ShapeSmart NP5

The precision of a tool is directly related to the production accuracy of its blank. Manufacturing complex blanks to the highest standards of concentricity and dimensional accuracy has now become significantly easier with the ShapeSmart NP5, the 5-axis cylindrical grinding machine from Rollomatic. In addition to cutting tool blanks, the ShapeSmart NP5 machine is also ideally suited for manufacturing precision stamping and forming tools. This unique ability to simultaneously rough and finish grind with one setup offers added market efficiency.

In today's market greater flexibility, smaller batch sizes and increased production efficiency continue to be the top priorities among manufacturers. That means the demand for high-precision tools is continually on the rise as an important performance factor in production. As indicated, finished tool quality is highly dependant on the quality of the blank that you begin with. Today's modern cylindrical grinding machines are playing a pivotal role in ensuring high-precision quality of blanks and long-life stamping and forming tools. Users can achieve a crucial advantage in terms of quality and competitiveness with the new ShapeSmart NP5 from Rollomatic SA, Le Landeron, Switzerland.

The ShapeSmart NP5 is a 5-axis precision grinding machine with 3-axis robot loader. The machine has a grinding diameter range from 0.025mm to 20mm. It is ideally suited to produce cutting tool blanks, punches, ejector pins and many similar parts with complex shapes or extreme length-to-diameter ratios.

Jean-Charles Marty, Product Manager at Rollomatic SA: "Our patented grinding process is based on a technology that has been tried and tested for many years. This provides tremendous performance with optimum concentricity within a tolerance of 0.001mm. With the addition of a fifth axis, surfaces, polygons, non-circular and eccentric cam profiles can now be ground all in one setting."

In conjunction with the new machine control software NanoGrind and P4Smart, the user can typically rough machine in several passes and then add a finishing pass if required.

Jean-Charles Marty: "We've patented the option of roughing and finishing in one pass. At the same time, grinding in several passes makes it possible to remove a lot of material quickly. This often makes the machining time shorter and no new setup is required."

Rollomatic customers are used to maximum precision. The Swiss Company achieves this by continually optimizing the machine design and adapting the individual components in an ideal manner. In comparison to the popular predecessor model, the ShapeSmart NP4, Rollomatic has once again enhanced the design details.

The ShapeSmart NP5 is equipped with a more rigid machine bed which is disconnected from the machine hood, in order to further reduce vibration. The dampening performance achieved from this design provides ideal conditions for obtaining a high quality surface finish on the ground parts, as well as extending the life of the grinding wheels. Rollomatic uses the Fanuc 32iA with a 15-inch display and integrated PC for the machine control.

As Jean-Charles Marty comments: "Thanks to the new control generation, we were able to enhance user-friendliness further, while making operations more reliable, especially rapid traverse movements of 15m/min that are now possible, not least due to the more accurate interpolation." Linear glass scales, on both the roughing and finishing wheel axis, ensure the highest accuracy of this interpolation at the diameter.

"Our ShapeSmart NP5 is distinguished by extremely short axial displacements and the positioning of the grinding wheels directly at the prism guide of the work piece. This means that we achieve excellent concentricity and surface quality for all diameters, radii and cones," continues Jean-Charles Marty.

The new 3-axis robot loader/unloader enables everything from small batches to large batches to be ground unattended. Up to 1000 work pieces can be loaded, with a maximum length of 300mm. The maximum diameter during automatic loading and unloading is 16mm diameter, and the changeover time is 4 seconds. Up to 10 different shapes can be programmed with the same tooling. Thanks to the integrated "Flipper," both ends can also be ground in one setting. If extreme length-to-diameter ratios have to be ground, Rollomatic offers an optional device for guiding especially long work pieces.

The optional Marposs automatic measuring system ensures the high quality standards at all times. The ShapeSmart NP5 maintains even very narrow tolerances of 0.001mm without any manual correction whatsoever. This guarantees users optimum repeatability and the highest precision in unattended production, even for the most complex tool geometries.