Profile Grinding System suits lean, cellular production.

Press Release Summary:




Blohm Profimat MC traveling-column machine is capable of multi-axis grinding in 2,000 mm-wide footprint. Access from front and back allows units to be set side by side. Modular platform concept includes GE Fanuc 18i CNC control, machine bed, column, wheelhead, and machine table. Linear guideways in all axes consist of 6-row ball and 4-row roller bearing systems that provide stick-slip free positioning. Grinding range/table clamping area is offered in 700 x 400 or 700 x 600 mm sizes.



Original Press Release:



Profimat MC Ideal for Lean, Cellular Production



MIAMISBURG, OH - The Blohm Profimat MC, a Universal Profile grinding system from United Grinding Technologies, Inc. (UGT), for creep feed applications, is a powerful traveling-column machine capable of multi-axis grinding in a tight space-saving 2,000 mm-wide footprint.

According to Chris Stine, vice president, the Profimat MC is increasingly the choice of manufacturers employing or implementing cellular or lean manufacturing. He notes, for example, an aerospace customer who has 38 Profimat MCs arranged in multiple lines producing turbine components. Driving the lines is a strict adherence to "takt" time, a central principle of lean processes which dictates that a specific number of finished parts must come off the lines within a set time - less than a few minutes. This is accomplished by simplifying and breaking down operations according to takt time, grouping machines tightly together in cellular fashion and limiting operator involvement. "In this case," Stine says, "the Profimats replaced a battery of dedicated, largely inflexible 12-axis grinding centers and resulted in significantly slashing lead and changeover times and reducing floor space by 75 percent."

Access for machine maintenance is from the front and back, allowing the machines to be set virtually side by side, which facilitates swift production flow from machine to machine. Also, side-by-side stacking permits a single operator to oversee several machines, while the low-profile table eliminates the need for platforms and aides ease of operator movement.

The Profimat MC is designed from the ground up around a modular platform concept common to all Blohm machines. The machines are assembled from base modules, including the machine bed, column, wheelhead and machine table. These modules are manufactured in batches to assure absolute quality and consistency in machine construction. Specific guideways, drives, and controls are then added to the assembled base to meet customer-specific requirements. High-precision linear guideways in all axes consist of 6-row ball and 4-row roller bearing systems and provide stick-slip free, highly accurate positioning with minimal maintenance. The Profimat MC work area is entirely enclosed to fully contain high-pressure coolant.

Specifications

The two MC models feature a grinding range/table clamping area of 700 mm x 400 mm or 700 mm x 600 mm. Grinding wheel size is 400 mm x 120 mm x 127 mm (smaller for CBN).

The 45 kW variable speed main spindle achieves speeds up to 6,000 rpm, standard (60 kW, 8,000 rpm, optional). Maximum cutting speed of 170 m/sec is suitable for both conventional as well as CBN grinding applications.

Axes travels: X-axis travel is 700 mm with a rapid traverse of 30 mm/min to 25,000 mm/min. Y-axis travel is 550 mm (optional 800 mm) with a rapid traverse of 4 mm/min to 3,750 mm/min. Z-axis travel is 330 mm or 520 mm with a rapid traverse of 4 mm/min to 4,000 mm/min.

Dressing

Dressing options include continuous path controlled from the machine table and wheelhead mounted diamond roll dressing for continuous dressing (CD) and in-process dressing (IPD). With IPD, wheel dressing is simultaneous with the grinding process, resulting in significant reductions in grinding time and a perfect grinding wheel topography over an increased grinding length. Fast initial dressing with specific roughing tools reduces cost due to reduced wear on precision diamond tools.

Additional features, such as Auto wheel balancing, compensating coolant spouts and HSK clamping spindles, are optionally available. Flexible front table design allows different table configurations for varying specific solutions - a conventional fixed table or a two-station table with simultaneous loading/grinding for high volume production. Double CNC indexer permits up to six-axis processing for complex, precision parts (i.e., turbine vanes or vane segments requiring angles, radial cuts and shoulders)

Control

The GE Fanuc 18i is a robust and user-friendly CNC control. The color flat screen is cleanly arranged for simplified programming with menu bars, softkeys and a Windows(TM) graphic user interface. Setup is fully supported and aided by iconographics, and optional parallel operation permits programs to be entered and optimized during the grinding process. Loop interrupt cycles allow intermediate measurement. Other features include DNC capability and remote diagnostics via modem/phone line.

Although programming on the 18i is fast, easy and straightforward (no sophisticated programming expertise required), complex part geometries and grinding routines can be solved with equal ease and flexibility. Tool management of up to 50 dressing tools or grinding wheels permits quick and simple changeovers. Standard cycles and macros enable fast, simple program generation. Automatic swivel grinding angle calculation can be simulated for all contour dressing operations, eliminating potential collisions during actual dressing.

A user-friendly Siemens 840 D CNC control is also available upon request.

Blohm Maschinenbau GmbH has been building surface and profile grinding machinies for more than 50 years. The "standard" for precision, quality and reliability in surface and profile grinding, Blohm has more than 15,000 installations worldwide. Blohm surface and profile grinding machines are supported by an expert team of grinding specialists and a worldwide support and service network.

United Grinding Technologies, Inc., the North American arm of the Korber-Schleifring Group and supplier of such venerable nameplates as Blohm, Jung, Magerle, Schaudt Mikrosa BWF and Studer, is a global leader in grinding technology and has built a reputation for industry-leading innovation and unparalleled service and support.

For more information, contact United Grinding Technologies, Inc.; 510 Earl Blvd., Miamisburg, OH, 45342. Tel: 937/847-1215. Fax: 937/859-1115. www.grinding.com.

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