Tru-Edge Grinding changes power infrastructure to boost productivity

Article provided by ANCA

CNC machines rely on certain fundamentals to achieve peak performance for maximum productivity. This not only includes the machine but importantly the infrastructure of the facility, specifically ancillary services such as power, air and coolant.

Andrew Ritchie, ANCA product manager said: “We partner with our customers to help them install their machines correctly, yet they also need to understand the basics to get the most out of their CNC machines.” Tru-Edge Grinding Inc. found first-hand what can be achieved by setting up a facility to ensure high performance of machines, where they reduced power consumption by 4 percent while increasing productivity by double-digit gains.

^{Photos courtesy of ANCA}

Tru-Edge Grinding, St. Henry, Ohio, serves customers with precision tool manufacture and reconditioning services, in a range of industries including aerospace, automotive, food service, medical, mining, tool, die and mold, and woodworking.

Director of Manufacturing, David Balster said: “At Tru-Edge we struggled for years with electrical related problems and the failure of machine electronics. After reviewing the three-phase electrical supply to our 16 ANCA machines, we upgraded the power boards and replaced the cables to a higher quality with large gauge wires.”

Director of Engineering Frank Seger added: “Replacing power boards and rewiring our facility proved to be more than a worthy investment from a view of machine uptime and importantly cutting costs."

Key benefits achieved by changing the power:

1. Greater power efficiencies; with overall power consumption reduced by 4 percent.
2. Increased machine uptime; with overall machine productivity improved.
3. Reduced spare part costs; largely from reduced electrical/electronic problems on the machines.
4. Less service related costs; with reduced number of service phone calls and on-site visits by a service technician.

Balster continued: “We no longer turn off the power to the machines on weekends as this was creating problems when the machines were powered back up again due to power spikes. With ANCA’s idle shutdown feature, we found that there was no increase in our overall power usage by leaving the machines powered on.”

Andrew finished: “Investing in the best infrastructure for your facility will result in significant productivity benefits and cost savings, as well as increasing the life of your machine. The Site Preparation and Installation Manual supplied by ANCA outlines required auxiliary services. Before your machine is installed we encourage customers to read the manual and contact your nearest ANCA representative with additional questions.”