sign in sign up
<<
Home , Actuator

CASE STUDY

Product category: Electric Actuators

Industry: Tooling

Problem: Actuator overload caused by increased friction in system resulted in machine faults and reduced productivity Solution: Tolomatic RSA rod-style electric actuators with servo motor compatibility in a reverse-parallel configuration easily handles torque and system requirements. Results: Increased productivity and flexibility with no reports of machine faults.

“Drop-in” replacement actuator from Tolomatic improves coolant head positioning accuracy in -grinding machine

ROCHESTER, NY – As the company surfaces are properly ground, the that pioneered the development of the are interchangeable in gearing systems bevel gear used in vehicle differentials, and run efficiently and quietly. Grinding Gleason Corporation demands that is becoming the preferred bevel gear its latest automated gear grinding finishing method, as opposed to the be in the forefront of efficient traditional gear lapping process, in which and high-quality gear production. One mating gears are lapped together with key to quality is making sure that the an abrasive slurry to create a matched work piece is well lubricated and does pair.” A powerful and compact not become overheated during the Tolomatic RSA rod-style grinding process. That’s why when Positional accuracy is critical actuator is modified to more Gleason needed a replacement actuator To insure that the gear grinding process accurately position a heavy to position a heavy coolant head on produces the best finish on the gear coolant head and improve its Phoenix® II 275G gear grinding surfaces, a flow of lubricating coolant productivity. machine, the company turned to needs to be precisely directed at the Tolomatic, Inc. of Hamel, Minnesota for grinding wheel’s point of contact with the a solution. gear at all times. “Positional accuracy of the coolant heads is necessary because “The Phoenix II 275G gear grinding you have to flood the point of contact machine is designed to create a fine with coolant so you don’t burn the part,” finish on the mating surfaces of bevel says Chamberlain. “The coolant also gears that have already been rough cut,” provides lubrication and flushes away says George Chamberlain, a Gleason the grinding debris created from the design engineer. “Once the mating process.” www.tolomatic.com In the original design of the machine, an electric actuator was responsible for moving a 50-pound manifold of coolant jets in small increments as the grinding wheel was consumed and changed dimensions. However, the original motor/actuator used in the machine sometimes lacked the necessary torque to move the heavy coolant manifold. It was found that when the actuator was overloaded due to increased friction in the system, it would stop and sometimes lose its position.

“This would cause the machine to send a message to the operator to investigate the situation before the start of the next cycle.” says Chamberlain. “The machine would indicate a positional error and then you would have to re-reference the position of the coolant.” Needless to The heavy, C-shaped coolant manifold on the Phoenix II 275G gear grinding machine is moved say, this was non-productive time that incrementally by a Tolomatic RSA actuator as the circular grinding wheel wears away. This reduced overall productivity for some of keeps the coolant flow precisely directed at the point of contact with the gear face. Gleason’s customers.

Solution is powerful and compact Clarence, NY, a distributor for Tolomatic, The Tolomatic RSA rod-style actuator One solution would have been to replace Inc., and learned that Tolomatic series is designed for high performance, the original actuator’s actuators could accept a more powerful high thrust, durability and compact with a more powerful servo motor, but servo motor. In addition he found that mounting flexibility. With thrust the actuator Gleason was using didn’t the Tolomatic RSA rod-style screw capability ranging from 70 pounds allow such a replacement. And, even actuator was not only powerful but to 7,000 pounds, even the smallest if it had, there was insufficient space extremely compact. 12-inch model had enough power for inside the machine’s grinding chamber Gleason’s application. The product line “The most important factors in choosing to accommodate a motor that was also features black anodized extrusion the Tolomatic brand actuator were its physically larger or more powerful. designed for rigidity and strength, ball overall torque and its compact design,” screw, roller screw or acme screw That’s when Chamberlain consulted with says Chamberlain. Most rod-style options and robust internal guide Brian Mulholland of Hughes Hi-Tech in actuators have a screw that is driven by bearings to support the screw assembly a motor connected inline. Tolomatic’s throughout its entire stroke. RSA actuators feature a reverse-parallel motor drive where the motor is mounted Modifications to a standard along side the actuator and drives product the screw through a toothed and While the RSA rod-style actuator is assembly. “Every other actuator a standard product for Tolomatic, we looked at had the motor bolted to the company also has the in-house the backside of the actuator, making design capability to modify standard the units too long to fit into our design products to meet the special needs of its The Tolomatic RSA rod-style actuator series window,” he says. customer. In Gleason’s case, a number is designed for high performance, high thrust, durability and compact mounting flexibility. www.tolomatic.com of modifications were made to the RSA • Additional sensor – In the unlikely actuator. event the drive belt broke, Gleason wanted the machine to have a • Sealed actuator – The mating feedback loop to avoid process surfaces of the motor mount, drive issues associated with the coolant belt housing and inspection lid had to header being out of position. This be fully gasketed to prevent spraying was accomplished by installing a coolant from getting into the actuator. toothed rotor to the end of the screw and mounting a Balluff sensor. The Tolomatic’s RSA actuator features a reverse- • Optional motor mounts – The parallel motor drive with the motor mounted actuator was supplied with two motor sensor reports the position of the along side the actuator, driving the screw through a toothed belt and pulley assembly. mounting flanges to accommodate screw within 0.1 mm and signals the machine if a belt failure occurs. The compact actuator series is designed for different brands of servo motors. This high-performance thrust from 70 to 7,000 pounds, accuracy and durability. gave Gleason the flexibility to match Gleason manufactures a number either a Fanuc or Moog servomotor of Phoenix® II 275G gear grinding to the production demands of its machines each year, and since Tolomatic has been a leading customers. incorporating the Tolomatic RSA supplier of electric linear motion • Secondary lead screw bearing – actuator into the design there have been no reports of coolant system or machine The end of the actuator was fitted and pneumatic actuators for with a secondary support bearing to fault issues. “We also have a retrofit kit more than 60 years. Its product accommodate the high radial loads available for machines in the field with due to drive belt tensioning. the old style actuators, but the Tolomatic line includes electric linear and actuator has pretty much eliminated all • Custom front flange – The end of our problems with the coolant heads,” pneumatic actuators, servo-driven of the rod was fitted with a custom says Chamberlain. high-thrust actuators, servo and mounting flange to mate with Gleason’s coolant head assembly, stepper motors, stepper drives and allowing drop-in compatibility during configured linear motion systems. manufacture or in the field. Tolomatic also manufactures right-angle gear drives, caliper disc and clutches. Industries served include packaging, material handling, medical, food processing, automotive, semiconductor and general .

3800 County Road 116 Hamel, Minnesota 55340 USA www.tolomatic.com Phone: (763) 478-8000 © 2010 Tolomatic, Inc. All brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Toll free: (800) 328-2174 Information in this document is believed accurate at time of printing. However, Tolomatic assumes no responsibility for its use or for any errors that may appear in this document. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Fax: (763) 478-4309 9900-9198_00 (08/10) Email: [email protected]