At the Wroclaw, Poland plant of WHITE, a manufacturer of orbital motors and steering solutions, an S110 internal cylindrical grinding machine from Studer is contributing to higher levels of efficiency in production.

Says Paweł Soćko, senior process engineer at WHITE: “We opted for the S110 because it meets our high requirements in terms of performance and production quality. Thanks to our co-operation with Studer, we can grind components with the highest precision at comparatively low costs.”

At WHITE’s modern plant, which houses around 600 employees, several Studer machines are now in use alongside the new S110, as well as other machines from sister companies in the United Grinding Group. Before deciding on the S110 model, Studer had to determine WHITE’s component requirements, namely the internal grinding of hardened steel sleeves for hydraulic steering systems. It quickly became clear that the S110 was ideal for the component geometry and production requirements.

But that was just the beginning. The Studer team specially configured and adapted the S110 to allow optimal integration into WHITE’s production process.

This task fell within the remit of Cesare Mastroianni, who is responsible for project management at Studer’s internal grinding competence centre in Biel, Switzerland. He says: “The optimisation is based on the specifications, where we define all technical data, component geometry and operational plans.”

Thanks to the optimisation process, the S110 can grind around 350,000 high-quality sleeves per year at the plant in Wroclaw.

“We produce in high volume, which requires the best solutions in the world because we cannot afford any losses due to insufficient precision or fluctuating capacity,” emphasises Soćko. “The Studer S110 meets our requirements perfectly.”

More information www.studer.com

Since 2008, Lippstadt, Germany-based Thyssenkrupp Rothe Erde has received six Dörries Contumat vertical turning and grinding machines from Starrag. Satisfied with the results, this specialist in large-diameter anti-friction bearings for wind turbines has now ordered the same model again, but with modified and optimised features.

Without large-diameter anti-friction bearings and rings from Thyssenkrupp Rothe Erde, many wind turbines would not be turning. These parts see use in the drives of nine out of 10 wind turbine manufacturers worldwide. The finishing of the bearings takes place on seven Dörries Contumat vertical turning and grinding machines, the latest arrival being a larger Dörries Contumat VC 6300/500 MC F.

The portal of the machine is designed to be larger than currently required. Indeed, the newly installed base supports a base table which holds a magnetic chuck with a 5 m diameter. It is possible to extend the base table to 6 m using ring segments, which allows it to support an even larger magnetic chuck. Furthermore, Starrag has installed a new grinding support on the left with a centrally positioned motorised grinding spindle.

Feedback from operating personnel was the impetus for further improvements. For example, Starrag changed the dressing position to eliminate the previous bottleneck to the protective cover. Now, it is easy to dress grinding wheels of all types (on the left and right) up to a diameter of 650 mm.

“It’s a significantly optimised, universal dresser,” states Hubert Erz, senior consultant for sales in the renewables sector at Starrag. “Multiple dressing positions allow operators to adjust the dressing process precisely to the grinding operation.”

More information www.starrag.com