ANCA_SharpEdge_Issue11_2014.pdf - ANCA - CNC Machines

SHARP EDGETH

E

ISSUE 11. 2014

Celebrating

years of ANCA

Est. 1974

Featured CompaniesNeatech Tool Corin Medical

The Grinding DocIncreasing Feedrates

2 From the desk of the CEO

3 ANCA celebrates 40 years

4 Historical photos

5 The 20+ years club

6 ANCA news

7 Control Tool Runout PREMIER Collet Adaptors

8 – 9 ANCA LinX linear motors We looked at the rest… why cylindrical is best

10 – 11 Launch of the FX Linear The tool grinder you’ve been waiting for

12 – 13 A new way to design If you were going to design a new tool grinder, where would you start?

14 – 17 How ANCA resulted from a meeting over a Gerber photoplotter

18 Ebbco Increase coolant life through your filtration system

20 – 23 Why you need the new CIM3D 2014 simulation software

24 – 25 Advantage beyond measure How Neatech Tool stays ahead of the competition with ANCA’s new LaserPlus system

26 – 27 The Grinding Doc Getting feedrates up when flute grinding

28 Revolutionise precision grinding with TRU TECH

30 – 31 The journey towards ANCA’s first tool grinder

32 – 33 ANCA Inc’s launch into the US Russell Riddiford

34 – 35 Detroit – The home of ANCA Inc Things to see & do

36 – 37 Orthopaedic Innovation Corin Medical

38 Elevate your grinding performance oelheld

40 – 41 5 Steps to improved productivity – 5S

42 – 43 Robot double act How double robot automation in the TXcell helped a company remain competitive

44 – 45 Our success is because of our innovations Chai Chaitra

46 – 47 From cleaning cars to manager Dean McBain

48 Specifications for new FX Linear & MX Linear ranges

49 ANCA Global contact details

ContentsEST. 1974

40 years of INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY

From the vision of TWO, to a vision now shared by MANY ANCA continues to surprise.

Led by the ongoing drive to simply get machines to do things better ANCA continues to launch industry 1sts, win awards and release

new and better tool grinders.

Editor: Lisa PatersonThe Sharp Edge is published by ANCA Pty Ltd, 25 Gatwick Rd, Bayswater Nth, Victoria, 3153, Australia, www.anca.comPlease send any comments, feedback, enquiries or ideas for articles to [email protected]

In this edition of Sharp Edge we celebrate ANCA’s 40th year. ANCA was established in 1974 in Melbourne, Australia. During 2014 we have taken the time to celebrate this milestone at our Australian Head Office, with our Europe HQ in Germany during the Grindtec exhibition, and with our Americas HQ during the IMTS exhibition.

It has been a great opportunity to reflect on how far the company has come. From creating shockwaves when we first exhibited at IMTS in the US - nobody could believe that an unknown company from far off Australia could manufacture something so ground breaking in tool grinding. To the market leading CNC tool grinder manufacturer that ANCA is today.

It has given us the chance to remember some funny and interesting stories from the journey so far – which

has not always been an easy journey, but never a boring one! Always at the core, the driving force for the two founders, Pat Boland and Pat McCluskey, and a passion shared throughout ANCA, is simply the passion to make machines do things better. Better tool grinders, better software, better accessories, better ways to make tools and other components. The two Pats are never satisfied, they always want everything to be better, and their passion is contagious. We look forward to the innovative ideas that will be created in the next 40 years.

The events shown below gave us the opportunity to invite and thank our local customers, suppliers and other industry supporters for their ongoing assistance and support over the last forty years.

Lisa Paterson

ANCA Celebrates

1. During the Melbourne 40 year event at Eureka892. View of Melbourne from the 89th floor venue in Eureka tower during the ANCA 40 year event in November, 20143. Pat Boland speaking at the 40 year celebration in Augsburg, Germany at Grindtec in March, 20144. Russell Riddiford (ANCA Inc. US President) speaking at the 40 year celebration at IMTS in Chicago, US in September, 20145. Pat McCluskey speaking at the IMTS 40 year event watched by Pat Boland6. Pat McCluskey and Pat Boland receive photobooks from the employees presented by Greg Perry, International Marketing Manager at Eureka89

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This year ANCA celebrates its 40th year of operation. Pat Boland and Pat McCluskey started the organisation designing and manufacturing numerical control automation for machines. This is how the name Australian Numerical Control Automation originated, which was later shortened to ANCA.

