World Premiere: Tschudin's Carbon Fiber Spindles Eliminate Grinding Variances Due to Temperature Changes
The Swiss grinding experts from TSCHUDIN are presenting a real world first: a grinding machine with perfect heat transfer.
The carbon fiber spindles will initially be installed in the centerless TSCHUDIN CUBE 350 cylindrical grinding machine. [© TSCHUDIN AG]
"We have been working consistently for three decades to reduce the heat transfer of our machines to a minimum. With the completely new grinding and regulating spindles made of carbon, we have now put the final piece of the puzzle in place. The CUBE 350 centerless external cylindrical grinding machine is the first grinding machine without heat transfer," explains Urs Tschudin, shareholder of TSCHUDIN AG.
The advantages are obvious: by minimizing the heat cycle, production with consistently high accuracy is guaranteed at all times. 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," says Urs Tschudin.
View into the working area of the TSCHUDIN CUBE 350 with built-in carbon fiber spindle. [© TSCHUDIN AG]
What's more, 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 high grinding quality with full grinding gap coverage was already a quality feature of our machines. With the carbon spindles, we are further optimizing this aspect and pushing it to the maximum," emphasizes Urs Tschudin.
The introduction of carbon spindles, explains Mr. Tschudin, 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.
The carbon fiber spindles developed by TSCHUDIN in cooperation with Carbon-Drive GmbH are of particular interest to customers with the highest quality requirements. [© Carbon-Drive GmbH]
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 ten years ago has ensured a ten percent 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: "In a series of tests, the carbon spindles have proven to be between ten to twenty percent more effective than steel spindles," reports Nikolas Ernst, Head of Design at TSCHUDIN AG.
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