JandS launches CNC cylindrical grinding machine

Jones and Shipman (JandS) has launched the next-generation Ultragrind CNC cylindrical grinding machine that is designed to offer more power and accuracy, plus increased component weight handling.

The Ultragrind CNC is designed for the precision production environment such as aerospace and higher volume manufacture including automotive, as well as high-precision sub-contract machining for biomedical, high-end process tool/die sets, F1 and motor sport engineering.

Built on a one-piece bed design, the machine combines rigidity, stability and stock removal rates while maintaining precision.

'We will be demonstrating a working prototype at the CIMT event, so visitors to the show will be able to see all the machine's advantages,' said Mike Duignan, sales and marketing director of Jones and Shipman.

A modular wheelhead design ensures customers have a wide choice of external and internal grinding spindle combinations, effectively allowing the customer to specify a custom machine, but without the cost and build time associated with it.

The modular wheelhead design gives wheel sizes up to 500 x 100mm (diameter) and wheel spindle power up to 15kW, with ultra rigid spindles providing substantially increased metal removal rates and increased productivity.

Angular wheelhead positional accuracy and repeatability are assured via a high-precision 1deg Hirth coupling.

An optional true B-axis programmable to 0.001deg utilising feedback from a high-accuracy encoder mounted directly to the rotational spindle axis means infinitely variable positional resolution can be achieved.

The machine currently offers 650mm or 1000mm between centres (with larger machine length capacities planned) and centre heights of 180mm, 200mm and 250mm.

The increased diameter capacity (of up to 500mm) means there are options to cater for larger mass components up to 450kg, and odd-shaped components, which can result in high rotational inertia.

The Ultragrind machine uses Jones and Shipman's Windows-based graphical programming software suite, which further builds on the Easy software that removes the requirement for operators to input code, although ISO programming is fully supported and codes can be viewed and used if required.

The software is built around a Fanuc 320i with touch-screen control system.

This reduces the time needed for operator training, machining set-up and changeover times.

A full suite of dressing and grinding programs are available for the operator.

Jones and Shipman set-up pages allow the operator to digitise diamond and wheel positions by means of a simple touch-screen interface.

A wide range of additional options including gauging and auto loading are also available.

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