Patent Application
20160271752
The present disclosure concerns a novel design of rotary dresser of the sort typically used in the truing and dressing of grinding wheels and other abrasive cutting and machine tools.
Rotary dressers are extensively used to regenerate or form the abrasive surfaces of grinding wheels and other tools to provide or restore the required tool profile. Dressing of grinding tools is crucial when these tools are to be used in the machining of profiles with tight tolerances and small radii.
A typical rotary dresser comprises a rotor shaft to which is mounted a concentrically arranged roller tool which is provided with an abrasive radially outer surface. The radially outer surface can be accurately profiled to reflect the form of the component to be ground. The abrasive surface can be made up of multiple abrasive grains bonded to the surface. Synthetic diamond grains are commonly used, although it is also known to use naturally occurring diamond grains.
Examples of diamond rotary dressers are described in prior published patent applications numbers EP2447005 A2, EP1346797 B1 and US2012/0302146. These prior publications seek to address the problem of random grain distribution which can result in accelerated wear and obstruct debris flow across the surface during operation of the dresser. These documents propose controlled positioning and bonding of abrasive grains to a roller surface to achieve a more uniform load and improved debris flow. The time consuming and expensive methods proposed require intricate placing of the grains about the surface. Such methods are not a practical solution where the rotary dresser is required for truing and dressing tools with very small radii and tight tolerances.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a roller assembly for a rotary dresser comprising a plurality of discs, each disc provided with an abrasive, radially outer surface, the discs secured in axial alignment, each in a preconfigured rotational orientation and a centrally arranged aperture for receiving a rotor shaft and wherein the radially outer surface of one or more discs has been subjected to a process of material removal whereby to form a pre-defined pattern of individual abrasive units.
The assembly may comprise the entire roller for the rotary dresser, or in the alternative, the assembly may comprise at least one disc provided with an abrasive, radially outer surface which has been subjected to a process of material removal whereby to form a pre-defined pattern of individual abrasive units, the discs(s) secured in axial alignment with at least one roller portion having an arrangement of abrasive grains about its radially outer surface, the disc having a finer grained abrasive surface than the one or more roller portions. In such a hybrid assembly, the abrasive surface of the disc can provide improved dressing in areas of tighter tolerance or smaller radius on the tool to be dressed.
The abrasive material of the radially outer surface of the disc comprises one or more super-abrasive materials and can be provided in a layer on the surface. The main disc body may comprise a non-abrasive material. Alternatively, the disc may comprise entirely of the abrasive material. Synthesised diamond is one suitable abrasive material and may be employed in the form of polycrystalline diamond, or CVD deposited diamond. A suitable alternative is PCBN (polycrystalline cubic boron nitride). Different discs may be provided with different abrasive materials. Any one disc may be provided with a combination of abrasive materials. Specific disc material(s) for any disc surfaces may be defined as a function of the requirements of the grinding wheel to be dressed. For example, less wear resistant abrasives could be employed to dress surface regions of the grinding wheel with lower service demands.
The abrasive surface of each disc can be patterned according to end user requirements. The discs in the assembly may share the same pattern or have different patterns.
A desired pattern can be achieved using an energy beam ablation process. Such processes are known to be a fast and efficient means to pattern solid diamond structures. Alternative methods for patterning include energy beam sputtering (i.e. focus ion beam). Such sputtering methods have particular use in achieving greater feature resolution of defined (cutting) edges. In one example, the invention uses a pulsed laser ablation technique.
The described techniques for material removal enable individual abrasive units of defined shape, size and protrusion to be formed and their locations to be accurately controlled. Profiling of individual abrasive units can be controlled at microscopic resolutions.
Population distribution of the abrasive units can also be adapted to suit the specific characteristics of the wheel to be dressed. The population distribution can be defined as a function of the grinding wheel characteristics, such as its profile, roughness and machining tolerances it is required to achieve.
A higher surface density of units is well suited to dressing tight radii on the wheel. Conversely, lower surface densities are well suited to dressing surface regions with smooth radii and plain profiles. By combining together discs with different abrasive population distributions, the dressing operation can be controlled to achieve consistent and optimal results.
The 3D characteristics of the abrasive units can be individually defined to suit defined actions, directions and rotations desired of the roller assembly. Using laser ablation methods, either or both the rake angle (γ) and clearance angle (α) of a unit can be defined. In more complex arrangements, a combination of primary and secondary rake angles and primary and secondary clearance angles can be defined. Asymmetric units can be defined allowing the unit to perform a different dressing action depending on the direction of disc rotation.