Today ANCA is a truly global organisation, with manufacturing sites in Australia, Thailand and Taiwan, and a branch network in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The significant growth over the years has been facilitated through the continuous development of leading edge technology and software, and a focus on innovation.

Continuing in that tradition, ANCA has launched a number of new machines in 2014, aimed at further improving the value propositions we offer to our customers. These machines incorporate new software and a number of new technologies from our various divisions. They were unveiled at IMTS in Chicago, USA in September, 2014. Alongside all of the new CNCs and drive systems, we are launching some new brands and new look ANCA machines. This is an exciting period for ANCA in positioning the organisation’s expectations in the next few years to support our global customers.

Over the last 5 years there has been significant additions to the ANCA team as we further develop key strategic areas such as process improvement and quality. This has been complemented by significant investment in plant and equipment as part of our continuous drive to improve quality and increase productivity. This is in line with our ongoing strategy of continuous improvement in all areas.

None of this would have been possible without the support of our employees around the world, our customers and our suppliers. We regard all of our stakeholders as our partners, working together to achieve successful outcomes for all. Thank you for your ongoing support over this period of change as we move into this next exciting phase of The ANCA Group.

Grant Anderson Chief Executive Officer The ANCA Group

From the desk of the CEO

2 3ANCA | Issue 11. 2014 ANCA | Issue 11. 2014

AustrAliA HeAd Office (unless stated)

Chris Nicolaidis – 30 Years, Purchasing Manager

Jan Langfelder – 26 years , Regional General Manager – Europe office

Jin Gong – 24 Years, Senior Grinding Application Engineer

John Hawkins – 20 Years, Spare Parts Manager

Noel Mitchell – 24 Years, Machine Assembly Fitter

Jaswant Gill – 27 Years, Diagnostics Engineer – ANCA Motion

Paul Ashby – 22 Years, Quality Control Team Leader

Dean McBain – 31 Years, Systems Engineering Manager

Reynaldo Go – 20 Years, Service Engineer – ANCA Motion

Han Liao – 26 Years, Senior IT Systems Administrator

Pictured From left to right (back row then front row) Not Pictured

Craig Jenkin – 25 Years, Senior QA & Systems Team Leader

Phil Bowles – 26 years, Global Engineering Manager

Chai Chaitra – 31 Years, Project Manager

Greg Perry – 20 Years, International Marketing Manager

Eng Tan – 25 Years, Software Engineering Manager

Ian Rees – 26 Years, Hardware Engineering Team Leader – ANCA Motion

David Mahoney – 21 Years, Machine Assembly Fitter

Janja Tutic –25 years, Electrical Technician – ANCA Motion

John Nicolaidis – 28 Years, Electrical Fitter

Russell Riddiford – 26 Years, President ANCA Inc (US) – USA office

AustrAliATim Akinkugbe – 21 years, Grinding Centre Manager

Lawrence List – 25 years, Facilities Engineer

Ray Miller – 26 years, Machine Shop Operator

Greg Pratt – 20 years, Electrical Fitter

eurOpeMark Bannister – 23 years, Service Technician

Wolfgang Luser – 21 years, Senior Grinding Application Engineer

usAJoel Bonamy – 21 years, Service Technician

Leon Hewitt – 23 years, Service Administrator

Dan Podeszwik – 23 years, Inside Sales Manager

Co-founders Pat McCluskey & Pat Boland

in front of new FX Linear tool grinder

Club

The20Years

5ANCA | Issue 11. 20144 ANCA | Issue 11. 2014

PGX+ 2007

CL4 1992

TGX 1997

ANCA’s 2nd EMO in 1993 (Hannover)

CNC 200 brochure

Early retrofit ad

ISG6 1995

Customers who grind cutting tools are faced with the problem of tool runout every day when setting up their tool and cutter grinding machine. Runout is defined as the amount of deviation from the main axis (or tool centreline). Controlling and reducing runout helps limit the deviation from the tool centreline to ensure a cutting tool rotates and wears evenly. Minimising runout will have a positive affect on tool life, component size and quality, along with improved surface finish on the part being machined.

