The invention consists in a special regulation method of the horizontal axes of operating and rubbing wheels of a centerless grinding machine coupled with an opportune blade profile, allowing a continuous regulation of blade rest angle (angle between tangent to blade profile at the contact point with the work piece and the horizon, denoted by γ) and workpiece height (denoted by hw), without requiring blade substitution and/or manual regulations. The regulation of γ and hw are not independent: their relationship is defined during blade profile design. This regulation can be performed in process or in the setup phase and does not require manual blade adjustment/replacement. This results in optimal processing parameters choice, leading to improved quality and shorter time of processing as well as reduced setup time.
The proposed invention allows to vary in a simple and continuous way the work rest angle and height (this latter in a limited range) in centerless grinding operations, without stopping the process for replacing the blade. The “in-process” variation of these parameters allows to obtain more stable machining and, therefore, an adequate roundness of the pieces in a shorter time. The invention can be easily applied to existing machines and requires low hardware costs per machine, plus one-time investment in software development.
Italy