Development of a New CNC Grinding Machine for 3+2-Axis Grinding of the Profile Rotary Milling Cutter

Abstract

Due to the great expansion of woodworking, profile tools manufacturing has become current and in demand. In wood industry there are two large groups of tools: rotary and spindle milling cutters that can be profile or flat. The technology of making profile rotary milling cutters requires, apart from cutting, turning, milling, 5-axis grinding operation that is performed on a 5-axis CNC grinding machine with the A'OXYZC configuration. It is a machine of a very complex kinematics and high cost-price. The paper presents a new machine that has been built for 3+2-axis grinding - Profilator 100,used for industrial manufacturing of rotary and spindle profile milling cutters. The accuracy of measures and shapes of the profile cutters built on Profilator 100 is of a high level and in industrial exploitation the difference is not observed between the profile cutters built on 5-axis CNC grinding machines. Regarding technoeconomic cost-effectiveness, production costs of Profilator 100 are lower even by ten times compared to the cost-price of 5-axis CNC grinding machines of renowned world manufacturers such as Schneeberger and Volmer.