Centerless grinders are mainly used for precision grinding of end faces, outer diameters, and conical surfaces of batches of shaft parts, and are essential equipment in industries such as automotive engines. Centerless grinders are also suitable for processing small batches of shaft parts with high precision requirements in military, aerospace, and general precision machining workshops. The automatic grinding cycle of the machine tool is controlled by a CNC system.
Centerless grinders are among the most commonly used grinders on the market today, widely recognized for their ease of operation and high cost-effectiveness. However, issues such as low grinding efficiency and unstable dimensions often arise when machining high-quality parts. Manual grinders require operators to frequently stop and manually measure the grinding process to ensure the correct dimensions are achieved, resulting in low efficiency. To address these problems, centerless grinders controlled by PLCs and CNCs have emerged, their superior performance and high efficiency changing the way users operate cylindrical grinders. Centerless grinders achieve unified data management through an HMI that integrates various control components, improving maintainability. The PLC and measuring devices can be monitored and parameter set on the same control panel. Thanks to the touchscreen, functions can be selected and data input during daily operation. Various button operations can also be performed on the screen, reducing the number of buttons on the control panel and improving operability. Centerless grinders can be used to grind internal and external cylindrical parts with a large 7:24 taper angle, as well as shafts, sleeves, and ring gauges that require high precision and surface finish. Centerless grinders are suitable for single-piece or small-batch processing of these precision parts. Centerless grinders can move longitudinally, and the grinding wheel head can move forward and backward rapidly.
Features of centerless grinders:
A. One person can operate 2-3 centerless grinders simultaneously;
B. Low operating costs;
C. Improve the utilization rate of workshop area;
D. Centerless grinding machines improve production efficiency and yield, with absolute control over the machining rate.
Structural features of centerless grinders:
a. The longitudinal movement of the machine tool worktable and the rapid advance and retreat of the grinding wheel head are all hydraulically controlled, while the workpiece rotation is driven by a DC motor, which can be steplessly adjusted within the speed range.
b. The grinding wheel head spindle bearing lubricating oil pump, cooling pump, grinding wheel head, etc. are all driven by separate electric motors.
Grinding angles of a centerless grinder:
Diameter grinding: In small-batch production, automatic feed combined with a sparkless timer allows centerless grinders to achieve good grinding quality. In mass production, a two-stage automatic feed combined with a two-stage measuring device (special accessory) allows centerless grinders to provide optimal output and grinding results (NC/CNC models).
Inclined grinding: The workpiece can be supported by a chuck or two centers. Both the centerless grinder and the grinding wheel head can rotate and are easy to adjust.
Internal diameter grinding: The internal diameter grinding attachment (special attachment) for centerless grinders grinds the internal diameter. Simply pull down the internal diameter grinding spindle and fix it in the grinding position to perform the grinding.
Cross-diameter grinding: Automatic intermittent feed and hydraulically driven worktable enable the workpiece to undergo the most effective cross-diameter grinding.
End face grinding: Remove the rotating cover of the spindle head, replace it with a three-jaw or four-jaw chuck, change the position of the positioning pin to make the chuck rotate, and fix the centerless grinder at 90° to perform end face grinding.
Shoulder grinding: When grinding the outer diameter of the workpiece and its shoulder in one go, the workpiece is supported by two pivots and the grinding wheel is modified to the right side of the grinding wheel head and rotated at an angle to grind.
