Vollmer Sharpens Up for MACH With Vgrind

At MACH 2020, Vollmer UK will be demonstrating why it is the industry benchmark for cutting tool and saw blade production with the arrival of the latest Vgrind 360 tool grinding machine, the Vollmer CHX/HS and the Loroch K850-M for processing metal-cutting saw blades.

 The world leading innovator in grinding and erosion technology for saw blade and cutting tool production will be presenting the groundbreaking Vgrind 360. The Vgrind 360 is equipped with enhanced travel distances for accommodating carbide drills and milling cutters whose blanks are made from either solid carbide or carbide-tipped steel bodies up to 200mm diameter.

With groundbreaking kinematics that incorporates two vertical spindles, the Vgrind 360 allows multi-level machining. This gives customers the facility to produce large numbers of milling cutters and drills with speed and precision. The Vgrind 360 at MACH 2020 will be demonstrated with the HC4 chain magazine system that can accomodate up to 39 HSK-A63 tools in a compact floor area or optionally, up to 158 shaft workpieces – providing unparalleled levels of automated production.

At MACH, the Vollmer UK team will highlight the clear benefits of the two vertically arranged spindles over competitor machines that operate with a single spindle or horizontal double spindle. The vertical arrangement improves precision and stability, as the cutting tool is only ever machined on the fixed bearing side of the grinding wheel set. Furthermore, the grinding wheel set is always located on the C-axis pivot; this drastically improves the precision of the sharpening process.

With this configuration located upon a polymer concrete foundation, unparalleled damping and vibration characteristics are guaranteed. All this ensures the Vgrind 360 delivers far superior surface finishes and accuracy for cutting tool manufacturers. With regard to productivity, the Vgrind 360 achieves perfect interpolation through five perfectly harmonised CNC axes that have short travel distances and swivel ranges for all axes. This reduces processing times as non-productive times are slashed. Furthermore, the two grinding spindles can be loaded with different tools whilst an optional tool magazine with eight grinding wheel packages allows tools on the vertical spindles to be automatically changed.

Operation of the Vgrind 360 can be easily and individually adjusted thanks to a height-adjustable, pivoting control panel. The display can be positioned in such a way that the operator has an optimal view of the graphic interface and the work area also remains constantly in sight. To control the machine, VOLLMER uses the uncompromising NUMROTOplus software that offers comprehensive applications for the production and re-sharpening of tools with the most challenging of designs and geometries.

The Vgrind 360 with the HC4 chain magazine system at MACH is a combination that has been specified the world over by the most recognised and trusted cutting tool brands. Whilst the Vollmer engineers will be on-hand to demonstrate the benefits of the Vgrind 360 and the HC4 chain magazine system, the team will also be available to discuss other options to suit end users.

For example, Vollmer has recently launched the cost-effective Vgrind 360E with spindle options that differ somewhat from the Vgrind 360. Branded as a more cost effective solution, the upper spindle of the Vgrind 360E has a belt driven spindle with 9kW peak power and a maximum speed of 6500rpm whilst the bottom belt driven spindle generates 23kW of peak power with a maximum speed of 10,500rpm. This flexibility also extends to the tool loading options, with Vollmer engineers available at MACH to discuss the opportunities with the HPR 250 free-arm robot loading facility and the HP 160 pallet magazine that supplies the Vgrind 360 with up to 272 workpieces for around-the-clock, unsupervised machining.