The abrasive units on adjacent discs can be aligned so as to realise a series of channels in between the discs allowing a coolant to be delivered through the dresser, allowing a reduction of the maximum surface temperature reached during a dressing operation.
One simple arrangement involves equally spaced rows of equally spaced abrasive units extending around the radially outer surface. Alternate rows may be offset from each other. Such an arrangement is well suited to dressing a cylindrical component.
The disc diameters may be the same or different. Suitable arrangement of discs of different diameter can provide a radial surface to the assembly which is non-linear in an axial direction. The assembly can be configured to allow the removal and replacement of discs for repair, or to adapt the assembly for different dressing applications. The thickness of the discs may be the same or different.
The discs can be provided with multiple holes arranged at equal radii from the centre of the disc. With their respective holes aligned, multiple discs can be threaded onto multiple pins thereby preventing rotation of the discs relative to each other.
In another aspect of the invention, the discs can be made up of multiple disc segments. Conveniently, the segments can comprise equally sized arcuate portions. Each segment can have two or more spaced apart holes which can be threaded onto pins as described above. The pins can be received and secured in flanges at either end of the multiple disc assembly thereby holding the segments in circumferential and axial alignment.
PCD discs and disc segments are already available for purchase for other applications. Commercially available discs typically comprise a cemented carbide substrate incorporating a solvent metal catalyst, typically cobalt. A layer of micron synthetic diamond powder is provided on the radially outer surface and the disc sintered under extreme pressure and temperature and the catalyst migrates to the synthetic layer encouraging the formation of a polycrystalline structure.
Alignment holes can be machined into the discs. The discs can be sourced with an evenly distributed layer of PCD on the radial outer surface. Using the described ablation methods, material can be removed from the PCD surface in a pre-defined pattern leaving an arrangement of radially protruding, abrasive units in a pre-defined pattern. The ablated discs are thus adapted for use in a roller assembly in accordance with the present invention.
Thus, by controlling the abrasive unit characteristics (i.e. size, shape, protrusion and position) using the contemplated methods, the efficiency of the dressing process can be improved and the wear rates on tight profiles can be controlled and thus minimized.
The stacked disc configuration of the proposed roller assembly provides great flexibility. By the simple interchange of one or more discs in the assembly, a variety of abrasive patterns suited to a variety of specific dressing applications can be achieved. Worn or broken discs, or even disc segments can be easily replaced without the need to replace the entire roller tool of the rotary dresser. Where there is low wear on an abrasive surface of a disc, the abrasive pattern can be regenerated using the contemplated ablation techniques.
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a roller for a rotary dresser, the roller provided with an abrasive, radially outer surface onto which axial segments are defined wherein the radially outer surface of the roller has been subjected to a process of material removal whereby to form a pre-defined pattern of individual abrasive units on each defined axial segment. The pre-defined pattern may be different for different axially defined segments whereby to address different dressing needs and tool wear rates at different axial positions along the roller. The roller may have a non-linear profile. The skilled addressee will understand that the methods for providing the abrasive units and the features of the abrasive unit geometries and patterns described elsewhere in this specification in relation to individual disc abrasive surfaces can equally be applied to the abrasive surfaces of defined axial segments of embodiments of this aspect of the invention. Thus, adjacent segments may be provided with different geometry abrasive units, different surface densities of abrasive units and/or different patterns of abrasive units.
One known method of ablation is laser ablation. Use of this method to define the textured pattern on the abrasive surface enables precise texturing with the ability to generate specifically designed abrasive units of identical size, shape and protrusion from the tool's surface. Size and shape of the abrasive units can be controlled at a microscopic level.
Whilst laser ablation is a very convenient method for providing the abrasive patterns described, alternative methods are possible, for example and without limitation; electrical discharge machining (EDM), laser scribing or laser lapping. Controlled chemical deposition of abrasive material onto a substrate surface in a pre-defined pattern as an alternative is also contemplated.
The skilled person will appreciate that except where mutually exclusive, a feature described in relation to any one of the above aspects of the invention may be applied mutatis mutandis to any other aspect of the invention.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the Figures, in which:
As can be seen in
The boxes to the left of the disc assembly show magnified views of the surfaces of the discs in sections 112 and 111. Whilst not shown, it will be understood that the disc section 113 will have a surface which is essentially a mirror image of that of section 112.
In section 112 (and 113), the abrasive units 191 are of a uniform size, shape and radial protrusion and are evenly distributed in a chequerboard pattern across the surface of the section.
