Grinding machine

Abstract

A grinding machine for grinding short components has a grinding enclosure 18 in which the grinding operation takes place. The grinding enclosure contains the grinding wheel, a workpiece holder and a wheel dressing station, but all other components of the machine are mounted outside the enclosure, so as to be kept out of contact with coolant and swarf. The enclosure is sealed, to an extent sufficient to prevent egress of coolant and grinding debris and has openable doors to allow loading and unloading of workpieces and mounting and removal of grinding wheels.

1 . A grinding machine having a grinding enclosure with 
 a grinding wheel,    a workpiece holder,    means for removing grinding debris from the enclosure, all within the enclosure, and    mechanisms for driving the wheel, for moving the workpiece holder and for loading and unloading workpieces all being provided outside of the enclosure.    
   
   
       2 . A grinding machine comprising 
 a grinding wheel spindle,    a drive supply for driving the spindle in rotation,    a work head,    a drive supply for driving the work head, and    a workpiece holder for supporting a workpiece;    wherein at least one of the spindle and the workpiece holder is arranged such that it can move closer to the other; the machine further comprising    a substantially sealed enclosure that encloses the spindle and the workpiece holder, the    enclosure being provided with    a coolant supply means and    a coolant removal means; wherein the coolant removal means is arranged such that, in use, coolant is removed from the enclosure without coming into contact with parts of the grinding machine that are outside the enclosure, other than the coolant removal means.    
   
   
       3 . The machine of  claim 2 , wherein the drive supply for the spindle is external to the enclosure.  
   
   
       4 . The machine of  claim 1 , wherein the drive supply for the workpiece holder is external to the enclosure.  
   
   
       5 . The machine of  claim 1 , wherein the grinding machine further comprises a dressing tool mount for supporting a dressing tool for dressing the grinding wheel, in use.  
   
   
       6 . The machine of  claim 2 , wherein at least one of the spindle and the workpiece holder is arranged so that it can be moved to bring the two parts closer together or move them further apart.  
   
   
       7 . The machine of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the spindle and the dressing tool mount is arranged so that it can be moved to bring those two parts closer together or move them apart.  
   
   
       8 . The machine of  claim 5 , wherein the spindle is arranged to be moveable in relation to the workpiece holder and in relation to the dressing tool mount.  
   
   
       9 . The machine of  claim 5 , wherein a wall of the enclosure has a slot through which the spindle passes, the slot extending in a direction between the workpiece holder and the dressing tool mount such that movement of the spindle along the length of the slot changes the distance between the spindle and the workpiece holder and between the spindle and the dressing tool mount.  
   
   
       10 . The machine of  claim 9 , including a sealing mechanism to seal the slot, such that as the spindle moves along the slot, the remainder of the slot is sealed so coolant cannot escape through the slot.  
   
   
       11 . The machine of  claim 10 , wherein an eccentric plate is mounted on the axis of the spindle and behind the slot in the wall and carries a pinion around its eccentric centre of rotation, and wherein a rack is mounted on the wall to engage with the pinion so that as the spindle moves along the slot, the plate is rotated by the engagement between the pinion and the rack to cover the part of the slot not occupied by the spindle.  
   
   
       12 . The machine of  claim 1 , wherein the drive supply mechanism for driving the grinding wheel is mounted on slides outside the enclosure.  
   
   
       13 . The machine of  claim 1 , wherein the enclosure has a first door to allow access to the workpiece holder for insertion and removal of workpieces and a second door to allow access to the grinding wheel.  
   
   
       14 . The machine of  claim 13 , wherein the first door is a sliding door which does not open when the grinding wheel is positioned near to the workpiece.  
   
   
       15 . The machine of  claim 13 , wherein the second door is a hinged door and, in the closed position, the edge of the door overlaps an edge of the enclosure to form a labyrinth seal to the enclosure.  
   
   
       16 . The machine of  claim 15 , wherein the door is mounted on hinges provided with a lifting mechanism, so that the door can be lifted on its hinge axes to clear the adjacent edges of the enclosure, before being swung open.  
   
   
       17 . The machine of  claim 13 , wherein a wheel guard is provided to cover the grinding wheel when the first door is open.  
   
   
       18 . The machine of  claim 17 , wherein the wheel guard extends around a portion of the periphery of the grinding wheel and is rotatable between a first position where it surrounds an edge of the grinding wheel adjacent to the first door and lies between the wheel and the workpiece holder, and a second position, and wherein the guard takes up the first position when the wheel is moved away from the workpiece holder.