Grinding Machine Support Blade for Lobe Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Centreless plunge grinding machines struggle to easily modify the working angle, leading to the formation of lobes on workpieces due to the need for blade replacement or complex orientation systems.
Innovation Solution
A centreless grinding machine with a support blade featuring a work profile that can contact the workpiece at different angles, allowing for easy variation of the working angle during the grinding process without replacing the blade, utilizing a contact surface with at least two tangent lines of different inclinations to minimize lobe formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a flat contact surface support blade is used, then the workpiece is supported stably, but the working angle cannot be easily modified leading to lobe formation
Solution Approach 1:
The contact surface of the support blade is segmented into multiple zones with different inclination angles. Each zone can independently contact the workpiece at a specific angle, allowing the working angle to be modified by changing which zone contacts the workpiece without replacing the entire blade, thus resolving the contradiction between support stability and angle adjustability
Solution Approach 2:
The support blade is designed with a curved contact surface that allows dynamic adjustment of the working angle during the grinding process. The blade can be positioned at different angles relative to the workpiece center, enabling continuous variation of the working angle while maintaining stable support through the curved geometry
2Adaptability or versatility
If blade replacement is used to modify working angle, then different working angles can be achieved, but device complexity and operation time increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single support blade is designed to perform multiple functions by incorporating a curved contact surface with varying inclination angles. This universal blade can provide different working angles for different grinding operations without requiring multiple specialized blades or complex orientation mechanisms, reducing both device complexity and operational complexity
3Ease of manufacture
If a single working angle is used, then the blade design is simple, but lobe formation occurs on workpiece profile
Solution Approach 1:
Different zones of the support blade contact surface are given different inclination angles tailored to specific grinding requirements. This local variation in quality allows the blade to minimize lobe formation for different workpiece types and grinding conditions while maintaining overall design simplicity, as each zone is optimized for its specific function
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a grinding machine (1) comprising a first and a second grinding wheel (2a, 2b) separated by a gap (3) and configured to contact a workpiece (100); a support blade (4) positioned in the gap (3) and having a contact surface (4a) having a work profile (40a) shaped to contact at one and only one point at a time the workpiece (100), and being further shaped to contact the workpiece (100) with different working angles (γ), in different respective working steps. Also, the present invention relates to a method for operating such grinding machine comprising a support blade configured to arrange the workpiece (100) at a first working height (hw1) with a first working angle (γ1) in the first working step, and at a second working height (hw2) with a second working angle (γ2), in the second step.