Glendower Cutting Tools has purchased a Rollomatic 630 XW six-axis CNC tool grinding machine that is now busy boosting the company’s production of cutting tool inserts. The ethos at Leicester-based Glendower, which is very much a specialist insert manufacturer, is to have complete in-house control over all manufacturing processes, as evidenced by the arrival of the Rollomatic 630 XW.

Dave Chattaway, Glendower’s chief engineer, welcomes the ability to program all special insert geometry from his office, with the machine currently busy producing special inserts in small batches of 10s, 20s and 30s. However, with production rising to over 40,000 inserts per month, it will not be long before the Rollomatic’s automatic part loader is used on larger batches of 1000 inserts or more.

Chattaway states that the 6th axis on the Rollomatic allows him to create very special forms that are not possible on machines with fewer axes, thus facilitating ‘one-hit’ production in a single set up, which saves a lot of time and brings higher accuracy than is possible when grinding special forms on two or three separate machines. The ability to program quickly and then manufacture small batch work has shortened lead times across the shop floor.

The Rollomatic 630XW can grind many kinds of cutting tools with a more complex geometry whereby its additional 6th A-axis, which is said to be unique within the industry, provides improved accuracy on ball-nose end mills or corner radii with a possibility to incline the grinding wheels by up to 45°. This capability avoids collisions, allows for easier programming, and makes it possible to machine demanding and highly precise geometric forms in a single operation. The UK and Ireland agent for Rollomatic is Advanced Grinding Solutions.
For further information www.advancedgrindingsolutions.co.uk

ActOn Finishing recently supplied a sand-blasting machine to Special EFX, a designer and manufacturer of bespoke awards and trophies for clients in UK and worldwide. To produce the matt, brushed, polished or a satin finishes, the company was using a sand blaster in-house. However Special EFX wanted to update its finishing equipment as it needed a blasting machine with a pressure fan that would provide more constant flow.

After contacting different suppliers on the market, the company decided to work with ActOn Finishing. Tony Darby, production manager at Stratford-upon-Avon based Special EFX, states: “ActOn’s customer service was very helpful, very friendly; they showed us around their facility in Coventry and that’s where we made the decision to invest with them. We had spoken to other suppliers as well, but ActOn seemed like people we wanted to work with.”

Further to carrying out trials, ActOn decided that the best option to achieve a matt sand-blasted finish prior to anodising was the ECO MP pressure-blast cabinet. This sand-blasting machine is a compact system built to achieve a rapid and efficient finish. Moreover, ActOn says that ECO blasting systems allow users to minimise their investment while enjoying the benefits of a good-quality blasting solution.

The speed at which Special EFX can now blast its parts has increased, while component finish has improved and the results are repeatable.

“The aftercare was also very good,” states Darby. “Any problems we had, they are at the other end of the phone. I would recommend ActOn due to the professionalism of their team, the quality of the cabinets they provide, and for the friendliness and helpfulness they provide during the purchase process.”
For further information www.acton-finishing.co.uk

Nagel and Gehring presented their technologies and new products in the fields of honing, superfinishing and electromobility at AMB 2022 in Stuttgart last month.

New standards in efficient honing, maximum flexibility in the superfinishing of flat, concave and spherical surfaces, and efficient internal and external honing of workpieces: this is how machine builders Nagel and Gehring presented themselves at the exhibition. On the joint stand of the two companies everything revolved around the EcoHone HRX horizontal honing machine, the NaSphere and the deephone 3000.

With the EcoHone HRX, Nagel says it is setting standards in terms of efficient honing in the diameter range from 2 to 40 mm. It is even possible to undertake multi-stage honing processes fully automatically on the machine’s high-end honing spindle. Measuring, brushing, cleaning, tool change in case of wear, or even a change from pre- to finishing honing tool: the integrated robot unit handles all of these functions. An innovative and flexible fixture and clamping jaw concept, adaptable to any workpiece geometry, enables working with a wide range of workpieces.