To address the problem of tool runout ANCA has designed and released a new range of collet adaptors that can to be used across all machine platforms. They are ANCA’s premium workholding range. The PREMIER series of adaptors gives users confidence in controlling and maintaining runout over a production run.

Most tool and cutter grinding machines have a cylinder, drawbar and spring pack contained within the machine headstock used for clamping actuation. If any misalignment exists between the collet adapter, drawbar & cylinder, tool run out may occur. The PREMIER collet adaptors use a unique, patented internal clamping mechanism within the adaptor which provides the work piece clamping force. Due to the internal clamping

mechanism, or ‘spring pack’ within the PREMIER range, the drawbar is used only to push the collet open. When the drawbar retracts a physical gap exists between the drawbar and the Collet Adaptor removing any possible source of misalignment which may cause tool runout.

The PREMIER range of collet adaptors is available in standard form, or as a Precision Collet Assembly (PCA) and will accept Schaublin W20, W25 & B32/45 collet systems. The PCA range of adaptors enables users to radially adjust the collet when fitted to the adaptor to assist in further reducing tool runout. The PREMIER Collet Adaptor provides tool manufacturers with the solution to control tool runout. It enables the continued improvement of tool quality.

Control tool runout

ANCA NewsIn 2012 ANCA announced plans to build a new state-of-the-art facility in Weinheim, Germany. There are close to 50 ANCA employees in Europe, with about half based in Germany. The expansion is necessary for ANCA in order to meet global demand and customer needs within the European market.

ANCA’s new European facility will include a large demonstration area, a technology centre, a configuration and rebuild area, and a comprehensive spare parts store. These facilities will enable ANCA staff to support and train customers in everything

from basic operation and maintenance, to specialised applications and software features.

Jan Langfelder (General Manager – Europe) advises, “It is what we needed to do to keep up with our growth and make sure we continue to offer good service and spare part deliveries to customers in Europe.”

The new 1800m2 building is close to the current location in Mannheim, Germany. Staff moved into the building in December, with an official launch planned for 2015.

The Advanced Manufacturing Co-operative Research Centre (AMCRC) project initiated by ANCA has won the “2014 CRCA Excellence in Innovation” award. The award was received on May 20 in Perth, Australia. Kotler Tee, a PhD student from RMIT, accepted the award on ANCA’s behalf.

The awards are given to the AMCRC and its user participant, which in this case was ANCA. There are over 80 AMCRC projects Australia-wide ranging from agricultural areas to complex industrial areas. AMCRCs accelerate the delivery of innovation

through collaboration between researchers and their end users.

ANCA and AMCRC worked together on the Diamond Tool manufacturing project, and this award is recognition for the research and work that has been done by all involved at ANCA, AMCRC, RMIT and other affiliates.

Philip Wysocki, Electrical Systems Engineer & Project Manager at ANCA Head Office, received the Young Manufacturer of the Year award at Manufacturers’ Monthly’s Endeavour Awards in Sydney, May 2014.

The judges commented, “Still in his mid-twenties, Philip Wysocki has played a key role in several challenging projects and demonstrates keen problem solving, engineering management skills that have served his employer, ANCA, well over the past three years.”

Philip was involved in the recent development of the LinX linear motors that are now included on the FX Linear and MX Linear machine ranges.

