Key facts
- Machine types
- Hand-fed and hydraulic surface grinders
- Automation
- Table traverse, cross-feed and down-feed
- Down-feed
- Programmable step-down with spark-out passes
- Cycle end
- Automatic stop at size — machine does not need watching
- Operator interface
- Delta HMI with per-component step and size settings
The surface grinding problem
A manual surface grinder ties an operator to the machine for the whole cycle, winding down-feed by hand and judging when to stop. That is expensive in labour and inconsistent in result — the last few passes are exactly where judgement varies most.
Automating table, cross-feed and down-feed turns the machine into something that runs a programmed cycle and stops itself at size, which frees the operator and removes the variation.
What we fit
- Table and cross-feed automation. Traverse and step-over under control, with the stroke and step set on the HMI.
- Programmable auto down-feed. Step-down per pass, with rough and finish steps set separately.
- Spark-out. A set number of zero-feed passes before the cycle ends, timed by the controller.
- Cycle end stop. The machine stops itself when the programmed depth is reached instead of waiting to be watched.
- Delta VFD on the wheel drive and coolant interlocked into the same control.
Hydraulic machines
On hydraulically traversed machines we work with the existing hydraulics where they are sound, bringing the valves and limits into the PLC rather than replacing a system that still functions. Whether that is the right call on your machine is a survey question — see the retrofitting service page.