualification system.

* iView tool measurement and compensation system.

* RX7 compact grinder demonstrating small diameter grinding and the VCS Precision V-block clamp and steady.

* About ANCA - ANCA is an Australian owned company that was founded in 1974 to design and manufacture high technology Computer Numerical Controls (CNCs) for the machine tool and metal-based industries.

Today, ANCA has become a world leading designer and manufacturer of complete, high precision grinding machines competing in a global niche market.

With its core values of precision, innovation, quality and technological excellence, ANCA is today an international organisation of more than 300 employees in 12 countries, with a robust set of technological and entrepreneurial skills.

Offices are located in major cities in Europe, North America and Asia; with dealerships represented in over 25 countries.

ANCA continues to understand market demands and produce products and services to benefit its customers.

Within two days of installation and training, can manufacturing machinery maker was in full production grinding seaming tooling, chucks and rolls on its internal grinding centre.
Within two days of installation and training, world-leading can making and can seaming machinery maker Carnaud Metalbox Engineering was in full production grinding seaming tooling, chucks and rolls on its Okamoto IGM-15NC internal grinding centre. Said Miles Waterworth manufacturing project manager: 'The machine was ordered as part of a package from 600 Centre, which was all delivered, installed and commissioned within one month'. 'I have been involved with many machine tool installations and I have never experienced such a slick operation.' The 600 Centre of Shepshed, Loughborough, UK, was approached by the Shipley, West Yorkshire-based company when it was decided to instigate a replacement programme for some outdated machine tools to enable it to widen its capability and allow it to keep pace with the global demand for innovative, price-driven canning solutions.

As a result, in addition to the Okamoto grinding centre, Carnaud Metalbox Engineering ordered a Harrison M300 centre lathe which was sourced by 600 Centre from the sister lathe making company in the 600 Group.

Carnaud was created back in 1932 as the engineering heart of the UK's Metal Box Company.

However, since the 1980s it has been a major manufacturer of a range of equipment for the can making industry, supplying household names such as Heinz, Coca Cola, Rexam and Baxters.

Today, as part of the Crown Holdings group of companies, it is able to claim to manufacture one out of every five beverage cans used in the world.

The ever-growing challenge to the business is to be highly innovative in its in-house production engineering which is exemplified within the company's can seaming department.

Can seaming tooling, such as chucks and rolls, can be crucial to the performance of seaming machinery and are manufactured from AISI 440C corrosion resistant steel or Stellite.

Prior to the Okamoto, these were manufactured on an ageing grinding machine that never provided the flexibility that was now required to be introduced into the process.

This is particularly so as seaming chucks are custom designed and made specifically for each type of can seaming machine and always demand high levels of precision.

Says Waterworth: 'Our previous grinding machine was dedicated to specific tasks which led to bottleneck situations beginning to arise on seaming tooling, so we decided to take a long look at the grinding machine market and contacted a number of suppliers.' The search very soon concentrated on one supplier, 600 Centre.

As Miles Waterworth explains: 'They took us to another customer that was using an Okamoto IGM-15NC internal machine that had been installed for some time and demonstrated the excellent value and longevity that the machine could offer'.

'Also 600 Centre could supply a new centre lathe as a package, which we could use to make final sizing adjustments on components such as spacers used during assembly.' The Okamoto IGM-15NC internal grinder features graphically assisted conversational programming and is a compact, very rigid machine.

It is able to automatically grind up to eight different internal features between 6mm and 150mm diameter and provides a working stroke up to 170mm.

Workpieces up to 260mm diameter can be accommodated inside the splash guarding, though removal of the guard within the main machine guarding confine, provides the occasional capacity up to 600mm diameter swing over the table.

Worktable travel Z-axis is 500mm with feed rates up to 10m/min.

The maximum X-axis wheel spindle cross feed travel is 170mm.