ANcA’s New fAcility iN GermANy

Amcrc & ANcA diAmONd tOOl prOject wiN crcA AwArd

yOuNG mANufActurer Of tHe yeAr pHilip wysOcki

Pat Boland and Philip Wysocki at the Endeavour Awards

B32/45 PCA PREMIER Collet Adaptor in use

Andrew McLellan CEO of AMCRC receiving CRCA award with Kotler (far left) etc

Architect’s design of the new ANCA facility in Germany

disk springs Provides tool clamping force

Adaptor drawbar Retains the collet

collet

sleeve Prevents direct contact between adjusting screw & collet body

Adjustment screws (x3)Radially adjusts the collet for tool runout accuracy

drawbar capPre-sets the tool clamping force

BeNefits Of tHe premier cOllet AdAptOrs:

• Predictable and consistent tool runout during production runs

• Improved quality of finished tool

• Easy set-up

• The removal of a possible source of error, the drawbar mechanism

• Retrofit is available


ANCA has resisted using linear motors until now. Pat McCluskey, co-founder of ANCA, explains why, ‘The linear motors you see in machine tools these days are all the flat bed type. I’ve never been happy with that design. They may be OK for laser cutters, but for tool grinding, I believe they’re a poor compromise. It wasn’t until Pat (Boland, ANCA’s other co-founder) and I saw a cylindrical linear motor operating on a transfer machine that we saw a technology we felt we could adapt to suit tool grinding.

‘With the help of our control systems group at ANCA Motion our company designed a cylindrical linear motor and specialised servo

drive software, specifically for grinding applications, that don’t have the typical drawbacks of flat bed style linear motors.

‘For starters, the magnetic flux in our new LinX motor is cylindrical, which has enormous benefits. The motor uses the entire symmetrical magnetic field, delivering more efficiency than the flat bed style linear motor, which is typically single sided.

‘Secondly, because the flux in the flat bed linear motor is asymmetric, it creates tremendous downforces on the rails, making everything wear faster and further reducing efficiency. At the very slow speeds

used for high surface finish tool grinding, these large downforces cause any tiny oil drop contamination on the rails to produce cogging effects that show up as poor tool surface finish. Particularly on curved surfaces like ball-nose cutter lands. Flat bed style linear motors typically have a back-iron in their magnetic circuit which increases the downwards force and creates cogging. Cylindrical linear motors are ironless, which eliminates cogging and improves surface finish on the tool when grinding.

Being cylindrical in profile, the LinX system is also far more compact than flat bed style linear motors, effectively fitting into a similar

space as would a regular ballscrew motor. This has allowed us to stay true to ANCA’s vision of maximum workspace in a minimal footprint.

‘Amazingly, the cylindrical design is very energy efficient and has the same power consumption as a ballscrew system. This makes them run a lot cooler, so we didn’t need to have a dedicated chiller unit for the motors. They use the chiller unit from the machine’s regular coolant system instead. This reduces required floor space and power.

‘This is why we’ve been slow to adopt linear motors. Until now, there wasn’t a linear motor that, in my opinion, was worth adopting for tool grinding. With the LinX, now we are comfortable that there is.’

The launchThe LinX linear motors were launched on the new FX Linear and MX Linear tool grinder ranges at the IMTS exhibition in September. The working demonstration unit of a linear motor on the stand was consistently popular and can be viewed on YouTube (search under ANCA linear motor).

Performance & reliabiliTyOn its latest machines ANCA has replaced the ballscrew system with an electronic equivalent which is a cylindrical linear motor. LinX linear motors have the same power consumption as a ballscrew system. The ballscrew has been replaced with a stainless steel tube containing magnets and the ball nut has been replaced with linear motor stator. The addition of linear scales as standard further ensures that high accuracy levels are maintained.

Its IP67 rating shows that the LinX linear motors have been designed for a lifetime of operation in harsh grinding environments. The magnets and winding on the motors are fully enclosed with additional protection provided by wiper seals placed at the end of the motor housing and bellows protecting the shafts.

With no mechanical moving parts there is no loss of machine accuracy over time due to wear and it is not affected by temperature variations. As the magnetic field is cylindrical there is no additional down force on the rails or machine base. The LinX linear motor has higher axis speed and acceleration leading to reduced cycle times and productivity increases for tool manufacturers. It achieves this while maintaining a smoother axis motion. Positional accuracy is not affected by the expansion or contraction of the shaft used with the LinX linear motors. The result is high levels of machine precision and performance, enabling superior tool accuracy and surface finish.

