CURTIS MACHINE TOOLS LTD - Douglas Curtis Group

CURTIS MACHINE TOOLS LTD

30671 VECTOR Brochure:Layout 1 31/8/07 08:48 Page 1

Innovation in production grinding‘Grinding in a box’

2

The ‘VECTOR’ is a production OD grinding machinewith integral automatic loading. The size ofcomponent that can be ground has been deliberatelyrestricted so that a very efficient, compact machinecan be offered with short distances between thegrinding and loading areas. The machine has aunique, patented guarding concept with a fixedgrinding guard that encloses the grinding wheel,dressing tool and work holding equipment. Duringgrinding the fixed guard is sealed so that coolant andgrinding debris can be piped direct to the coolanttank. The machine slides and loading system arelocated outside the fixed guard, in a cleanenvironment. The back plate of the guard is astructural part of the machine and can be used formounting additional equipment.

The grinding wheel head is mounted on a cross slide,with the wheel moving between the fixed grindingand dressing positions. Dressing takes place at therear of the wheel where a range of interchangeabledressing units can be mounted. The fume extractordraws air directly through the coolant lift tank, sothat there is a flow of air through the guard at alltimes. When the front doors of the fixed guard areopened there is excellent access for machine settingand wheel change. A sliding door allows access tothe working area for unload and load.

A 3 axis Cartesian loading unit is mounted directlyabove the fixed guard. This takes components fromthe component storage area positioned directly infront of the fixed guard. The use of a 3 axis loaderpermits the use of pallets for part storage. The wholeloading area is protected by a clear, interlocked,guard that can be raised to give complete access forset up. In the standard form, the pallets are locatedin drawers and can be changed without stopping themachine.


3

Grinding Wheel Spindle Balancing Option

Dressing Options

The direct drive spindle motor it mountedbehind the fixed guard with the spindlepassing through a special seal in theguard back plate. A coolant guard fitsround the wheel and rotates so that itcovers the front of the wheel while thewheel is retracted or is being dressed.The automatic grinding wheel balancinghead mounts on the grinding spindle andhas non-contact transmission to thereceiver so that the balancer is notremoved for grinding wheel changing.The receiver is mounted on the outer faceof the guard. Off machine balancing isavailable using conventional weights anda balancing mandrel.

The dressing units are mounted on the guard back plate, a full range ofinterchangeable dressing units are available including:

1. Grit wheels for conditioning diamond and CBN wheels.

2. Diamond roll.3. Single (or twin) fixed dressing

tools.4. Diamond disc, 150 mm

diameter.

5. Servo driven radius dressing.

The drive units for the dressing options are outside the grinding area.

1

2

3 45


Standard work driving applications mount direct onto the universalworkhead, allowing for greater flexibility

(From Left to Right)

• Eccentric Collet Chuck• 3-jaw Chuck• Between Centers with Auto-drive• Standard Collet Chuck

All of the above are actuated by the same draw bar and pneumatic slide giving simple interchangeability.

Universal Workhead

Miniature Workhead

4

A range of interchangeable workheads are available.These mount on the large platform, behind thegrinding guard and only the work holding equipmentextends into the grinding area. A stainless steel plateseals the workhead front face to the guard backplateso that coolant and grinding debris cannot escape.Each workhead can be positioned for straight orangle approach grinding.

The Universal workhead is mounted on a pneumaticslide with 100 mm stroke, and can be used with a fixedtailstock. For loading between centres the workhead isretracted, allowing the tailstock to be very short andused for length reference. All workheads have a ‘livespindle’, which has a 52mm bore allowing a wide rangeof work holding equipment to be used with theoperating system located in the spindle bore.

The low-inertia workhead makes the machine ideal for grinding very small components to hightolerances. The spindle unit is mounted on a precision slideway for use with a fixed tailstock, thedrive motor is dynamically isolated from the spindle to reduce vibration and momentum.

The miniature workhead is capable of –7.5º or 0º or 10º approach angle.

