CNC Control

This is a Sensai rotary surface grinder that has been modified to CNC control. The original hydraulic ram actuator, manual height adjustment, and spindle and chuck motors have been replaced with servo drive motors and ball screw actuators. The machine was stripped down to the bare castings, which were reverse-engineered into CAD models. The models were modified to accept the new linear rails, ball screw actuators and servo motors. Drawings were made for the machining of the castings, linear rail mounting blocks and servo motor mounting brackets. A FANUC industrial CNC lathe controller and keypad are installed in a custom stainless steel enclosure. A circular enclosure with a sliding door and coolant management features was designed and built using stainless steel and polycarbonate sheet. Finally, a program was developed for grinding both sides of circular plates flat and parallel that included an M00 code for the operator to flip the part, spark-out passes for finishing and a grinding wheel touch-off feature for beginning the cycle. This machine will accommodate diameters up to 16” and thickness up to 3/8”.