Save SPace – no chiller uniT neededThe design also removed one of the major issues generally associated with linear motors by reducing the thermal impact on the machine. With flat bed linear motors the heat source can be in contact with the machine components which can affect accuracy and lead to thermal expansion of the rail and casting. To manage the thermal implications of using linear motors, ANCA’s unique design prevents any heating effects from the motor transferring to the machine elements.

Simon Richardson

‘This makes them run a lot cooler, so we didn’t need to have a dedicated chiller unit for the motors.’

ANCA LinX linear motorsWe looked at the rest… why cylindrical is best

Linear Motor demonstration unit at IMTS exhibition

Now available for sale to global machine builders

www.ancamotion.com/linx


After much anticipation ANCA launched the new FX Linear range of CNC tool grinders at the IMTS exhibition in Chicago on September 8. The launch attracted a wide range of media, industry members and customers. The range includes 3 models and represents not just a completely new design of machine and colour for ANCA, but also a significant number of new technologies – including cylindrical linear motors for the first time.

As the CEO, Grant Anderson, launched the machines he advised those attending, ‘A core team of engineers under the leadership of Pat McCluskey, joint company owner, was assembled with the challenge to undertake this project with the added challenge of also designing several new technologies in machine drive automation. It is fitting for some of the team to complete the journey by unveiling the machines.’

He later added, ‘ANCA has been a silent observer of linear motors for many years and felt that the technology available was not ideally suited to the harsh environment produced within a grinding machine. It was this lack of available technology that prompted ANCA to design and develop our own range of cylindrical linear motors.’

The FX Linear range is ideal for everything from light manufacturing, to regrinding and even full production. Its best performance and productivity range is for tools up to a diameter of 12mm (1/2”). It can grind tools up to a diameter of 200mm (7.78”).

Many new noteworthy features have been included in the range to make an operator’s life easier. These include a new touchscreen customisable with Windows that enables swipe and multi-touch, handheld pendant for easier set-up and an easy to access front loader door.

The FX Linear is a compact machine with a large working envelope. The grinding wheel is positioned on the C-axis centreline which together with the compact design reduces the effects of temperature influence on machine elements. This assists in the thermal stability and rigidity of the machine.

The FX machine range includes new generation ToolRoom software, latest generation AMD5x control system and high performance CNC. The use of EtherCAT as a machine fieldbus allows both high performance and high reliability through use of Ethernet technology.

As Greg Perry, International Marketing Manager, advised, ‘The FX Linear machine is compact and rigid by design. Our aim has been to deliver customers with a machine that has high levels of accuracy and performance. We have added a number of new technologies to achieve this and the results have demonstrated that the profile accuracy, transition and surface finish it delivers on tools is unprecedented.’

The FX Linear machines use ANCA LinX Linear Motors for accurate axis motion (X & Y axes). These have been designed for a lifetime of operation in harsh grinding environments. Their design is fully sealed to IP67 and impervious to the effects of grinding contamination. By design, no additional load is placed on the machine guidance due to magnetic attraction. With no mechanical moving parts there is

no loss of machine accuracy over time due to wear. Higher axis speed and acceleration provides reduced cycle times, resulting in productivity increases for tool manufacturers. High levels of machine precision and performance are achieved, enabling superior tool accuracy and surface finish.

The FX3 Linear is an entry-level machine for tool manufacturers looking for an affordable first step into CNC tool grinding, or an economical, good quality, basic machine. Whatever your needs this machine provides the kind of technology and rigid accuracy not usually available at this price. If you don’t need automation, then the FX3 Linear, with its 9.5kW wheel spindle which provides ample power to cover a wide range of applications, is the tool grinder for you. It offers the same flexible tool design software and machine quality that are found in all ANCA machines.

If you need automation and the versatility of more options, such as the MicroPlus, then the FX5 Linear will suit your needs. It has a spindle power of 9.5kW and also has an automatic 2-wheel changer for an increased range of wheels and tool types. Together with optional automatic headstock clamping and the FastLoad-FX compact loader it can provide unmanned operation and the flexibility to easily handle small and mixed batches of tools.

