West Byfleet, Surrey-based, T&G Engineering has a long history of using Studer technology for its grinding applications. Its latest S31 universal cylindrical grinding machine includes United Grinding’s Customer Orientated Revolution (C.O.R.E) control, developed for ever smarter production environments. PES discovers more.

Given industry’s growing use of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the emergence of smart factories, potential machine tool customers are increasingly looking to purchase cutting-edge manufacturing aids with so-called ‘smart’ controls and enhanced connectivity capabilities.

One such company is T&G Engineering. In accordance with the business’ policy of remaining at the cutting-edge of developments within the field of machine tools and of embracing modern data systems, T&G recently installed the first Studer S31 universal cylindrical grinding machine sold in the UK, featuring the latest United Grinding C.O.R.E operating system and supplied by the exclusive Studer agent in the South of England and Wales, Advanced Grinding Supplies.

Founded in 1975, T&G Engineering is one of Europe’s foremost high precision subcontract machining companies. Currently exporting more than 50% of its output, this busy concern serves a worldwide customer base involved in demanding areas such as the aerospace, automotive, pharmaceutical, medical, can tooling and special purpose machinery sectors.

Explaining the reasons behind the Swiss built Studer S31’s purchase, T&G Engineering’s director Tony Smyth says: “Our highly skilled workforce has access to a wide range of state-of-the-art machine tools and systems enabling the efficient production of complex components with extremely close tolerances.

“Our comprehensive plant list and in-house knowledge means that our customers regard us as a one-stop-shop for their precision machining needs and this has allowed us to penetrate many technically challenging market sectors. T&G’s specialist area is the subcontract machining of complex components and assemblies used for demanding applications within harsh environments.

“We have a wide-ranging in-house grinding provision and when tasked with achieving the most demanding levels of precision and surface finish, we use our collection of Studer universal CNC grinding machines,” he adds. “Our first Studer machine was installed more than 20 years ago and its performance was so good we have added several other Studer grinders since then, each equipped to the highest specifications. In addition to achieving our demanding levels of dimensional precision and surface finish, the machines are efficient and have proven to be trouble free.”

“Our recently installed S31 universal cylindrical grinding machine was ordered because of the ever-increasing amount of high-precision cylindrical grinding work we need to perform. As we’ve done in the past, before the latest Studer purchase, we liaised closely with Peter Harding the managing director of Advanced Grinding Supplies, and this co-operation ensured that we specified our new Studer machine to suit our exacting requirements.

“In keeping with our policy of ordering our machine tools with the latest technology that will aid our efficiency levels, the new grinder uses United Grinding’s C.O.R.E. operating system. This has now been incorporated into our in-house digital communication and production systems and has further improved programming and grinding efficiency levels.”

Thanks to the uniform C.O.R.E. software architecture, exchanging data between all United Grinding machines is now effortless. The integrated system’s universal machine technology interface (umati) can also be used to communicate with third-party systems and provides access to United Grinding Digital Solutions products directly on the machine without requiring the installation of additional hardware.

C.O.R.E. not only establishes the technical foundation for these advantages and other IoT and data applications, it also forms the basis of a very capable standardised operation system.

The C.O.R.E. panel has a logical design and uses self-explanatory icons, allowing the operator to intuitively navigate through the machine’s menu and process steps. Rather than buttons, the user is presented with a modern, clearly arranged multi-touch display.

Operators can configure their own interface to individual requirements and each therefore bespoke interface loads automatically following an operator’s log in with a personalised RFID chip. Further aiding ease of use, production progress and the machine’s status are clearly visible from a distance.

The standardised and intuitive operating philosophy of C.O.R.E. reduces training time. The configurable, role-specific interface helps prevent errors and increases the efficiency and quality of programming, while information can be exchanged simply and in real-time via an integrated front camera and a Bluetooth headset.

The latest Studer S31, purchased by T&G Engineering has the capacity to accommodate parts between centres of up to 1,000mm. The high-precision machine’s two external grinding wheels and internal griding spindle enable the efficient external and internal cylindrical grinding of, for instance, high-speed form grinding and thread grinding.

An HF dressing spindle allows the effective dressing of the latest CBN and diamond super abrasives. Furthermore, the infinitely swivelling, fine resolution B1 axis enables the wheel head to be positioned to any angle with a resolution of 0.00005°.

Granitan S103 mineral casting is used for the S31’s bed. The excellent dampening behaviour of the machine’s base ensures outstanding workpiece surface finish. In addition, temporary temperature fluctuations are compensated for through Granitan S103’s excellent thermal performance.

From small to large workpieces and from single parts to high volume production tasks, the S31 universal cylindrical grinder can handle the most complex of jobs. Thanks to its upgradeable modular system, the machine can be adapted to match individual requirements, while the use of high-speed-machining (HSM) delivers efficient, high-precision form grinding.

Available with a choice of distances between centres of 400/650/1,000/1,600mm, the S31 has a centre height of 175mm and a grinding wheel diameter 500mm. The machine has a turret wheel head with either a stepless B-axis, or a B-axis with 1° Hirth serration.

A frequency-controlled motor spindle is used for external and internal grinding, while a C-axis for the machine’s workhead enables precision form and thread grinding. In addition, the machine’s tool table features an integrated double T-slot to accommodate dressing devices.

The S31 allows the highest standards of precision thanks to the close interaction between the machine’s hardware and its software, (including the use of the latest C.O.R.E. system). StuderPictogramming enables very simple programming, while the use of Studer QuickSet results in much reduced set-up and resetting times.

Peter Harding concludes: “All at Advanced Grinding Supplies are proud to have worked closely with T&G Engineering for many years. Knowing the level of complexity and the demanding nature of the parts to be ground we were able to configure the company’s new Studer S31 to meet these challenging requirements.

“As Advanced Grinding Supplies offer a complete grinding related service, in addition to providing T&G’s existing Studer machines with grinding wheels, dressing tools and other consumable items, we also supply of similar premium quality products that will allow the company’s new Studer S31 to maintain peak performance.”

Advanced Grinding Supplies www.adgrind.co.uk

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