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Larger capacity VIPER grinder launched (Item #: 2212)

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Listing ID:	2212
Company Name	NCMTUK
City:	Thames Ditton
County:	Surrey
Post Code:	KT7 0QJ
Country:	UNITED KINGDOM
Phone:	+44(0)2476 516 600

Fax:	+44(0)2476 306 501
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Description

A new, creep-feed VIPER grinding machine for 'very impressive performance extreme removal' of nickel alloy in the manufacture of gas turbine and other components has been introduced into the UK and across continental Europe and Scandinavia by Makino NCMT Grinding Division, Thames Ditton.

Built by the Japanese firm, Makino, the purpose-built, 5-axis i-Grinder G7 is based on a machining centre platform. This allows other metalcutting tools such as milling cutters, drills, broaches and turning tools to be exchanged automatically between the tool magazine and the spindle, allowing additional machining operations to be carried out in the same cycle.

A G7 will be on the Makino stand at EMO 2011 in Hannover during September and there will be a winter seminar at NCMT's Coventry technical centre devoted to demonstrating the latest developments in the technology.

Makino's smaller i-Grinder G5 accepts parts nominally up to 300 mm diameter, but with increasing aircraft engine size, some larger vanes were falling outside the machine's working envelope. The G7's X: 730 mm by Y: 650 mm by Z: 730 mm capacity addresses this problem and also brings the smaller end of industrial gas turbine components within its scope.

Indeed, the first G7 has just been sold in Europe to the Årjäng factory of Hanza Precision AB in Sweden for the manufacture of industrial gas turbine blades and vanes. The turnkey cell, which will mark the Swedish company's first use of VIPER grinding, will be automated with the addition of a Fanuc robot for unattended machining.

The G7 has a similar specification to the G5, but differs in having dual rolls to dress the bigger grinding wheels. Metal removal rate is of the order of 80 cc/min. Grinding efficiency comes from a number of factors, including linear rapid traverse rate of 48 m/min and fast rotary workhead speed of 100 rpm, which are especially beneficial when processing smaller components.

Noteworthy is the design of the programmable coolant nozzles, which may be positioned by two rotary NC axes anywhere through 360 degrees around the periphery of the grinding wheel. Nozzle positioning is fast and responsive when changing orientation to ensure that coolant continues to be accurately directed towards the point of cutting at all times.