For those that require the increased flexibility of more spindle power, or the increased automation capacity that a robot can provide, the FX7 Linear is the machine that you are looking for. It is the premium tool grinder in the FX range and provides exceptional value for money. The more powerful 19kW wheel spindle provides high levels of speed and productivity to tackle a wider range of tools, making it perfect for manufacturing and resharpening. The FX7 Linear also has high performance servo-drives for quicker machine movements and reduced cycle times. The FX7 Linear offers an automatic headstock as standard and a wide range of options for high productivity.

Andrew Ritchie

Launch of FX Linear and MX Linear machine ranges at IMTS

The models in the range include:

Launch of the FX LinearThe tool grinder you’ve been waiting for


GX7 and FastGrind machines, which are some of ANCA’s top sellers. “The FX Linear is a radical re-think of how one compact, accurate platform can be designed to cover a huge range. From the budget FX3 Linear, a single spindle grinder, to the FX7 Linear, a compact automation cell with an integrated robot for tool and wheel changing.”

To begin with, Pat emailed the whole engineering team a simple question, ‘If you were going to design a new tool grinder, where would you start?’ Amongst the responses four young engineers decided the best place to start was the cutting tool. How big, how accurate and what type of tools the FX Linear should grind, then effectively wrap the machine design and its accessories around this space. Michelangelo once said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” This affinity with design and space is what Pat was looking for.

Wanting to capture and utilise this spirit, Pat formed a group that included these engineers and dubbed them the “Wolf Pack”. Says Pat, “I coined the name to reflect our attitude - lean, mean and hungry to design a great

“Throw out the corporate rule book” isn’t what you’d normally hear from your boss. But that’s exactly what ANCA co-founder, and chief machine designer, Pat McCluskey did when designing the new FX Linear range of tool grinders. I caught up with Pat to ask him about the FX Linear and how it was designed.

“We approached the design in a radically agile way. At ANCA, we’d evolved a set of procedures for new product development and engineering over many years. While great for maintaining quality across a broad range of projects, we found that they limited innovation and design speed too much. We wanted to bring some radical new ideas, like cylindrical linear motors, into the FX design so we needed a leaner design process as well,” says Pat.

The FX Linear range of tool grinders (FX3 Linear, FX5 Linear and FX7 Linear) replaces the 11 year old RX7,

product. The first thing we did was throw out the rule book. We replaced management reviews with peer reviews, included rapid hypothesis testing and built enough time into the schedule to experiment with new ideas.”

The Wolf Pack adopted an agile methodology called ‘Fast Track’, a sub-branch of Concurrent Engineering which aims to get things happening in parallel. Pat reflects that, “We managed to get our first prototypes on the floor in 10 months. With the number of revolutionary ideas we included in the FX Linear, this would normally have taken 18 months plus.” The Wolf Pack team would be busy modelling ideas in Unigraphics during the day, then at the end of the day they’d lock aspects of the design and open up parts of the model to ANCA’s engineers in our Thailand facility. The Thai engineers would spend another 4-5 hours on the design before the Australian team were back on deck the next day.”

“These guys all had a thirst for information, that life in the general engineering pool wasn’t satisfying,” says Pat. “When I pulled them out and created the Wolf Pack, it was a real struggle for them at first. But they quickly found their feet and started generating breakthrough ideas which they would bounce off me and their peers as a way of analysing them quickly.”

Unlike some development teams, Pat chose to keep the Wolf Pack co-located with the core engineering group. By doing this, Pat was looking to cross-pollinate ideas and engineering skills into the team and let some of the energy of the Wolf Pack rub off on the other engineers. Pat explains, “ANCA’s engineering group has hundreds, if not thousands, of man-years of experience designing machine tools. ‘If you’re unsure of something’, I’d say to the Wolf Pack guys, ‘go grab any engineer outside the team and learn what you need to immediately’. We would even pull individual experts off their normal projects and drop them full-time into the Wolf Pack for a day or two to keep things moving fast.”

With the significant interest at the FX Linear launch and during the rest of the IMTS exhibition in Chicago, USA, the new development method has certainly proven itself. Pat McCluskey and the Wolf Pack are on to their next challenge, but if you ask Pat what that is the answer he likes to give is, “I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you!” As always the Australian sense-of-humour is alive and well at ANCA Head Office!

