Walter Ewag UK, a member of the United Grinding Group, has announced that its innovative two-in-one Helitronic tool grinding and erosion concept has been extended to tools up to 420 mm long and with diameters of 3 mm to 315 mm.
The new Walter Helitronic Vision Diamond 400L machine can effectively and efficiently grind and erode, in a single set-up, rotationally symmetrical precision tools such as end mills, reamers, stepped drill bits, shaped lathe tools, ball nose tools and drills of PCD, carbide, HSS, ceramic, cermet and CBN.
Walter’s two-in-one grinding/erosion process enables the machine to automatically switch between the production of PCD tools – including the latest styles of PCD tooling – and carbide tools, and eroding and grinding, in a single clamping cycle.
Based on the world-renowned, high-precision Helitronic Vision 400L tool grinder with Fanuc linear drives and torque motors in the rotational axes, the Helitronic Vision Diamond 400L features a mineral cast base and portal construction for extreme rigidity; converting the high dynamism of the digital drives into low-vibration erosion and grinding precision.
The machine features Walter’s Fine Pulse Technology eroding concept which sets new standards in terms of PCD tool surface quality, cutting edge roughness and process reliability.
Fine Pulse Technology is the result of progressive improvements to the machine’s generator and its erosion software, for example, so much so that marked differences to PCD tools of 10 microns grain type eroded by other machines can be seen by the naked eye! With Fine Pulse Technology, the surface finish is like that of a polished (ground) tool – and even coarse-grained types can be fine-finished.
The new Helitronic Vision Diamond 400L also features an inexpensive belt-driven spindle for the automatic switching of eroding and grinding wheel sets, complementing the options of dual and motor spindle versions.
Electrodes and grinding wheels up to 254 mm diameter can be handled, and up to 24 electrodes and/or grinding wheel sets can be used with the aid of optionally available wheel changers. A variety of different loader solutions are available for tool changing via a six-axis Fanuc robot.
The new machine is provided as standard with Walter’s Helitronic Wizard-enabled Tool Studio grinding software, which includes optional functionality for erosion.
The Helitronic Vision Diamond 400L complements Walter’s two existing two-in-one tool grinding/erosion machines – the Helitronic Power Diamond, for tools up to 350 mm long, and the Helitronic Diamond Evolution, for tools up to 185 mm long.
The two-in-one Helitronic Vision Diamond 400L tool grinding and erosion machine can accommodate tools up to 420 mm long and with diameters of 3 mm to 315 mm
