Grinding machine

Details Grinding machine Grinding machine

2000-02-18

2001-05-01

Morgan, Eileen P. (Department: 3723)

Abrading

Precision device or process - or with condition responsive...

With indicating

C451S009000, C451S011000, C451S056000, C451S215000, C451S443000, C451S450000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06224462

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a grinding machine for grinding with continuous dressing for a workpiece with a rotating grinding wheel and for normally grinding except for the grinding with continuous dressing.
2. Description of the Related Art
The grinding with continuous dressing, in which a dressing device is provided onto a grinding machine or a grinding center and an operation for dressing a grinding wheel with the dressing device and an operation of grinding the workpiece with the grinding wheel are performed simultaneously, is well known in the art, for example, MACHINE TOOL SERIES, ADVANCED GRINDING TECHNOLOGY (published by Kabushiki Kaisha Taigashuppan on Sep. 20, 1985, pages 55-60) entitled “CONTINUOUS DRESSING-CREEP FEED GRINDING” or the like.
Also, Examined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 3-27342 discloses a grinding machine provided with a dressing device with two grinding spindles.
However, the grinding machine which is disclosed in the above-described Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 3-27342 takes a structure such that a grinding spindle carrier is moved up and down relative to a column and the dressing device is moved up and down relative to the grinding spindle carrier.
For this reason, it is impossible to move only a grinding head carried on the grinding spindle supported to the grinding spindle carrier. Namely, it is impossible to move only a grinding wheel of the grinding head.
Accordingly, it is difficult to grind a workpiece while a dressing tool and the grinding wheel are separated far away from each other and the grinding wheel is moved round the workpiece so as to avoid an interference between the workpiece and the dressing tool of the dressing device.
Also, the grinding spindle carrier, the column, a motor and a spindle drive portion, or the like, become large in size when the amount of movement of a frame of the dressing device relative to the grinding spindle carrier is increased in order to keep the dressing tool far away from the grinding wheel. In this case, it is necessary to increase an energy consumption since the respective enlarged components should be moved. As a result, the cost is increased.
Furthermore, the grinding machine is provided with two grinding spindle carriers for supporting the grinding spindles and the grinding head having a plurality of grinding wheels is supported to each grinding spindle and a s ingle workpiece may be simultaneously ground by the grinding heads from opposite sides so that the grinding machine is complicatedly structured.
This structure would be suitable for the grinding for specific kinds of turbine blades but suffers from a problem in versatility in order to grind various kinds of workpieces.
Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-199359 and Examined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 6-37031 disclose a technology for grinding with continuous dressing with a grinding machine. However, according to these pieces of the prior art, a dresser and a dresser driving portion, or the like, are provided on a grinding wheel head, accordingly, it is impossible to keep the dresser, or the like, far away from a grinding wheel and to perform the grinding while the grinding wheel is moved round a workpiece.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to overcome the above-noted defects, an object of the present invention is to provide a grinding machine which may perform both a grinding with continuous dressing and a normal grinding except for the grinding with continuous dressing only with a single grinding machine.
In order to attain this and other objects, according to the present invention, there is provided a grinding machine comprising a main spindle on which a grinding wheel for grinding a workpiece is detachably mounted, a spindle head for rotatably supporting the main spindle, the spindle head being movable relative to the workpiece along at least three mutually transverse axes including a direction in parallel with an axis of the main spindle, a dressing device body provided to be movable relative to the spindle head along at least one direction perpendicular to the axis of the main spindle, and a dresser supporting member provided to be movable relative to the dressing device body along one direction perpendicular to the axis of the main spindle for rotatably supporting at least one dresser for dressing the grinding wheel.
The dressing device body is moved to at least one dressing position in which the dresser may dress the grinding wheel, while the grinding machine grinds with continuous dressing in which an operation of dressing the grinding wheel with the dresser and an operation of grinding the workpiece with the grinding wheel are performed simultaneously. The dressing device body is moved to at least one retracted position at which the workpiece does not interfere with at least dresser, while the grinding machine normally grinds except for the grinding with continuous dressing.
It is preferable that the grinding machine further comprises at least one coupling and releasing means. The coupling and releasing means couples the spindle head and the dressing device body with each other while the grinding machine grinds with continuous dressing, but releases the coupling between the spindle head and the dressing device body while the grinding machine normally grinds the workpiece.
It is preferable that the spindle head is provided to be movable along at least one axial direction of two axial directions perpendicular to the axis of the main spindle, and the dressing device body is controlled to move along the one axial direction together with the main spindle when the dressing device body is kept under a coupled condition by the coupling and releasing means.
It is preferable that the movement direction of the dressing device body is in a vertical direction, and a balancing device for maintaining a weight balance is provided for the dressing device body.
In another embodiment, a driving unit for moving the dressing device body relative to the spindle head is a dressing device fluid pressure cylinder unit, therefore, it is possible that the dressing device fluid pressure cylinder unit avoids affecting a movement control of the spindle head while the grinding machine grinds with continuous dressing.
Furthermore, in still another embodiment of the invention, it is possible that the spindle head is provided to be movable along at least one axial direction of the two axial directions perpendicular to the axis of the main spindle, and a driving unit for moving the dressing device body relative to the spindle head moves and operates the dressing device body in synchronism with a movement and operation along the one axial direction of the spindle head while the grinding machine grinds with continuous dressing.
More preferably, the grinding machine may further comprise a holding means for holding the dressing device body in the retracted position while the grinding machine normally grinds the workpiece.
With such a structure according to the present invention, only with a single grinding machine, it is possible to grind with continuous dressing for the workpiece and to grind the workpiece over an entire circumference by retracting the continuous dressing device in a positive manner while the grinding machine normally grinds except for the grinding with continuous dressing.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4417422 (1983-11-01), Redeker et al.
patent: 4458660 (1984-07-01), Vlk et al.
patent: 5738564 (1998-04-01), Helle et al.
patent: 5766057 (1998-06-01), Maack
patent: 62-199358 (1987-09-01), None
patent: 3-27342 (1991-04-01), None
patent: 6-37031 (1994-05-01), None
Machine tool series, Advanced grinding technology entitled “Continuous dressing creep feed grinding”; pp. 55-60. Discussed in the spec.
Machinist; vol. 27, No. 11, pp. 68-71.

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