Page 59 - MetalForming July 2012

Tooling Update
Grinder Takes Tool Sharpening to the Next Level
Foremost Machinery, Northbrook, IL, introduces Hunton vertical grinders, which provide an economical way to keep turret-press tooling sharp and optimize sur-
face finish. The tabletop grinder, with a hand wheel grad- uated in 0.001-in. increments, is designed to help fabricators reduce costly tool inventory and toolroom exchanges. It’s reportedly more precise than surface grinders used for tool sharpening, and will produce comparable results to automat- ed tool grinders that cost four to five times
as much.
The grinder uses a magnetic chuck for die
buttons and a three-jaw chuck for punches. Hunton offers six models to choose from, including the BG790 that includes a coolant tank, splash guard and pump for wet grinding. Options include quick-change adapters, used with the shear-grind chuck to allow sharpening of tooling with mini-
mal disassembly.
Foremost Machinery Corp.: 847/272-7800; www.foremostmachinery.com
Two-Finger Adaptive Gripper Overcomes High-Mix Automation Challenges
Robotiq, St-Nicolasis, Montreal, Canada, has introduced an innovative two-finger grip- per to replace the use of robotic tool changers that provide only limit- ed and expensive solutions when required to handle a variety of parts. Applications include high-mix processes such as light assembly, sorting and kitting, packaging, machine tending, bin picking and parts transfer. Says one recent customer
of the gripper:
“A recent job for our
robotic nut-welding cell (resistance welding) required us to load more than 30 differ-
ent parts,” says Steve Spanjers, director of engineering at automotive stamper Marwood Metal, Tillsonburg, Ontario. “Hav-
ing to design several custom grippers was a big con-
cern. We found the two-finger adaptive gripper to be
a flexible solution able to grip all of our parts, which
reduced tooling costs and eliminated time consuming changeovers.”
Fully programmable, the robotic gripper provides:
• Three gripping modes–parallel, encompassing and inside grip–for handling dif- ferent part geometries including flat, square, cylindrical and irregular.
• High payload-to-weight ratio coupled with long stroke, to enable handling of a variety of sizes in a compact form factor.
• Precise speed and force controls, for handling parts of different rigidities—from brittle to deformable to stiff.
• Accurate finger control, to minimize cycle times through partial open/closing.
Robotiq: 888/762-6847; www.robotiq.com www.metalformingmagazine.com