A cutting edge grinding belt
The manual finishing of the work-pieces in the die and mould industry results in a time consuming and costly process. The integration of two grinding processes, belt grinding and grinding with small grinding wheels, leads to less preparation time and higher geometrically accuracy. In this direction a modular belt-grinding device has been developed for use in a milling machine such as a normal cutting tool. Its modular design allows easy adaptation to milling machines with different interfaces while at the same time enabling it to be produced at a reasonable cost due to the use of standard elements. The device is easily installed on different spindle noses of milling machines and operates with high precision and low vibration, despite its size. The belt-grinding device can be changed both manually and automatically from a pick-up station into the milling machine. The most important part of the device is a maintenance-free gearbox with special toothed wheels. Prototypes are available for testing and further research work. As a complete work cycle can be carried out with one grinding belt, the resultant cost savings are very promising.
