Cutting tool specialist Mapal has expanded its worldwide portfolio of Walter multi-axis tool grinders with the installation of a Helitronic Power Diamond two-in-one (grinding and erosion) machine at its UK site in Rugby. Supplied by Walter Ewag UK, the newest machine brings to seven the number of Walter machines that Mapal operates in the UK.
The latest investment joins another Power Diamond and a Helitronic Power at the company’s Rugby site, plus four Walter Helitronics at Rainey, Mapal’s daughter operation in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.
Wayne Whitehouse, managing director of Mapal UK, says the latest Power Diamond was installed to meet a continually rising order book for both new tools and regrinds, especially PCD-tipped carbide tooling up to 350 mm long for which the machine is well suited with its ‘two-in-one’ tool erosion and grinding capability in a single set-up.
“Our continued investment in Helitronic tool grinding/re-grinding technology is not only based on a corporate worldwide relationship of utilising the quality and performance of Walter machines, but also, especially in terms of our UK operations, the fact that the machines have superb ‘local’ back-up and support through Walter Ewag UK,” says Whitehouse. “Service and support are critically important if we are to consistently meet customer demands.”
Established in 1993, Mapal UK specialises in technical solutions, offering a range of both standard and bespoke tooling, ranging from solid-carbide tools to customer-specific solutions.
For further information www.walter-machines.com
Seven of Advanced Grinding Solutions principals exhibited at the recent AMB show in Stuttgart: Bahmuller, Tschudin, Rollomatic, Magnetfinish, Gerber, Platit and HandlingTech; all of which displayed their latest technology.
For example, Bahmuller gave a worldwide debut to its Feed Loader automation system. Feed Loaders will be available from around £80,000 and come with Kawasaki robots, Siemens controls and pallet-based component magazines.
Tschudin chose the AMB show for the worldwide premier of its 350 Cube and proline 600 centerless grinding machines. The Tschudin Cube is thought to be the world’s smallest centerless grinding machine with a footprint of just 150 x 150 x 150 cm, and is designed to grind small components from 1 to 20 mm in diameter for the automotive and medical industries. In contrast, the ProLine 600 is the
new giant within Tschudin’s range of machines, weighing some 24 tonnes. The machine has a 30 kW grinding spindle as standard for grinding at 63 m/sec with the spindle producing 300 Nm of torque.
Rollomatic’s new NP3 Plus is aimed at cutting tool makers needing to cylindrically grind multiple stepped diameters on blanks prior to flute and end tooth grinding. The NP3 is based on the method of peel grinding, with the simultaneous grinding of both roughing and finishing wheels.
Magnetfinish used AMB to demonstrate a low-cost automated loader solution for its MF 63CR machine, using a Stäubli robot to handle cutting tools from Rollomatic and similar pallets.
For further information www.advancedgrindingsolutions.co.uk
After over 50 years of providing industry with mounted points supported by technical application advice, Master Abrasives has released a new mounted point brochure.
The brochure is designed with the Master brand’s updated look, and contains a selection guide on Master grade types for use on materials such as aluminium, cast iron and unhardened steel. A page for W, A and B shape points provides a list of standard sizes, drawings and a code relating to each item’s dimensions.
Managing director Paul Batson says: “Master Abrasives has come a long way since it was established over 50 years ago to sell mounted points to the UK market. Nevertheless, this product is still a core part of our product offering, and a major aspect where we can offer customers better productivity and improved results. Our message is that we will work with customers to find the best solution for their application, whether that’s a standard stock item or a specially developed design for the task in hand.”
Master Abrasives’ vitrified and resin mounted points are manufactured to high standards of concentricity, dimensional accuracy and stability, in tightly controlled formulas. They are used in the investment casting, tool and die, precision and heavy-duty fabrication industries for specialised and general deburring applications, in addition to maintenance-based operations. Master mounted points are suitable for difficult grinding and finishing applications involving alloyed and unalloyed steel, grey and nodular cast iron, stainless steel, aluminium, and exotic metals.
Mounted points are manufactured by Master Abrasives in a range of aluminium oxide, silicon carbide and ceramic aluminium oxide grades with a vitrified or resin bond. To suit different applications, the company also offers Masterflex, rubber, unitised, superabrasive nickel electroplated and felt grades.
For further information www.master-abrasives.co.uk
This year’s Japan International Machine Tool Fair (JIMTOF), which was held in Tokyo last month, served as the venue for Klingelnberg to introduce its latest innovations to Asia. The company presented the Höfler Speed Viper 300 cylindrical gear-grinding machine with Koenig Automation, which is designed for high-production grinding in large-scale series.
Höfler Speed Viper 300 cylindrical gear-grinding machines with closed-loop technology are designed for high productivity, offering: short set-up times, minimum cycle times and digital process control.
The Speed Viper platform is designed for the Industry 4.0 manufacturing environment. In short, it is possible to connect cylindrical gear machines directly to measuring devices, a technology that is already being used successfully in bevel gear manufacturing.
By transferring the closed-loop concept established by Klingelnberg to the world of cylindrical gears, the company has taken another systematic step toward digitalisation in gear manufacturing. Due to a wide variety of associated applications and software, Klingelnberg is implementing central production control using its cyber-physical production system, which will standardise rating results on different machines, and even in different plants.
