Vollmer shows off a new ‘side’ to its saw sharpening range
Paradigm shifts in technology are something that Vollmer has kept abreast of since the company’s beginnings in 1909. With saw blade production and servicing instilled in the very DNA of Vollmer, the Biberach manufacturer has been the industry benchmark for generations. To retain its industry-leading position, Vollmer has now introduced its next generation of saw blade sharpening and servicing machines, the CS860 and CSF860. To celebrate the launch of the latest generation machines, Vollmer’s Product Manager Thomas Wenger discusses the new CSF860 technology for side grinding saw blades in more detail.
“The CHD and CHF machines were based on a completely different construction to our new technology,” explains Wenger. “The CHF side grinding machine was designed in 2000 and we evolved this machine until we reached the limit of what could be achieved with the existing construction. Now, with a new foundation, new drives and software technology – we can add new benefits for our customers.”
With a new foundation, construction, frame, software and hardware – the new CSF860 is an entirely different machine from its predecessor, the CHF270. As with all machines in the Vollmer portfolio, the foundation blocks of ‘ALL’ product development are flexibility, productivity, reliability and quality.
The key benefits
For any manufacturer comparing the machine to its predecessor, the direct comparisons will no doubt be impressive in terms of the increased capacity, flexibility and potential of the CSF860 – all in the same footprint. But, the key concerns for manufacturers at present are energy costs, productivity rates and automation, and the diminishing skill base in the employment market.
So as a baseline statistic, the CSF860 is 2 to 4% more productive than the previous CHF270 – a result of the machine kinematics and design, but that is just a base figure. Now, you can add up to 20% cycle time saving derived from ingenious software updates that precisely calculate the grinding area and eliminate ‘air cutting.’ There is a new saw carrier and R2 axis for the flange management system that eliminates 10 to 15-minute changeover times between different blade types. The manual measuring of two to three minutes per saw blade can be eliminated with the new measurement and calibration system – a system that also eradicates the 25+ seconds of non-productive grinding wheel calibrating and checking.
Whilst these statistics typify just a few of the cycle time and automation benefits, energy consumption has been reduced by more than 10%. On top of this, there are ingenious software updates and the integration to the IoT gateway – the result is a cascading flow of benefits that will delight any customer buying the new CSF860. With flexibility and productivity mentioned above, the foundation pillar of reliability has been infused throughout the new CSF860 with the introduction of new technologies.
The new construction of the Vollmer CSF860 introduces ergonomic features for the operator, such as a ‘deep cut’ door that opens further than before. This gives the operator greater access to the work envelope, and for heavy blades that may need lifting via an overhead gantry, the new door design also opens at the top for overhead access. A new maintenance door has also been introduced for quick access to critical components and the control cabinet has also been moved to a more ergonomic position – all of these instantly recognisable differences are the result of customer feedback that could only be actioned by completely starting from the ground up with a new machine concept.
Within this new concept, Vollmer has upgraded all motors to servo motors for improved reliability, speed and efficiency. “Uniformity of technology was our target in developing the new machines, adopting the same CNC, operating philosophy and also the latest drive technology,” says Wenger. “In the past, we used some servo motors with standard Asynchronous motors. Now, all motors, grinding spindles and axes are servo driven. We have seven motors on the CSF860 side grinder with an optional 8th-axis R2 saw carrier cross-axis. The axes also include linear CNC axes and two CNC grinding spindles. As well as being more reliable and stable, the servo-driven grinding spindles provide a higher quality saw blade, and we can now conduct different in-feed and cutting speed rates on each tooth. This improves the surface quality of the cutting edge and brings more flexibility to the grinding process. Customers can now do whatever they wish.”
By evolving to servo OCT (One Cable Technology) technology, there is now only one cable. This means there are fewer switches, reduced power consumption and it is easier to change a single cable – something that reduces the future service costs for the customer.
The new Vollmer machines use all pneumatic systems. This eliminates hydraulic oil, the potential for spillage or contamination of the coolant and the wider workshop. This also removes the need for filter changes.
Whilst machine reliability and performance are essential for any machine tool builder, service and support are critical facets in creating customer confidence. Here, Vollmer has its impressive IoT Gateway. “With Industry 4.0, we can undertake service from anywhere. We can update the machine components and software remotely,” explains Wenger. “Our remote system can also email the customer when a batch of saws is complete, or if there is a disruption during a production cycle – emailing the customer their complete machine status. The active dashboard can be accessed via a mobile phone or tablet to provide a complete up-to-date status report.”
Vollmer has taken the new CSF860 side grinder to a new level, and with the integration of IoT and software advances, the customer will instantly enjoy huge gains when compared to its CHF270 predecessor.
The grinding wheel measurement is pre-programmable. The manufacturer generally knows they need to recalibrate the wheel every five or ten saw blades. The customer can define the measuring point, whether it be by the number of teeth or saw blades processed. Furthermore, the customer is not losing production time. As an example, the 20 to 25 seconds wheel measuring process can be undertaken simultaneously with the saw blade changeover which also takes 25 to 30 seconds. This effectively enables every saw blade to be measured to a precision level of roughly 2µm to guarantee process stability without losing production time.
“If an end-user has quality concerns with their saws, they can undertake a final inspection before dispatch. When a saw is complete, a measuring sequence can be applied to one tooth or all teeth on the blade,” Wenger says. “Our customer can select their measurement parameters. This process creates an XML file for quality and traceability to ensure each saw is 100% correct. Previously, saw manufacturers and service shops used manual measuring equipment and inspected every fifth or tenth saw blade for conformity – and then recorded the data. Now, a fully automated sequence can be integrated to save considerable time.”
Looking to the future
Discussing the bold move to phase out the CHD and CHF machines, Thomas Wenger concludes: “Product development teams meet weekly with worldwide sales colleagues and collect all the sales engineers and customer requests – and this list is huge. The base point for our development is the well-built technology from before. We analyse the technology and how we can improve the machines, but on the other side, there is a huge list of customer requests or needs. So, we have to understand the customer requests and integrate them with product development.”
“Automation is the biggest factor. Machines need to make more and more by themselves,” Wenger says, in regards to the market. “Our Industry 4.0 technology has provided comprehensive remote support during COVID and our energy efficiency and productivity enhancements are reducing the cost per square metre of production for our customers – we will always drive this forward.