ROYAL MASTER GRINDERS BOOTH N-6626
Welcome to Royal Master Grinders Booth N-6626 from IMTS. We are looking forward to meeting many of you in person this week in Chicago. John takes you on a tour of our 2024 IMTS booth and gives you a look at the 9 machines we will have grinding LIVE parts on the floor!
At IMTS 2024, Royal Master Grinders is excited to unveil our latest advancements in centerless grinding capabilities. Our booth, N-6626, located just left of center in the North Building at McCormick Place, is where you’ll find real machines in action — wheels spinning, coolant flowing, and parts being ground.
What sets us apart? Our distinctive diamond plate floor, a symbol of the real-world grinding happening here. This isn’t just a showcase; it’s a live demonstration of what our grinding machines can do. We invite you to stop by, see the action for yourself, and discuss your grinding application needs with our team.
Let’s take a walk through our 2024 Booth one machine at a time.
Starting at the back right corner and following clockwise, you will see eight machines, each of them powered and performing live demonstrations of their capabilities: grinding or measuring parts to close tolerance, some with full automation.
The first machine you’ll encounter in our booth is the Generation X Core Pin Grinding System. After years of inquiries about whether our GEN X grinder could efficiently grind core pins, we’ve developed a setup that does just that. Equipped with two wheels, this system excels at removing stock efficiently to create a basic multi-diameter pin with the primary wheel, and then grinding the custom tip and parting off with the secondary “4th Axis” wheel.
In this demonstration, we’re grinding a ¼” diameter blank into a three-diameter, 3-inch long, radius-tipped core pin with a cycle time of just 90 seconds. The machine can handle both bar stock and individual piece parts exchanged in the collet.
While this setup showcases its impressive capabilities for grinding core pins, the Generation X is best known for its work in grinding heart catheter guidewires. It handles tapers and various shapes, including radii and flats, with ease. With hundreds of these machines sold worldwide, the Generation X is celebrated for its fully automated setup and efficiency, routinely grinding diameters to less than 0.001” (0.0254 mm).
The TG-12×8 Grinder is your go-to solution for both infeed and thrufeed grinding, offering exceptional precision and versatility. Designed with a High Accuracy ram bed position control, this machine ensures close tolerances with ease. Its user-friendly HMI and 1/10th of a micron resolution in movement make size control straightforward and reliable.
Our 12×8 Hi-Accuracy machine showcases its impressive precision by grinding a headed part that iss 1 inch in diameter and 6 inches long. This process involves hand loading the part from an operator support vee, removing .006” of stock, and then returning the finished part to the operator side.
For even greater efficiency, you can integrate an automatic loader with the system. The machine’s Windows format control will seamlessly coordinate the loader, grinder, and post-process gauge, offering a fully automated grinding solution.
This machine is capable of handling diameters ranging from 0.002” to 3” (0.05 to 75 mm) with 1-micron accuracy in both roundness and straightness, making it ideal for a wide range of precision grinding applications.
Located in the front right corner, the TG-12×4 Hi-Accuracy system is designed to showcase the flexibility and precision of the UR collaborative robot combined with our high-accuracy grinding machine. The UR5 Robot is mounted on a sturdy, moveable platform, allowing for easy machine maintenance without the robot getting in the way. This versatile loading system is ideal for both high and low-volume applications.
For lower volume needs, Kaiser Manufacturing’s foam inserts in standard pallet trays offer a cost-effective solution for easy palletization. Additionally, you can 3D-print end of arm tooling (EOAT) for complex part geometries or for parts that require occasional grinding.
The system also features a Cognex In-Sight 2800 camera unit, integrated as a measurement system. During the grinding cycle, the UR5 Robot presents finished parts to the camera for inspection and measurement. The machine can automatically compensate for wheel wear based on these measurements, ensuring consistent accuracy. All inspections are tracked for quality control, providing a reliable and efficient grinding process.
As you stand in the middle of our booth, you’ll notice two distinct grinding machines. Let’s start with the TG-12×4 equipped with a Fanuc Robot, designed for highly automated Infeed or Thrufeed grinding operations where a safety enclosure is required for the grinding cell.
In this setup, the Fanuc robot loads parts from a pallet located in an elevator at the back of the machine. The pallet then moves into the grinding enclosure, where the robot picks the parts and loads them into the machine. After grinding, the robot switches out the parts, reloads the pallet, and continues the process seamlessly.
To ensure precision, this system incorporates a Keyence TM-X 5065 gauge. The robot presents the part to the gauge, allowing all dimensions to be measured quickly and accurately. This data is continuously tracked and used to automatically adjust the grinding size, maintaining accuracy even as the wheels wear down.
Next, you will find our impressive Needle Grinder, a truly unique piece of equipment. This machine is designed to grind 14 parts simultaneously, utilizing a Fanuc Robot equipped with custom end-of-arm tooling (EOAT). The EOAT can rotate all 14 parts simultaneously with an accuracy of 0.5 degrees, ensuring precise grinding.
Primarily used for grinding needles and K-wires for the orthopedic industry, this machine handles diameters ranging from 0.01” to 0.13” (0.25 to 3.5 mm) and lengths up to 18” (450 mm). However, its versatility extends beyond medical applications; it’s also ideal for high-volume parts that typically require post-processing by hand.
The Needle Grinder features an automatic load/unload table, streamlining the process and reducing the operator’s workload to simply refilling the hopper with parts. With varying levels of autonomy available, this machine can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your application.
Next in our booth is the TG-12×4 Thrufeed Microsize machine, perfect for grinding bar stock under 0.5” (13 mm) in diameter or individual piece parts. With its pulse generator, this machine allows for precise size adjustments in 1-micron increments, ensuring exceptional accuracy.
The versatility of this Thrufeed machine is unparalleled, capable of grinding diameters from 0.002” to 1.5” (0.05 to 38 mm) with roundness and straightness maintained to within 1 micron. Whether you’re working with small or larger parts, this machine delivers reliable and precise results every time.
Next in our booth lineup is the TG-12×4 Servo Cycle system, our best-selling machine configuration. This setup offers a high-end operator interface at a reasonable cost, making it an ideal choice for those seeking both precision and affordability.
The system is designed for hand-loading, allowing us to engage with you directly about the machine’s capabilities. One of the standout features is the auto dresser on the grinding wheel, perfect for applications requiring deep forms to be dressed into the wheel.
This machine excels in job shop environments where holding tolerances of less than a “tenth” (<0.0001 inch or 0.0025 mm) is essential. It combines accuracy with ease of use, making it a go-to solution for precision grinding needs.
Rounding out our Booth Tour is the 12×8 Thrufeed machine, now enhanced with our new bar feeder. This powerful machine can grind diameters ranging from 0.002” to 3” (0.05 to 75 mm) with 1-micron accuracy in both roundness and straightness.
The new bar feeder is designed to handle round bars from 0.125” to 2” (3 to 50 mm) in diameter and lengths of 4 feet (1 meter) or longer. As a stand-alone, modular system, it can be easily adapted to fit your specific products and machines. Just plug it into a standard wall outlet, turn it on, and it’s ready to go.
If you have any questions or a project you’d like to discuss, bring your part drawings to the booth — or EMAIL them to us! We’d be delighted to help determine the best grinding approach for your parts and explore other aspects of your project.