‘The Wolf Pack adopted an agile methodology called ‘Fast Track’, a sub-branch of Concurrent Engineering which aims to get things happening in parallel.’

Glenn Brien speaks to Pat McCluskey

Pat McCluskey with some of the team that developed the new FX Linear range

Pat McCluskey with some of the FX Linear development team in front of one of the first machines

A new way to designIf you were going to design a new tool grinder, where would you start?


There is no such thing as an overnight success, there are only hard working, determined people who have a vision and the passion to never give up. The story of ANCA is ultimately one of success, but it has been far from an easy, or quick one. However, it has been an exhilarating ride and continues to be for all involved – life at ANCA is never boring!

The key players in the ongoing story of ANCA are the two Pats. Pat Boland and Pat McCluskey. Two deeply inquisitive and determined men with a shared love of intellectual and practical engineering challenges. They didn’t set out to create a market-leading technology company, but that’s just what happened anyway. Led by a humble desire to simply get machines to do things better, success has been a happy by-product. The story of ANCA began with the two Pats and they continue to play an integral part.

McCluskey was born in the small Victorian town of Koroit and Boland was also born in country Victoria, in Moe. Both did very well at school, with McCluskey winning a scholarship.

As McCluskey reflects, ‘I’ve always been practical minded, but there’s that thing of going to university being good for you. I did matric for a short time, but got bored, which pretty clearly showed that the practical path was best for me. The Ammunition Factory in Footscray was taking on apprentices. I went to RMIT trade school as a part of my apprenticeship, then did more school at night later on as well.’ He did so well he received the Victorian Apprentice of the Year Award in 1970.

Boland attended Melbourne University where he obtained a First Class Honours Degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in control systems.

To pay his way through university Boland took a cadetship and was appointed to the Ammunition Factory in Footscray. The two Pats were now working at the same place, unaware of the important part they would come to play in each other’s lives.

Footscray ammunition FactoryThe Ammunition Factory where the two Pats met was part of a network of factories hastily built during the Second World War to supply munitions to the Australian armed forces. This particular factory produced artillery fuses which were in effect very rugged clocks that could withstand the shock of firing from a 55mm gun. It was very well equipped and had a state-of-the-art tool room for its time.

How ANCA resulted from a meeting over a Gerber photoplotter

Pat Boland, Pat McCluskey and George Nielsen (seated) who was McCluskey’s boss at the Ammunition factory and who became an initial minor shareholder in ANCA

The transition from cam mechanical automation to Numerical Control (NC) was just starting and McCluskey was working on getting these early NC machines to work reliably and to modify them to meet current needs. As Pat’s reputation for bringing the old machines to life spread, he came to be in demand at other Department of Supply factories around Australia as well. During this time he continued to develop his expertise in machine tools and their control systems.

As McCluskey remembers, ‘I began spending more time in the Electronic Fuse Department, where I met an undergraduate cadet engineer called Pat Boland. It was way back in 1968.’

together we are complex and practicalPat Boland had an entirely different background from his ‘partner in crime’ which is probably why they have always made such a good team. He remembers meeting Pat McCluskey for the first time, ‘I was an undergraduate and started work with the Ammunition factory in 1968 in the Quality Control area. Pat had been there a couple of years and I gradually noticed the kind of work he was doing. We actually met across a Gerber photoplotter in fact, and I was really impressed with what he was doing, and with his energy and drive. I then became Project Engineer to manufacture parts for the Boeing 727 aircraft at the same time that Pat was in maintenance, and that’s where we started working really closely. In fact, we’ve never stopped!’

It was a fittingly interesting beginning to what would develop into a technically innovative business relationship. The degree of difficulty to produce complex

5-axes components on 3 and 4-axes point to point machine tools had been greatly underestimated and the two Pats worked hard to successfully complete that Boeing project.

Pat Boland was known at the factory as a knowledgeable, inventive academic, but he had little practical experience, whereas Pat McCluskey had gained a reputation as a practical thinking, intelligent technician who was highly skilled. ‘Together, we are complex and practical. We didn’t set out to be that way, it’s just how it happened. There’s a positive tension in that, and that collective attitude became a big part of ANCA’s culture. It’s who we are.’