The NaSphere can machine flat, concave and spherical surfaces and bores, on multiple vertical or horizontal modular workstations. For standard tasks, it offers tool speeds of up to 12,000 rpm. The machine achieves maximum flexibility thanks to optimally co-ordinated process combinations of external and internal grinding, superfinishing, honing, brushing and polishing.

Gehring says that its deephone series of horizontal honing machines combines optimal performance with a well-balanced, compact design. The deephone 3000 stands for efficient internal and external honing of precision or telescopic cylinders and similar workpieces. Depending on the series, the honing diameter is up to 1150 mm, while the workpiece outside diameter is 65 to 1200 mm.
For further information www.nagel.com www.gehring-group.com

Making a debut at the AMB 2022 exhibition in Germany last month was the new Okamoto ACC-63SA1 surface grinder range. Replacing the company’s SA series, the Okamoto ACC-63SA1 surface grinder is available in six sizes, 500 x 200, 600 x 300, 600 x 400, 600 x 500, 800 x 400 and 1000 x 500 mm. DF Precision Machinery is the exclusive distributor of Okamoto grinders in the UK.

The ACC-SA1 series feature an easy-to-use touchscreen control with colour graphics, allowing trouble-free surface grinding with automatic wheel dressing. Notably, the series enables fully automatic grinding operations for standard surface grinding or shift-plunge surface grinding.

ACC-SA1 range machines boast a robust, rigid cast-iron construction, providing high static and dynamic stiffness characteristics, in addition to good dampening qualities. The hydraulically driven table features double V slideways with minimal overhang and non-contact switches for table reversal.

Also at AMB 2022 was the new version of Okamoto’s ACC-42SAiQ surface grinder, a machine that features a long list of improvements, including ball-screw table drives and the latest FANUC control with faster response times and clearer, crisper graphics. The Okamoto graphical touchscreen operator interface featured on the iQ range allows quicker and easier machine set-up. Graphical representation of common, grind patterns and wheel shapes are set-up directly on the touchscreen view pane with the help of the iQ function.

The ACC-42SAiQ retains and improves on the table position control of the previous-generation machine. It features fast reciprocation and can be set to grind with up to five different table positions in the same cycle. The switch from hydraulic control to a ball-screw table drive reduces heat build-up and improves reversal accuracy.
For further information www.dfpmach.com

Flexible and at the same time highly productive solutions for grinding for electromobility and similar applications – this is what the EMAG Group demonstrated at the GrindingHub exhibition earlier this year. The company put together an interesting programme for the new trade fair for grinding technology. In addition to exhibits such as universal cylindrical grinding machines from EMAG Weiss and the VLC 350 GT combination machining machine, the company gave an insight into developments in the field of Industry 4.0 and IoT, in which a lot has happened in recent years – including in grinding technology.

In order to make it as easy as possible for EMAG customers to enter the world of data-optimised production, machines can now be delivered IoT-ready. This makes it possible to integrate the machines directly and without major effort into existing IoT networks.

Emag Weiss showed two machines at GrindingHub: a W 11 CNC and a W 11 EVO. The W 11 CNC is a grinding machine equipped with a modern, fast, grinding-oriented control, while the W 11 EVO is a further development of the well-known K11 series. The latter is a new, contemporary version of the conventional grinding machine with many extras that make production life easier: hydraulic-free, axle drives with servomotor and ball screw, modern HMI with touchscreen, automatic parallel dressing and free-driving.

Both machines offer high precision in external round machining with a grinding length of up to 2000 mm and a maximum grinding diameter of 360 mm.

EMAG also presented a VLC 350 GT for the first time at GrindingHub. The GT abbreviation stands for ‘Grinding’ and ‘Turning’. They indicate the strength of this machine: the combination of grinding and turning (plus other processes) with the proven EMAG pick-up automation enables countless manufacturing solutions.
For further information www.emag.com