Echo Hill - Centerless Grinding Line



Stepfeeder Loader
After several years of development we introduced in 2002 a flexible loading system which is perfect for infeed grinders. We had a customer who not only had a wide variety of part configurations but also would run up to 4 parts at a time within a 10 second cycle time. We provided them with a solution that takes only a few minutes to changeover and is successfully running millions and millions of parts later.
  • Universal feeder using a stepfeeder concept and a vision system to orient parts
  • gentle on parts, no nicking even on aluminum parts
  • flexible (no tooling changes for parts varing 1/2 - 8" in length x 3/8 to 1" diameter)
  • cycle times down to 2-3 seconds per part
  • multiple part loading per cycle available
  • can be adapted to fit most infeed grinders



Royal Master rebuilds
We started repairing Royal Master grinders in 1994. After several years we introduced a bolt on servo ball screw to replace the existing air actuated infeed. Our customers were impressed with improvements in capability and effeciencies that they immediately saw. Around 30 grinders later and many more improvements along the way our latest edition with CNC dressing is again taking a big step forward. It also helps to have the maintenance departments on your side who love the reliability of the upgraded machines .
  • will upgrade a Royal Master to run within a few microns
  • complete electrical and controls upgrade
  • convert infeed to roller rail with servo ball screw
  • convert dovetail dressing slides to linear rails
  • convert reg wheel to bed mounted servo drive
  • universal part loading system

NEW FEATURE - CNC dressing on grinding wheel
  • because we use linear motors, there is no backlash, EVER
  • the feedback from linear motors allows us to automatically touch off the diamond to the wheel
  • zero maintenance on unit
  • carbide core on quill
  • 0.1 micron resolution scale on both axis, the scale has a unique feature that holds size even when temperature changes cause thermal growth on the slides



Oring Conveyors
A grinding line only runs as good as its weakest link and after a few trys we developed a simple reliable way to convey parts between grinders or out to the next process.
  • dual urethane orings are impervious to grinder coolant
  • can accomadate a wide variety of parts
  • side or top guides available
  • variable speed frequency drive
  • conveyor can be controlled manually or through the grinder
  • full length drip trays
Infeed Gauging (Infeed Gaging)
Lots of companies upgrade and automate infeed grinders, our strength is being able to provide gauging as well. Providing shop floor environment 100% inspection of tight tolerance parts is not easy. We watched our customers struggle with gauging systems that they purchased and after a few mistakes of our own we came up with a robust system that can handle a wide variety of parts. The better the gauge data the more you can do with it. Not only can we auto-compensate the grinder to maintain size but we can use our data to automatically adjust the dress profile of the grinding wheel taking out tapers and putting every diameter and land of the part right on the mean. Switching part numbers just got easier, no more excuses about not being able to get the dress in.
  • current model can run with most infeed grinders, custom models available
  • dual slide pick and place to move parts through the gauge
  • cycle times of 6 seconds per parts can easily be achieved
  • a wide variety of parts configurations can be run as well as multiple parts per cycle
  • less than 5 minutes part changeover with only the drying fixture needing to be replaced
  • prewash zone to remove excess grinding grit
  • drying fixture that uses tiny nozzles of compressed air to dry the diameters being measured
  • part is measured using a LED/CCD optical micrometer
  • our custom software uses 1000 scans per second from the micrometer and our own smoothing alogarithms to produce extremely stable results
  • we can pass real world gauge R&R's on tolerances of ±3-4 microns and would be interested in further testing if your tolerances are tighter
  • gauged parts can be dropped into trays for further washing or packing or put back on a conveyor for further processing



Infeed Workrest Blades
We use a special formulated expoxy to adhere the carbide to the steel body on blades that are over 6" long. This eliminates the stress in the carbide from brazing and blades of this length have enough surface area to hold the carbide securely. This also eliminates the need to regrind the body after brazing when retipping the blade so the blade bodies last longer. On shorter blades we use the traditional brazing method.
  • carbide tipped blades up to 10" long
  • we can produce any body or carbide profile needed
  • fast turnaround
  • we can design from your part print


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Echo Hill Automation - Centerless Grinding Lines


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