Section 111 which is configured to tru and dress tight radii is provided with a very densely packed pattern of abrasive units 192. As is the case for the arrangement shown in
As can be seen, the abrasive units 191 and 192 are cut to the shape of truncated, quadrilateral pyramid. This arrangement permits dense packing of the units on the radial surface (which are near touching in section 111) whilst still providing channels between the units closer to the radially outer, truncated surfaces of the units for the passage of debris and/or effective delivery of a cooling fluid.
As mentioned above, in another aspect, the discs may be replaced by axially defined segments of a roller which may have a similar profile to the roller assembly shown and into which a similar pattern of abrasive units may be applied.
It will be appreciated that a wide range of abrasive unit geometries is possible using laser ablation. Geometries can be uniform or non-uniform and symmetrical or asymmetrical. Either or both the rake angle (γ) and clearance angle (α) of a given unit geometry can be defined. It is also possible to define a combination of primary and secondary rake angles and primary and secondary clearance angles. Thus, it is also possible to provide a specific geometry for the units, which geometry allows different dressing actions depending on the direction of rotation of the dresser roller assembly. Several possible geometries can be obtained on the abrasive surface, in order to optimize the abrasive action according to the abrasive unit arrangement and the rake angle.
Several values of rake angles (γ) can be obtained through techniques such as laser ablation, further increasing the control of the dresser abrasive action. With reference to
Together with the rake angle, the clearance angle (α) can be varied for a specific abrasive arrangement, allowing for the control of the dressing action in terms of applied pressure between abrasive units in different regions on the dresser abrasive surface. With reference to
Thanks to the high capabilities of material removal techniques such as laser ablation technique the abrasive surface density range of the novel dressing tool can span between the same values covered by conventional dressers, with the possibility to be further extended. For example, as per conventional diamond form rollers, the density values corresponding to specific diamond size could be summarized in the Table 1.
In case of conventional dressers, the surface abrasive density is mainly correlated to the grit size. Conversely, in embodiments of the present invention it is possible to set different combinations of abrasive unit shape, size and density, leading to high control of the local abrasive characteristics.
An additional advantage of using the laser ablation technique to realize the abrasive unit patterns and geometries on the dresser abrasive surface is that, unlike handset dressers, very small abrasive units (for example <100 μm) can be arranged with specific patterns, removing the limitation on the minimum abrasive size currently related to some prior art dressers.
It will be appreciated, for dressers characterized by complex profiles the speed ratio value is not uniform and varies as a function of the profile radius. In order to compensate for this variation, it is possible to act on both the abrasive unit size and surface density. Increasing the number of abrasive units per unit area (surface density), or decreasing the mean size of the abrasive units will correspond to lower values of the grinding wheel surface roughness. Thus, in case of higher values of the speed ratio, the dresser wear rate can be decreased, thanks to the increasing of the surface density.
The lower limit on the abrasive density can be imposed in consideration of the assumed grain shape and size. Further explanation is given with reference to
The dimensions shown in the figure correspond to an average diameter of 0.6 mm for ideal spherical shape grit, utilizing a correlation based on the base perimeter equality and on the assumption that the ideal abrasive unit possesses a protrusion height equal to half of the diameter.
In this example the maximum surface density can be calculated to be approximately equal to 0.8 carat/cm2. However, as previously discussed, it can be advantageous to allow greater space between the unit bases to allow a suitable flow of machined material and//or the passage of a coolant. Nevertheless, grains with smaller size can be packed in a denser configuration.
As already stated, using laser ablation (and similar) techniques, the geometries and pattern arrangements of the abrasive units can be designed to suit the specific wheel dressing application, providing the possibility of a wide range of patterns or combinations of patterns (e.g. ordered, staggered, wave) having features that are either uniformly distributed across the entire radially outer surface, or having regions of differing populations of units depending on factors such as the duty cycle and accuracy requirements of the dresser. In addition, the pattern of the abrasive units can be designed to allow an optimal debris flow during the dressing process.
The skilled person will appreciate that the novel abrasive pattern configurations described herein are applicable not only to the roller assemblies and dressing rolls described in detail, but also to single disc arrangements (with a single ring of abrasive units on a dis or roller periphery) and also to fixed dressing tools including, but without limitation, blade tools, single point diamond and multipoint diamond dressing sticks.
It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments above-described and various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the concepts described herein. Except where mutually exclusive, any of the features may be employed separately or in combination with any other features and the disclosure extends to and includes all combinations and sub-combinations of one or more features described herein.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1504759.0 | Mar 2015 | GB | national |