The Fanuc 18T two-axis simultaneous control system fitted to the IGM-15NC offers conversational input and rapid `teach-in' programming options aided by parametric grinding routines for straight, taper, face and multiple step grinding.

Once the grinding operation is in progress an interrupt facility enables manual dressing in-cycle without loss of position within the program.

Internal and external diameters and faces can thus be ground in a single chucking cycle and absolute co-ordinate positioning eliminates any requirement to originate or datum the machine at start up.

Waterworth concludes: 'The adaptability of the Okamoto is where we are really scoring against our previously dedicated machine'.

'It's proving to be an excellent investment and we have now also started using it on night shift when demand dictates.'

A modular concept allows the building of customised cylindrical grinding machine that is ideally suitable for medium to large components and medium volume production applications.
Modular concept grinding machine is ideally suitable for medium to large components and medium volume production applications. Danobat Machine Tool Co displays at IMTS 2006 the latest universality concept in medium - heavy duty grinding machines. Several machine configurations are available in order to satisfy market needs.

Customers worldwide, OEM and subcontractors, have already designed and developed their own HG grinder suited to their specific requirements and have experienced first hand the flexibility through partnership policy Danobat establishes with its customers.

Some of the most demanding applications, such as printing rolls and aerospace shafts, have relied on the multi diameter absolute measuring system (DAN MDM) to guarantee process precision and control.

This Danobat-developed system is a step forward in efficiency and process control.

It can be used either in-process or post-process applications, controlling part dimensions and measuring roundness and cylindricity on continuous or interrupted diameters.

The DAN MDM system is a highly value added tool for a single setup work process in medium to heavy parts when microns matter.

This system helps the operator avoid multiple manual measurement checks and offset changes that were traditionally required on the larger bulky close tolerance parts.

In addition it gives the operator the ability to in-process gauge virtually every critical diameter on the shaft, therefore reducing the overall cycle time and required operator intervention significantly.

The software is very intuitive and user friendly with its management and display conveniently integrated in the operator panel on Siemens or Fanuc CNCs.

This IMTS Special Edition HG 72-1500-B1 is the smallest of the HG product range series and is capable of handling parts up to 3300 lb and 63in in length, with a maximum diameter of 18in.

It has been equipped with a B1 wheelhead configuration (24in x 3.15in x 12in wheel) and the DAN MDM multi diameter absolute measuring system.

According to Harvi Chana, Danobat Grinding Division managing director, 'This compact footprint HG-72 rebounds maximum flexibility in configuration possibilities combined with rigidity, precision and productivity.' Chana emphasized in the HG product range potential in medium-heavy application markets, 'On structural big parts, when microns matter, our machines feel at ease guaranteeing outstanding performances, it is their job and customers will not expect less.' * HG product range overview - machine base and slideways - wheelhead infeed slide (X-axis): displacement of slide on hydrostatic slideways.

Direct drive transmission by servomotor and positioning controlled by linear encoder with 0.000004in resolution.

Table slide (Z-axis): displacement on V and flat slideways by automatic lubrication with indirect drive transmission by servomotor controlled by linear encoder.

Single block or double body available.

It is equipped with air cushion system for easy manual swiveling when the double body is used.

In both X and Z slides, the base guides are ground and hand-scraped, and the moving slide is coated with antifriction material and then handscraped.

Machine base and main elements have been designed using Finite Element Method in order to optimize internal rib distribution and provide the machines with stability and rigidity, ensuring high machining accuracy.

* Workhead - the workhead is mounted on a fixed or rotary base (optional) and has a dead or live spindle (optional), to meet the various grinding requirements.

It is driven by servomotor via timing belts, with infinitely variable speed programmable through CNC.

The stiffness of the various workheads available allows the grinding of parts of up to 33.5in diameter, 41in swing over bed, and maximum part weight capacity of 8820 lb between centres.

For the manual displacement of the workhead on the machine, air cushion and rack and pinion system is provided.

* tailstock - hydraulic tailstock has automatic quill lubrication and quill pressure control, ensuring high sensitivity when tailstock centre is in contact with workpiece.