Depending on the model, Speed Viper is designed for maximum workpiece diameters of 80, 180 and 300 mm. These sizes match the standard component sizes of the automotive and commercial vehicle sectors and their suppliers, for which the Speed Viper is mainly intended. They also meet the productivity requirements of this industry. However, the series is also suitable for cylindrical gears in industrial transmissions, and for robotic applications.
For further information www.klingelnberg.com
While Hank Matousek Sr. was perfectly content in his position as quality control manager at a bearing company during the late 1960s and early ‘70s, he had no idea that his employer’s growing financial woes and a pending layoff would become his surprise catalysts to found Grind All. TGS-CL-6020
Not surprising, though, was that Matousek’s background as a quality leader would lead him to place value and excellence above all in his new enterprise. From Hank’s one-man shop with one used grinder in a central Ohio basement, to today’s 45-machine, 52-employee, Brunswick-based Grind All Inc., the Matousek family still places quality above all else. Hank’s “Do it right and make your product better” creed has been the cornerstone of Grind All’s operations since the company was founded in 1972. “Do the best you can and people will come back. Do jobs better than anyone,” says Grind All president Henry Matousek Jr., quoting his father.
That’s why, while other manufacturing companies are tossing around “quality” buzzwords, Grind All is busy applying real time and resources toward meeting its ongoing quality goals. As a result of that focus, Grind All has had ISO 9001:2008 certification since 2011.
Over the course of Grind All’s nearly 45 years, its customer base has grown to include many companies in the aerospace and defense industries. That’s why obtaining an additional certification to AS 9100C was the logical move for quality-obsessed Grind All. The AS 9100C certification, issued by SAI Global, is the highest of global standards for quality assurance in the aircraft, space and defense (AS&D) industries. The AS 9100C certification, along with its ISO 9001:2008 certification and ITAR registration, would make Grind All uniquely qualified to offer a complete range of services to even the most quality-conscious customers.
Obtaining AS 9100C certification is no easy task for any company—not even one like Grind All. Critical factors in the AS 9100C certification are the processes, characteristics, parts and software that have a significant effect on product realization and on the use of the product. As Grind All began the certification process by evaluating their inventory of production machine tools (centerless grinders, OD grinders, ID grinders, surface grinders, honing machines and flat lapping machines), it became clear that the company’s antiquated Cincinnati 220-8 centerless infeed grinder would not make the cut. Although it had been successfully rebuilt over the years and was working, it did not provide the reliability and precision required by AS 9100C regulations. Grind All saw two options: Either invest a significant amount of money to patch up the 220-8, or find an outside source for centerless grinding work. Neither option was acceptable. As the Cincinnati centerless became even more unreliable, Henry Matousek Jr. turned to Total Grinding Solutions for advice.
President Dan Geddes and company partner Joe Giacalone, founders of Total Grinding Solutions of Warren, Michigan, are the brains behind the development of the TGS machine. With a combined 75 years of grinding experience, Geddes and Giacalone made it their goal to design and build a robust centerless grinder that would be precise and would boast the technological innovations of the best machines on the market. The key was to engineer this machine with the latest state-of-the-art features, but to sell it at a very moderate cost. “We applied our hands-on grinding experience with our in-depth knowledge of grinders and set out to design a quality centerless grinder that could handle even highest-volume production runs with extreme accuracy and consistency,” says Giacalone. “We were looking to produce a more economical, more precision-based solution. We know what works, and we were determined to ‘build a better mousetrap,’” adds Geddes.
After several iterations, the TGS-CL-6020 CNC centerless grinder was launched at an open house in August 2014 at the company’s Warren, Michigan location. That’s where Matousek and his team saw the machine for the first time. While Matousek appreciated the grinder’s modern design, he was especially pleased to learn that the tooling from his ailing Cincinnati 220-8 centerless could cross over to the TGS-CL-6020. This meant that he wouldn’t have to spend precious resources on pricey tooling.
As Grind All compared offerings from TGS and several other suppliers, the TGS CNC centerless grinding machine stood out for several reasons. The TGS CL-6020’s flexibility would accommodate Grind All’s requirement that the machine be able to run a variety of parts and, most likely, two or three different parts and materials per day. The controls on the TGS-CL-6020 had to be user-friendly to minimize training time and shorten the learning curve. As a job shop, albeit a very successful one, Grind All did not have an unlimited budget, and price was a consideration. Luckily for Grind All, the TGS-CL-6020 had been priced to meet the needs of the middle market, whose options previously were low-cost basic machines or expensive high-end machines. After a series of test grinds, analyses and consultations, Grind All management selected the TGS-CL-6020 to replace its old Cincinnati.
To further accommodate the client’s needs, TGS modified the machine controls to mimic what was already in place at Grind All.
With its new TGS machine, Grind All met its AS 9100C criteria.
“The machine’s FANUC controls are great. They’ve always been great. It’s nice to be able to call TGS or FANUC for assistance rather than being tied in to some company’s proprietary software,” says Matousek. “The TGS is everything we would want in a machine. Once our new centerless got going, it’s proven itself as a solid machine that will carry us into the future. It will be around for a long time.”
