Automated polishing

By Filipp Pachomow. Step by step automation has taken over the various processes in metalwork manufacturing. One application where automation has until now not left its mark is polishing, a very important process in mould manufacturing. But soon that could all change with the RSC compressed air spindle system with a deflection unit from Biax.

The experts for pneumatic tools and spindles from Biax, a trademark of the Swabian family-owned company Schmid & Wezel from Maulbronn, have brought to the market the modular pneumatic spindle system "RSC" with a deflection unit that could fundamentally change the polishing and refinishing of surfaces.

The system can be used both in CNC machining centres and with robots. The spindles can be changed automatically. In a machining centre the compressed air supply is fed through the coolant channel. Biax developed the innovation as part of the "IntegFINISH" project of the Stuttgart Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, who provide funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the framework of the support measure "SME Production Research Innovative" that was supervised and managed by the Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA). The aim was to reduce processing times in mould manufacture using new methods. The aim was to polish the mould using the same machine immediately after milling. Also on board: Camaix from Aachen, the specialist for CNC, CAD and CAM technologies, Artifex from Kaltenbach, manufacturers of elastically bonded abrasive and polishing tools and Schweiger from Uffing am Staffelsee, the tool and mould manufacturers. "Thanks to the new deflection unit the contours of the workpiece are now sufficient to achieve a uniform contact pressure on the surface. And that is a prerequisite to obtaining a high surface quality" explained Martin Erle, technical application specialist at Biax.

The RSC pneumatic spindle system with a deflection unit from Biax always ensures a uniform surface contact pressure during polishing and deburring.