CUBE 350 Centerless External Cylindrical Grinding Machine Eliminates Heat Transfer
Working for three decades to reduce the heat transfer of its machines to a minimum, TSCHUDIN has successfully created a grinding machine with perfect heat transfer.
The CUBE 350 centerless external cylindrical grinding machine is the first grinding machine without heat transfer due to its use of carbon spindles.
By minimizing the heat cycle, high-accuracy production is consistent. A time-consuming warm-up of the machine, for example on a Monday morning after the weekend, is no longer necessary.
Even if the machine stands still for a weekend, it can produce immediately within a maximum dimensional deviation of 1 µm. All parts can be produced to the exact dimensions, even with multi-track grinding; the grinding wheel and regulating wheel remain parallel because thermal displacement is prevented. This allows the CUBE 350 to work autonomously for a very long time as well as unmanned shifts.
The introduction of carbon spindles, explains Urs Tschudin, shareholder of TSCHUDIN AG., is the final step in a decades-long development process. Tschudin has been using linear motors for 30 years. More than 25 years ago, machine beds made of solid natural granite were used, which only heat up extremely slowly due to their large dimensions and inertia.
In a further step, the grinding spindle slides were also designed as granite blocks—the vertical stop surface for the spindles led to a drastic reduction in heat transfer. On the ecoLine 400, a spindle made of Invar that was implemented 10 years ago has ensured a 10% reduction in heat transfer. The carbon fiber spindles, for which Tschudin has applied for a patent, have now reduced the heat transfer to an absolute minimum.
The carbon fiber spindles developed in collaboration with Carbon-Drive GmbH have been tested and adapted for more than six months with promising results.
"How materials react to heat has a major influence on precision manufacturing. The temperature resistance of carbon fiber is particularly high. Carbon spindles therefore prevent thermal expansion in the machine. They are more dimensionally stable and have a higher bending stiffness, which means they can run at higher in-feeds, which in turn means higher cutting performance. In a series of tests, the carbon spindles have proven to be between 10 to 20% more effective than steel spindles," reports Nikolas Ernst, Head of Design at TSCHUDIN AG.
The TSCHUDIN CUBE 350 is the latest Tschudin centerless grinding machine that's designed to produce parts up to 20 mm in diameter and to plunge grind parts up to 150 mm long. It's also equally adept and thorough feed grinding of parts. It can be equipped with various automatic loading options and pre and/or post-process gauging.
The CUBE 350 offers the best possible efficiency with a small footprint. The changeover time is reminiscent of a pit stop in Formula 1: The change of the grinding and regulating wheels can be done in just 6 minutes and the next series of workpieces can then be produced seamlessly.
The compact centerless grinding machine has a base of 2.6 x 1.7 m and has been developed specially for machining small components. Its ergonomic design can be operated from both the left and the right side.
The standard version of the CUBE 350 will continue to be equipped with steel spindles. The carbon spindles are available as an option.
Price: Contact the company for pricing
| Through Feed Grinding Range | 0.004 to 0.1 in. (0.1 to 20 mm) dia. |
| Plunge Grinding Range | 0.004 to 0.1 in. (0.1 to 20 mm) dia. |
| Grinding Wheel Width/Length Plunge Grinding | 7 in. (180 mm) |
| Grinding Wheels | 14 in. (350 mm) dia. |
| Grinding Wheels Bore Dia. | 8 in. (203 mm) |
| Regulating Wheels | 11 in. (275 mm) dia. |
| Regulating Wheels Bore Dia. | 7 in. (175 mm) |
| Drive Power Grinding Spindle | 7.5/12 kW |
| Peripheral Speed Grinding Wheel (V-Constant) | Max. 207 ft/s (63 m/s) |
| Speed Regulating Wheel (Infinitely Variable) | 5 to 1,000/min |
| CNC Control | Fanuc 0i |
| Resolution | 0.1 µ |
Tschudin AG
Switzerland
+41 32 654 64 74
[email protected]
tschudin.swiss
