Many people have never seen a CNC vertical cylindrical grinding machine with an ATC or know of its many part quality, productivity and profitability advantages.
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Advantage #1: Automatic Tool Changer
Integration of the ATC into the vertical cylindrical grinder, this is something that is not available on most horizontal universal machines. It allows the use of 6 wheels or more depending on machine size, more wheels can be qualified and stored on the machine. OD, ID and facing operations can be done in one chucking. Setup time is reduced by tooling up the machine for the most popular jobs and not having to change or requalify the wheels. This helps with small batch run by significantly reducing setup time, typically requiring only a fixture and program change. Inserting or removing wheels from the ATC is easily done through an access door in the side of the machine enclosure, just snap one in or out.
Advantage #2: Unlimited options for ID Grinding
ID grinding requires the same stock removal as OD grinding but with a much smaller grinding wheel. ID Grinding options are limitless on a vertical grinder. Typical horizontal universal grinders offer 1-2 OD wheels and one ID wheel, if the part to be ground requires significant stock removal, you are forced to do all the ID grinding with only one ID wheel. The vertical grinder ATC can store up to 5 ID wheels and allows separate wheels for roughing and finishing of the ID. Part surface finish requirements typically dictate grinding wheel grit size and wheel dressing feed rates, being able to use a separate wheel for rough grinding allows for a more coarse grit wheel to be used for the rough grinding cycle. The majority of grind stock can be removed significantly faster with a coarse grit wheel and with less heat being transferred to the part.
Using a separate wheel for the finish ID grinding operation allows for finish stock amounts to be reduced to .'-.' instead of .008'-.010' or more, this exponentially increases the life expectancy of the finishing wheel. It provides perfectly sharp abrasives for the removal of the finish grind stock which in turn reduces grinding forces and helps to reduce taper by reducing part and/or wheel deflection. Other measurable benefits are better process stability, part quality and accuracy.
Advantage #3: Integrated Part Measuring
Vertical grinding machines offer a very unique advantage when it comes to part measuring. Horizontal universal machines are typically not able to measure both OD and ID surfaces with the probe device, most are used only for end of part flagging. Internal and external diameters and faces can ALL be measured accurately by the same device, it can also provide in-machine feedback for size correction. This is extremely useful on larger parts as it is often very labor intensive to either remove the parts for manual measuring or to try to measure them on the machine. The measuring probe has its own high precision linear axis which allows up and down positioning of the probe which allows for measuring at multiple positions lengthwise on the part. The measuring probe utilizes a calibration ring before every measurement to correct for any thermal expansion that might occur between part cycles. Scrap and the rerunning of parts is eliminated.
Advantage #4: Grinding Wheel and Dresser Interference Issues
Interference issues have long been a hindrance for most horizontal universal machines. That's because most of these machines are designed for 'between center grinding', they are not designed for chucking work. Many of these machines require for the headstock or tailstock to be moved / removed prior to performing ID grinding operations. Interference issues between the OD wheel and the table are always a concern. Mounting of a dressing device that can reach both the OD wheel and ID wheel can be a challenge and must be given serious consideration for every setup. Vertical grinding machines offer unfettered access for EVERY wheel to the workpiece and dressing device and do not have any of interference issues that are normally associated with horizontal machines.
Advantage #5: Pallet Changers
Pallet changers are simply not an option for most horizontal machines. Pallet changers allow for medium to large parts to be fixtured / loaded outside of the machine, the machine is running while a new part is being loaded outside of the machine. Typical spindle utilization improvements of 20% or more can be achieved. Large part cycle times often cause for machines to be dedicated to one part or operation but a pallet changer allows for multiple parts or operations to be ran on the same machine, throughput improvements are substantial. Pallet ID recognition allows for the machine to automatically switch programs and tooling back and forth between the different pallets.
Advantage #6: Workpiece Rigidity / Gravity
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Workpiece rigidity is one of the most important advantages of a vertical machine. Spindle mounting faces for a typical horizontal universal machine with an 18' part swing are usually around 8'. Users are frequently mounting large fixtures with less than 50% face contact. The same sized vertical grinder offers 100% face contact up to 22'. And, gravity is your friend, parts sit against the back of the jaw or fixture naturally and can be clamped with less force. Less force means less part distortion which means better part roundness and accuracy, the larger the part, the more true this statement becomes.
Advantage #7: Automation Made Simple
Most parts are naturally orientated for a vertical machine and thus naturally orientated for automation. The picking of green parts from bins or conveyors by robots or pick and place units is simplified and usually does not require a part flip or reorientation station. The larger and heavier the part, the more this advantage can be realized. Robot or loading devices have easy access to the workpiece through the side of the enclosure WITHOUT having to open or close the front door.
Advantage #8: Reduced Cost Per Square Foot
Most horizontal universal grinding machines are designed for 'between center' grinding, they come with a table and tailstock. An industry standard sized horizontal machine with a 9' workhead spindle center height x 40' distance between centers has a footprint of around 225' x 205'. A similar sized vertical grinding machine with a LARGER 22' part swing diameter has a footprint of 106' x 163', nearly a 50% reduction in machine width. Vertical machine design builds the machine upward instead of making it wider. More part diameter capacity with half the floor space requirements.
Advantage #9: Reduced Cost of Ownership
Horizontal grinding machines as a whole have traditionally come with a higher cost of ownership when compared to vertical grinding machines. This is because horizontal machines have all of their precision axis and spindles located in the coolant contamination zone. Grinding swarf accumulation in and around the linear axis and wheel spindles is unavoidable. Vertical grinding machines have all their linear axis and grinding spindles designed up and away from the contamination zone. This enables vertical grinders to maintain the original machine performance & accuracy for longer periods of time with significantly less maintenance. The two big measurables here are maintenance cost savings and increased spindle run time.
First, we would like to briefly highlight a few of the potential grinding operations that are possible on universal cylindrical grinding machines:
What does this mean for the different industries? Here' are a few examples:
Many manufacturers use materials that are difficult to machine. The flexibility of STUDER universal grinding machines is particularly well received when machining workpieces with a high-mix and low-volume (HMLV).
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