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Product category: Machinery and Production Equipment
News Release from: Walter GB | Subject: Woodtronic CNC 5D circular saw blade regrinder
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial Team on 24 September 2002

Grinder sharpens Sussex saw doctor's
edge

South Coast saw doctor Ron Bond has always tried to be different to other tool regrinders by offering services and tackling jobs that no other could.

South Coast saw doctor Ron Bond has always tried to be different to other tool regrinders by offering services and tackling jobs that no other could "It's all about the difference between being a tool 'regrinder' and a 'sharpener'", he says

That's why he regrinds with wheels having grit sizes of perhaps 1200 rather than the standard 400, and it's why he's installed a Walter Woodtronic CNC 5D circular saw blade regrinder with auto load/unload loader system for cost-competitive, lights-out production.

"The success of SR Tools has always been based on our policy of being the best", he says, "and that not only means being able to solve particular problems but also generating benefits in terms of production efficiencies and tool life savings for our customers".

"Our Walter Woodtronic is a key asset here.

It is fast and accurate and, with the Loader - which can accommodate up to 60 blades of 150 to 600mm (optionally 680mm) diameter - it is regularly left to run through the night.

It processes batches of TCT blades of varying diameters and with various tooth forms in any preselected order.

"The Loader is preprogrammed during the day shift without interrupting production, so we minimise machine downtime and increase machine utilisation and output at the same time - again to the benefit of the customer".

Since it was established 18 years ago in Hailsham, East Sussex, SR Tools has been renowned for taking on the regrinding jobs that nobody else wants, as Ron Bond explains.

"A company involved in the production of 1mm thick perspex 'squares' for microwave oven fronts was having trouble cutting stacks of 40 pieces at a time: the heat of the cutting action was welding together the 'sheets' of this low melting point material.

"We modified the blade, creating different angles on each tooth face and bevel - rather than leaving the conventional 'flat, head-on collision' tooth form - and the sheets came off singly, tool life was transformed from four hours to 11/2 weeks and noise levels were slashed by 60%".

Ron Bond's knowledge of saw blades stems from the early 1940s when he started work with the laminated walnut and mahogany propellers used on the likes of Spitfires, Hurricanes, Lancasters and Wellingtons.

As jet engines took hold, the company he was employed by became the first UK manufacturer of chipboard.

In subsequent years, after involvement in sales of grinding wheels then saw blade regrinding as well as problem-solving for some of the country's leading wood product manufacturers, he established SR Tools in partnership with his wife, Sylvia.

With the proceeds of the sale of their Surrey home, the Bonds moved to East Sussex and were able to launch the company with a secondhand NC (automatic) tool grinder.

Within three months, the bulging order book meant the company grew in terms of employees and tool grinding portfolio.

Today, SR Tools is a leading player in the sharpening of TCT saw blades, TCT and HSS router cutters as well as bandsaw and planer blades used by the wood, plastics and metal cutting industries.

SR Tools also specialises in the design and manufacture of bespoke blades.

The decision to move into CNC tool grinding was taken two years ago when, as Ron Bond says: "I could see that, without CNC, we might as well have packed up.

These modern machines are so productive that I knew that any company that didn't invest wouldn't be around to tell the story".

The Woodtronic was chosen over competitor machines because of its sturdiness, quality of finish and overall value for money, he comments.

Designed for the single-setting grinding of tooth faces and tops, the Woodtronic CNC 5D accommodates blades of 80mm to 1m diameter, up to 8mm thick and with tooth pitches of 4 to 125mm.

The grinding spindle produces speeds of 3500rev/min and cutting speeds of 26m/s.

The use of linear guideways and ballscrews, coupled with three-phase servomotors, ensures consistent high-precision grinding.

The machine is supplied as standard with a series of software programs covering all tooth blade geometries including the Brunswick geometry, where all types of deflection shoulders and chip grooves can be ground.

"At first, of course, the input of all the new programs was an onerous task", says Ron Bond, "because we had such a large customer base and were processing a wide variety of blade sizes and forms.

But using the free programming package and with help from Walter's Woodtronic product specialist, Wolfgang Liebmann, our operator soon had the HMC control system mastered".

The Walter machine now also helps SR Tools maintain its reputation for tackling awkward jobs, concludes Ron Bond.

"In one instance, a customer was having trouble cutting melamine-faced chipboard, as the cut edge of this very abrasive material was breaking up under the impact of the saw blade.

In conjunction with Walter's changes to the filtration system, and with help from a grinding wheel manufacturer, we developed special wheels which instead of removing the usual 0.1mm from each tooth face were taking off just 0.07mm".

The resulting blade - with mirror-finish teeth that are as sharp as razors - has solved the problem and, in the bargain, has extended tool life by at least 25-30% because less material is being removed on each regrind.

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