E-Sharp News
July 2010
30 Jun 2010
GrindTec 2010 Exhibition in Augsburg Germany once again proved to be the leading international exhibition for grinding, showcasing the leading technology companies within this field.
ANCA attended GrindTec with 3 machines on display. The main attraction for visitors to the ANCA booth was the newest machine, the MX7.
The MX7 has been released to the market for over 12 months with the response from the industry being overwhelmingly positive. Visitor registration to the ANCA booth confirmed this with the MX7 receiving the highest level of registered interest.
Wolfgang Luser, senior applications engineer at ANCA GmbH was the designated MX7 operator at the show and found the endless stream of people wanting a closer look at the MX7 both exhilarating but exhausting. ‘The stream of people wanting a demonstration or information on the MX7 was ceaseless for the entire show’ said Luser.
Wolfgang Luser demonstrating high helix ballnose production on the MX7
ANCA maintained its reputation for live grinding at trade shows with the MX7 manufacturing carbide step drills and high helix ball nose end mills live on the stand. ‘This is something ANCA have always done as we believe that it gives our customers a real feel for the machine under real operating conditions’ says Jan Langfelder, Germany area sales manager. ‘It also allows us to show the true flexibility of ANCA and our machines by being able to respond to a request for a tool sample there and then in front of the customer’.
Generally the first question asked about a Grinding machine is ‘what is the spindle power’. The MX7 is equipped with a 20Kw (S1) permanent magnet spindle capable of speeds up to 10,000 RPM. This spindle type provides constant torque across the entire RPM range so therefore provides high torque at low RPM which is highly desirable for carbide grinding.
One of the most talked about features of the MX7 was the wheel changer as it provoked many discussions on its benefits for enhancing manufacturing methods and saving costs.
The Integrated wheel and coolant manifold changer of the MX7
When continually changing wheel packs within the one grinding process, customers raised concerns about the accuracy of the wheel position when it is continually mounted and dismounted. During design of the MX7, ANCA shared the same concern and consequently, designed the wheel spindle with the ability to be used as an axis (Q axis) and therefore its rotary position can be precisely controlled. This feature is used when automatically changing wheels as ANCA has proven that matching the wheel arbor and spindle orientation positions precisely every time the wheel is changed results in accurate and repeatable wheel runout.
Another aspect in ensuring wheel pack repeatability is keeping the mounting taper of the arbor clean. In this case it is a HSK50F taper. As the wheel changer is within the working area of the machine, grinding particles could potentially accumulate on the arbor HSK taper and cause runout issues. With this in mind the MX7 comes standard with a fully enclosed wheel changer guard. This guard was removed from the MX7 displayed at GrindTec so customers could more clearly see the design features and understand its functionality.
Since precise coolant delivery plays a key part in the grinding operation, each wheel pack has its own dedicated coolant manifold. The wheel pack and the coolant manifold are mounted and changed together within 10 seconds, ensuring optimum and consistent coolant pipe set-up for every job.
The MX7 on display at GrindTec was a fully optioned machine and included the high production MLX loader. The integrated and flexible MLX loader provides high capacity storage allowing hours of unmanned operation. Pallet capacity varies dependant on diameter but ranges from 840 tools for Ø3mm (1/8”) to 154 tools for Ø16mm (5/8”). The Loader uses only 1 gripper to take the tool from the pallet to the machine work holding. The loader is integrated into the MX7 machine structure which provides a very rigid assembly. This structural rigidity along with the single grip tool loading ensures accurate reliable loading every time.
The MX7 design specification was drafted from extensive market research and listening to what customers are demanding from a CNC grinding machine. ANCA has built the 3 main features that customers desire; flexibility, productivity and stability, have been designed into the MX7. Flexibility to quickly react to customer demands and changing market trends, productivity for lean manufacturing and greater profits and stability, meaning the first tool of a batch should be the same as the last. ANCA’s reputation for providing the most user friendly and flexible software on the market has complemented the MX7 beautifully with the MX7 being the most flexible and productive machine on the market.
GrindTec 2010 was an indication of economic recovery and there was a definite positive vibe within the tool grinding industry with a 15% increase in exhibitors. As reported on the official GrindTec web site, visitors came with clearly increased intentions to invest and place firm orders for existing and future projects. ANCA concur with this synopsis as the quality of enquires received was very positive with key decision makers registering interest with ANCA for follow up. Feedback received by ANCA visitors indicates that for many of them, they consider GrindTec to be the leading forum worldwide for grinding technology.
For ANCA, GrindTec was regarded as a very successful show and affirmed the belief that the worst economic times are behind us. In light of the challenging economic conditions, and an ever pressing need to remain competitive, ANCA is firmly placed to equip today’s tool manufactures with the right product to succeed.
Call ANCA today to secure your place in the build schedule for the popular ANCA MX7.
Click here for more details on the ANCA MX7
20 July 2010