The tailstock is a two body construction with preloaded guiding, which ensures perfect taper correction.

For easy manual displacement on the machine table, it is equipped with an air cushion and rack and pinion moving mechanism.

As an option, the tailstock can be automatically displaced by a motor-driven system.

* Wheelhead - considering the importance of this machine group in the universality / flexibility capacity of a grinder, Danobat offers different construction options; hydrostatic spindle, ultra precision angular contact bearing spindle and integrated electrospindles.

All options ensure high rigidity and excellent damping capacity, providing optimal surface finishes of ground components.

A variety of wheel configurations (straight, angular and CNC controlled swiveling B axis) provide tailor-made solutions for customer's specific requirements.

Especially the Danobat exclusive high precision integrated B axis provides accurate wheelhead positioning.

Direct transmission minimizes the number of parts, assuring reliability and low maintenance costs.

* Control and Software - the control panel and software designed by Danobat allow intuitive handling and machine setup similar to that of conventional grinding machine.

No special knowledge, such as ISO programming is required because the software is user friendly, based on soft keys and simple data inputs.

Programming of working cycles, wheel management, machine setup, dynamic following of the grinding process and production management are some of the many capacities available.

A centre drive grinding machine completely machines hollow shaft-like components simultaneously internally and externally to ensure the accurate alignment of bore to external diameter.
Hollow shafts and similar components, on which the alignment of bore to external diameter must be of the highest precision, are being complete-machined, ready for assembly, on the HG 208 CD Center Drive Grinder. Examples of this type of work include the gear shafts used in modern direct transmission systems in passenger cars. The machine simultaneously grinds the shafts inside and out in a single set-up.

This process is far more accurate than alternative methods or producing the component on two separate grinders.

The HG 208 CD Center Drive Grinder simultaneously grinds hollow shafts of up to 400mm length internally and externally.

The top equipment specification for the machine features two internal and two external spindles mounted on two compound slides with B-axis.

This configuration allows for the internal machining of bores and end faces as well as of conical surfaces and slots.

The two external grinding wheels can also be used to grind diameters and adjoining end faces.

Depending on machine requirements the grinding technology used can be conventional and/or CBN.

A profiled dressing roll ensures that seats are ground without leaving tool marks.

The work spindle operates on modern, maintenance-free AC motor technology.

The chuck diameter is usually 160mm.

An integral loader loads and unloads the workpieces and also serves upstream and downstream equipment components, such as the storage sections for raw-parts and finish-machined components, measuring devices, cleaning stations, workpiece recognition and orientation equipment, marking devices, the data collection for the statistical process control SPC and so on.

The HG 208 CD is based on the HG series of grinders, to which were added certain components from the VSC series of combined turning and grinding centers, many hundreds of which are in use across the globe every day.

Workholding and automation equipment too are made by Emag.

This allows for the HG 208 CD and its peripherals to be assembled strictly in accordance with customer requirements, using a range of well proven machine modules - all of them from a single source.

Upstream processes, in particular soft turning operations, as well as downstream processes, in particular the precision machining of hardened tooth profiles, are also covered by Emag, the supplier of complete process streams and manufacturing systems.

The after-sales and service network of the Emag Group spans the globe, offering the user a high degree of security.

The financial advantages the user can enjoy with the HG 208 CD are the result of the following.

* Exceptional concentricity of external diameter to bore.

* Low cycle and idle times.

* High degree of machine availability.

* Great flexibility in the variety of workpiece geometries that can be produced.

* Great flexibility in the selection of optimal grinding technologies.

* Integrity of the process capability through the integration of in-process gauging technologies according to manufacturing requirements.

* Small footprint of the entire system.

In the past, such tasks were tackled with special purpose machines.

The HG 208 CD is an example of how the demands of many users for individualised technologies - i e, workpiece-specific manufacturing solutions - can be met with machines that come from a modular design.