ANCA shows their Blank Grinders

ANCA’s CPX Blank Grinder

Achieve higher material removal rates and reduced grinding times with the peel method on the CPX grinder.

Capable of achieving runout of less than two microns, the four axes CPX Linear grinder is the solution for grinding tool blanks. The CPX Linear has a large working envelope and powerful grinding spindles to achieve the highest precision and productivity for blank preparation in the market. High material removal rates form as the primary function of the machine without compromising on dimensional accuracy and surface finish of <0.2Ra. The grinder utilises the peel and the pinchpeel grinding methods. The peel method of grinding is associated with the roughing wheel and the capability of high material removal rates (MRR). This is all made possible with the advancement in grinding wheel technology with its grain structure, bonding, and construction. From a process perspective these advancements give higher aggressiveness numbers, where grinding aggressiveness refers to the depth that the grit can penetrate the material. High material removal rates in grinding cannot be achieved just with high performance grinding wheels. It requires the machine, grinding spindle, stiffness of different machine elements and the grinding coolant system to be carefully designed to extract the wheel performance. The blank stiffness and the setup to present it to the grinding wheel is another important condition to achieve higher material removal rates. Let’s look at two different cylindrical grinding methods and how this condition affects the grinding stiffness. Grinding with centre support

In one of the conventional cylindrical grinding methods, the blank is supported with centres at each end of the blank. The blank is then ground as the wheel plunges and traverses between centres as shown in the image below. The grinding process and the material removal is efficient closer to the centres as the blank is stiff at the ends and less stiff towards the middle of the blank. For long and slender grinding applications, an additional steady support is introduced at the middle of the blank with an option to choose a fixed or a travelling support system. This makes the method suitable for low material removal rates and to finish grinding applications. Grinding with fixed grind point support

The CPX blank grinder uses the peel method of cylindrical grinding. In this method, the grind point and the support are at a fixed distance and the blank slides longitudinally while the blank is ground to a required shape. The image below is a top view of the setup on a CPX blank grinder, where the green shape depicts the roughing wheel, and the orange is the finishing wheel. The fixed distance of 1-2mm between the wheel and the support removes the weak stiffness zones on the blank that was discussed in the conventional cylindrical grinding. This enables the process to utilise the higher aggressiveness numbers of the grinding wheels. The CPX Linear is an effective solution to deliver higher material removal rates and reduced grinding times, leading to higher productivity. motion.anca.com

Where the IoT meets sustainability

Achieving sustainability requires uptake of digital technologies. Here, Jörgen Friesendahl, Global Offer Manager at Sandvik Coromant, offers advice to the metal cutting industry on implementing smart factory solutions — to increase profits, and reduce carbon.

The Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA) has urged industry leaders to scale-up their use of smart technology in the race towards net zero, and predicts that doing so could contribute up to 40% of the required global emission reductions. Using smart technologies to reduce energy consumption isn’t new for the manufacturing sector, but the challenges of implementing these technologies onsite have long been a barrier to adoption. In its research on Internet of Things (IoT) and carbon reduction, the GSMA estimated that in the manufacturing realm, 16% of the carbon reduction required to achieve net zero could be achieved using smart manufacturing processes. That is the equivalent of 1.4 gigatonnes of CO2, or the emissions of 140 million cars. Considering these extraordinary figures, one must ask why, in an industry that first coined the phrase Industry 4.0 over a decade ago, have smart technologies not been universally deployed? In fact, it is reported that just 1% of the manufacturing industry is currently using connected technology. The most common barrier to smart technology adoption in manufacturing is a lack of understanding of how easily these tools can be implemented. Casting our minds back to the inception of Industry 4.0 — a phrase originally used at Germany’s Hannover Messe exhibition in 2011 — smart factories were regarded as futuristic plants that would bear little resemblance to real manufacturing sites. Today, we understand that digitalisation doesn’t necessitate an entire plant overhaul and is more often achieved incrementally, through scalable IoT technologies and big data. Gaining data using IoT

Every manufacturing facility generates huge volumes of data each day – either knowingly or unknowingly. Without question, data is the most valuable asset in manufacturers’ efforts to reduce carbon emissions. However, many manufacturers aren’t putting this asset to its best use. Without facility-wide data that evidences how much energy is being used and where, how manufacturers possibly begin their energy reduction journey? A common misconception is that all equipment must be smart to successfully generate data. In reality, even facilities operating with decades-old legacy machinery have the potential to pull data from their production lines; and those in industry know these plants are far more common than the futuristic smart factories imagined in Hannover in 2011. This may require a combination of sensors and intelligent software – depending on such factors as the age and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the equipment, and the communications protocols used – but it is possible. Gaining insight into the energy consumption of a facility is key to identifying pain points. One might discover that small tweaks to several parts of production can yield significant carbon reduction. However, it’s also possible that individual pieces of equipment offer the biggest room for improvement. Gaining data from these areas is crucial to reducing energy used by individual machines, and there are various technologies that enable manufacturers to do this. One such solution is the CoroPlus suite of products, part of the data driven machining offer from Sandvik Coromant. The products are designed to help manufacturing organizations improve efficiency in metal cutting processes. A core objective of CoroPlus Process Control is to reduce consumption by reducing material waste. The tool monitors machines in real-time and can trigger actions according to programmed protocols. Let’s imagine that a predetermined problem occurs within the equipment. With CoroPlus Process Control, this technology will automatically trigger a correctional action, such as stopping the machine to avoid further waste. Moreover, conducting maintenance using this technology is demonstrated to improve operational efficiency by as much as 89%. Energy and economics

COVID-19 pandemic, is there a risk that reducing carbon emissions will become a secondary priority, behind generating the profits needed to recover? Half of executives surveyed in the Accenture Commercial Aerospace Insight Report predict that it will take up to three years for the aerospace manufacturing sector to recover to 2019 levels. Similarly, the automotive manufacturing sector has experienced slumps in vehicle sales in almost every country. It is true and valid that manufacturing economics must always be considered when investing in new tools and machining processes. However, the right technologies can help increase profits and reduce energy simultaneously. CoroPlus Machining Insights, for instance, has been developed to use real-time data to inform tool optimisation, and therefore performance and profit. In a metal cutting workshop, the technology can provide instant access to data about a specific machine in order to give operators an opportunity to monitor overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and performance. Ultimately, this oversight make manufacturing workshops more efficient and profitable. Over a decade has passed since the phrase Industry 4.0 was first coined, and it has since become ingrained in manufacturing’s vocabulary. Yet research suggests that, despite the impressive energy saving opportunities this technology could facilitate, many manufacturers are failing to exploit these tools. To achieve the world’s carbon emission goals, manufacturers must make a conscious effort to reduce energy consumption. sandvik.coromant.com