A Siemens Sinumerik 840D CNC handles the working slides, axes interpolation of grinding/control wheel dressings, spindles, and the load/unload gantry on the Ghiringhelli finish grinder.
As a Tier Two vendor in off-highway equipment and producer of hydraulic-valve spools, Trotter Machine Inc. of Rockford, Ill., often runs hard chrome-plated steel through its facility, consistently holding tolerances of ±0.0006 to 0.0008 in. The majority of the shop's machines have CNC, including its newest Ghiringhelli finish grinder from I-Tech Grinding and Manufacturing Solutions in N.J., which sports a Siemens Sinumerik 840D with SW OEM software specifically for centerless grinders.
According to I-Tech Managing Director Riccardo D'Ambrosio, the company has always used Siemens CNC packages for controlling working slides, axis interpolation for grinding and control-wheel dressing, grinding and control-wheel spindles, and for gantry loading/unloading workpieces. The system NC's on-board hard drive stores data for jobs, and there is an optional floppy disk for storing and transferring data through a serial connection to an external PC. "The SW OEM software, conceived for our grinders, and the Siemens CNC let operators with minimal programming knowledge quickly and easily use the machine," says D'Ambrosio. A series of basic text messages manages start up, and multiple screen pages displaying functions being performed support scheduling work cycles and piece profiles for dressing.
For example, the system displays stock removal, grinding traverse, feedrate, position for loading/unloading workpieces, and more for easy access and manipulation. Likewise, operators can arrange production data such as floor-to-floor cycle times, grinding and dressing times, and output/hr on predetermined screen pages.
"What sets us apart from other companies in the same business is our grinding capabilities," says Skip Trotter, vice president of operations at Trotter. "There are currently five companies worldwide manufacturing valve spools of the type we produce. And we are total believers in the Siemens control technology because it lets us maintain tight tolerances in this high-production work."
Siemens Machine Tool Business
Elk Grove Village, Ill.
siemenscnc.com
