Giddings & Lewis, LLC

Energy-Adaptive Grinding, Inc.

Norbert C Kolell

Roderick L Smith

John P Conners

A system for finish grinding a workpiece monitors the actual radius of the workpiece as the finish grinding progresses; feeds the grinding wheel into the workpiece at a feed rate which decreases, preferably at an exponential rate, as a desired final radius of the workpiece is approached; and terminates the feeding of the grinding wheel at the desired final radius of the workpiece. In a preferred embodiment, the grinding wheel is trued, simultaneously with the finish grinding, by feeding a truing element into the grinding wheel at a rate that varies as a function of the decreasing rate at which the grinding wheel is fed into the workpiece. The truing element is preferably advanced toward the grinding wheel at a rate which has (1) a first component corresponding to the rate at which it is desired to remove material from the grinding wheel at the truing interface and (2) a second component corresponding to the wear rate of the grinding wheel due to grinding, the second component varying as a function of the rate at which the grinding wheel is fed into the workpiece. The grinding wheel is preferably advanced toward the workpiece at a rate which has (1) a first component corresponding to the decreasing feed rate at which the wheel is fed into the workpiece and (2) a second component corresponding the rate at which material is removed from the grinding wheel at the truing interface. The wear rate of the grinding wheel due to grinding is determined from a power function relationship between the wheel wear rate and the wheel feed rate for a particular grinding operation.

Control system for finish grinding methods and apparatus

An improved final servo control for numerical control systems of the type which perform linear and/or circular interpolation by iterative updating of commanded position signals. The improvements are embodied in means to sense when the servo loop has had an offset error introduced by drift or aging of the final amplifier or similar components, together with means for progressively and automatically removing such error; and by means to avoid attempts at extreme acceleration or deceleration beyond the ability of the servo power element (motor) to accomplish, --by creating from an iteratively updated primary position command signal, whose rate of change may suddenly alter by a wide margin, a secondary position command signal which varies ultimately by the same amount but at a lesser rate of change.

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Fond du Lac, WI, United States of America

Norbert C Kolell