PG4 - SCD/MCD Tool Production
CNC Planetary Grinding Machine
Tooling Production
PG4
Launched in 2016, the PG4 is an automatic, ultra-high precision grinding machine designed to meet the most sophisticated of demands from toolmakers working with natural or synthetic single crystal diamond (SCD), manufactured by either high pressure high temperature (HPHT) or chemical vapour deposition (CVD).
Drawing on our 75 years of experience in designing machines for grinding and polishing diamond and related ultra-hard materials, the PG4 now enables many of the laborious and time consuming processes, such as blocking out, to be fully automated and the subsequent final radius polishing to be completed without human intervention.
The PG4 uses high quality air bearings for both wheel spindle and the pivot which are essential pre-requisites for controlled and low waviness SCD tools. Programming is extremely simple and minimal training is required.
The PG4 is an ideal machine for SCD tool manufacturers who are looking to minimise production costs and use their skilled operators in more demanding areas.
Features

• Machine operation training in one day
• Rotary axis training in one additional day
• Tool profiles generated from tool program
• Digital zoom and image dragging facility
• Connects to grinding machine by umbilical harness to avoid vibration transmission
• All units pluggable
• Remote diagnostics via internet
• 3 phase, multi voltage/multi-frequency supply
• Tool height adjustable
• +/-20° tilt cylindrical clearance
• Nest accepts round and square shank tools
• Constant load, dead weight systems, 0.5-3.0kg
• 0.1μm in-feed scale
• Allows wheels to be removed and replaced from spindle nose quickly and easily
• High resolution pixel count
• X, Y micrometer adjustment for camera alignment
• x60 - x600 magnification
• x1000 magnification - optional extra (inspection only)
• 0.1° planetary position resolution
• AC servo motor drive via non-influencing motor and non-influencing belt
• Speed, direction angular position programmable
• 0 - 20° tilt for conical clearance
• Water cooled to provide thermal stability
• Speed up to 12,000 rpm programmable
• Rotation direction programmable
• Brushless, vibration free integral drive
• Can be synchronised
• Fully programmable speed, and stroke
• Sinusoidal acceleration / deceleration
• Electronically dimmable
• Cover glass easily replaced
• Brushes, vibration free integral drive
• ‹50nm rotational error
• Maximum arc of rotation 182°
• Position resolution 0.001°
• Position & speed programmable
Machine dimensions (w x d x h) – 790mm x 1310mm x 1900mm
Control tower dimensions (w x d x h) – 680mm x 610mm x 1910mm
Machine weight – 800kg
Control tower weight – 160kg
CNC control system – CNC control with Intel i7 processor running Coborn .net software on a Windows platform
Grinding wheel spindle – 2.0kW 0 – 12000 rpm programmable liquid cooled high-precision air spindle
Grinding wheel – Ø 85mm Metal bond wheel or cast iron lap
Pivot spindle – High-precision air spindle with radial error ≤ 0.00005mm
Lubrication – Manual grease lubrication system
Process inspection – Coborn integrated camera inspection system X60 to X600 magnification
Electrical requirements – 380 / 220 3phase 50/60 Hz 16amps
Mechanical options – Rotary axis (RM) programmable, Coning spindles (CS) manual, Work piece clamping systems
Software options – Rotary module, Profile contour deviation, Controlled/low waviness, Dxf.import (profile grind)
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RM76 – Rotary Axis
• For coning, cylindrical grinding and index positioning • Programmable rotation to 0.001° • Collet chuck to suit tools up to Ø16mm • Other adaptors available -
SAM – Metal Bond Wheels
• High quality, porosity free • Extremely long life, designed for dry grinding • Dynamically balanced to gyroscopic tolerances -
TCS1 – Tool Cooling Unit
• Cools tool shank using sub-zero compressed air • Removes thermal expansion effects • Programmable ‘on/off’ -
PS2B – Planetary Scaife Bench
• For top lapping of SCD tools after radius grinding • Re-sharpening worn tools and general facet work • Adjustable planetary motion allows ‘set and leave’ operation -
TRC – Tool Radius Check
• Microscope with image analysis software to measure tool radius and radius waviness • Generates custom designed QC graphical data sheets which can then be supplied with the associated tool -
Optional Software Modules
• Synchronized pivot, planetary, traverse, infeed and rotary (RM) motions • Profile contour deviation