7.5? inclusive tapedriver

18.00

ÿ3.0

0

ÿ2.0

0


5

Twin Spindle Variant

Concentric Workhead

For very high volume production the VECTOR can besupplied with a TWIN SPINDLE workhead which allowsloading and grinding to take place concurrently. Two spindlesare mounted in a drum that rotates through 180º. A dividingplate between the 2 spindles provides a seal between thegrinding and loading area. This enables the grindingoperation to take place on one spindle whilst the secondspindle is in a clean environment for the loading operation.At the end of the grinding cycle the workhead drum rotatesthrough 180º alternating the positions of the 2 spindles.

Applications available with the twin spindleworkhead• Straight approach grinding• Angle approach grinding• Between centre grinding• Chuck or collet work holding• Eccentric collet work holding• For grinding between centres, each spindle has its

own tailstock mounted on the dividing plate andeach tailstock has manual taper adjustment.

In-cycle gaugingPre-grinding length gauging and post grinding ODgauging may be carried out in the loading position.This further increases the productivity.

Concentric grindingThis is a form of centerless grinding, the component is clamped against a steel control wheel andwork rest blade by a pneumatically applied clamp roller. Secondary diameters arethen ground ‘concentric to the clamped diameter’.

This technique is particularly suited to grinding additional diameters on components that have first been through fed centerless ground. Automatic loading of the concentric unit can be particularly simple as the component can be loaded horizontally and the following component can push the ground part out as it is being is loaded.


VECTOR Options

6

Gauging OptionsIn-process diameter and length gauging beingused with the universal workhead andautomatic driver.

Extraction SystemThe mist extractor is an integral part of theguard system and installed on top of themachine.

Coolant Tank Options

Above: Coolant lift tank with a magneticseparator.

Below: A full range of coolant filtration systemsare available, the guarding system is suitable forgrinding pressures of up to 40 bar.

Turn Over StationLoading system turn over unit, used so thatthe parts can be stored vertically in palletsand loaded horizontally in to the machine.


7

Loading SystemsCartesian Robot(Shown with protective visor raised for clarity)

A 3 axis Cartesian loading unit is designed into themachine. It is mounted above the fixed guard, in theclean area, and does not increase the machines floorplan. Having 3 axes the standard loader is suitable forloading from pallet, with the components locatedvertically to give the most efficient storage density.The simple pallet system has 2 pallet drawers builtinto the area at the front of the machine and givesun-manned running times depending on nestingdensity and cycle time. For increased un-mannedrunning – pallet conveyors or stacking systems can beoffered.

Hopper Loading System(with Component Orientation and Pre-Gauging)

The standard 3 axis loader gives the customer themaximum flexibility as only the grippers and palletneeds to be changed to switch from one component toanother. Small parts are frequently supplied to themachine from a vibratory bowl and after grinding theyare placed in bins or pallets. Concentric grindingapplications can either use the standard 3 axis loader ora horizontal inserting unit attached to a hopper loader.

Pallet Drawer System

Vibratory BowlFeeder


Grinding WheelOutside diameter 450 mmMaximum width 50 mmBore diameter 152.4 mmDrive power 5.5 KwMaximum speed 5,000 rpm

WorkheadsMaximum grinding length 100 mmMaximum length between centres 160 mmMaximum diameter swing in chuck 150 mm

Workhead Swivel OptionsStandard workheads 0º/5º/10º/15º/20º/30ºHeavy duty workhead 0º/15º/30ºMiniature workhead –7.5º/0º/10ºConcentric grinding 0º/15º/30º

VECTOR TwinGrinding approach angle 0º or 30ºMaximum length between centres 80 mmMaximum diameter ground between centres 30 mmMaximum diameter held in chuck 50 mmMaximum diameter swing in chuck 120 mm

DimensionsIncluding Loading System, without Coolant System

1,200 x 1,900 x 2,100 mmWeight Approx 3,500 Kg

1850

1850

11901190

CURTIS MACHINE TOOLS LTDMartells Industrial EstateSlough LaneArdleighColchesterEssexCO7 7RUEngland

Tel: +44 (0)1206 230 032Fax: +44 (0)1206 321 426Email: [email protected]: www.curtisgrinding.com

ISO 9001:2000Certificate No: FM67235


Documents

CURTIS MACHINE TOOLS LTD - Douglas Curtis Group