Back in the early 1970s, Pat Boland became the supervisor of the tool-room. This area was responsible for the manufacture and maintenance of all the complex tooling required in the factory. In particular, complex press tools, plastic moulding and special cutting tools. It was Pat McCluskey’s job to make the machine tools work. ‘One day I was struggling with an electrical problem. Pat Boland and I hadn’t had much to do with each other at that stage, but he sat down with me and within thirty seconds had told me how to solve it. My job was then to make it happen – to produce a practical result. From then on, we began to see each other more and more.’

McCluskey was then asked to get involved in the emerging technology of NC (Numerical Control) machines. Boland was also asked to assist as there were no other engineers around that had his knowledge or desire to learn more. The technology was primitive by today’s standards but it was new to Australia, so of course the two Pats didn’t waste any time learning about every aspect of it, becoming the de facto technical support team covering hardware, software and applications.

Pat Boland next to Zenford-Ziegler ZED 900 Milling and Drilling Machine with ANCA 200 Series CNC


the $4000 mini-computerThey didn’t know it then, but the seeds of today’s multinational business had been sown. The two independent thinkers began designing and developing their own CNC (Computer Numerical Control) as a hobby. Pat Boland began writing some base software using the emerging software standards, and both men decided that every machine should have a Visual Display Unit (VDU) and a keyboard built into the cabinet to make it as user-friendly as possible. It was a revolutionary concept, but the freethinking pair just saw it as the logical, progressive thing to do.

Their hobby became more and more serious, until the time came when they needed some hardware to turn their theories into reality. As Boland recalls, ‘With no business plan and no idea of the complexity of running a company, we decided to purchase a mini-computer and teletype for $4000 to pursue our mutual interest – wherever it may lead.’ McCluskey adds, ‘Mini, in that it was almost as small as a shoebox and had a whopping 16KB of memory! But looking back, it was like stepping over a threshold, because from then on, it was all about building a machine to prove that our software could work and would create flexible movement options.’

The computer was installed in the spare room of the marital home of Pat and Libby Boland, in Hawthorn, where he wrote software at night, then also during the day at work. The hardware was set up in Pat McCluskey’s spare room in Newport, and he too worked at night as well as during the day. In 1974, it was finally time for Pat McCluskey’s hardware and Pat Boland’s software to join forces. McCluskey dragged the computer over from Boland’s house, built it into a

cabinet with axis readout, (because their planned VDU was not available for machine tools at that stage), and added an industrial application keyboard. Then it was test time. ‘It worked! We could move it. We controlled the axis. It was so exciting!’

the beginning oF anca And so in 1974 the Pats decided to start a business. But as Boland explains, ‘ANCA was initially a glorified hobby - we were dreaming and having fun, really, and even when we spent the $4000 on the computer, it just then became a serious hobby more than anything else. Our first ongoing contracts didn’t come through until 1977 and that’s when we started thinking bigger.’ They certainly didn’t have grand plans to create a multi-million dollar, global business. The company was initially called Australian NC Automation – with the initials of ANCA, but over time the company came to be known as just ANCA.

The Pats had developed a numerical control that moved a machine, but it wasn’t enough to just make it ‘dance’ through the air. It needed to be tested on something solid for it to really prove its worth and a serendipitous meeting solved that problem, as well as provide a key pillar of support through the business’s early years. McCluskey recalls, ‘We needed a two axis, X/Y table to test the accuracy on, and just as we needed it, a salesman from Zenford called Bert Herriett visited the Munitions factory. We got talking, and eventually explained what we were up to. He thought Zenford could help because I guess he saw the potential, so he went and told his bosses.’

‘with No BusiNess PlAN ANd No ideA of the CoMPlexity of ruNNiNG A CoMPANy, we deCided to PurChAse A MiNi-CoMPuter ANd teletyPe for $4000 to Pursue our MutuAl iNterest – wherever it MAy leAd.’

cei project – how anca helped radio stations

One of the first projects the Pats embarked upon was for Consolidated Electronic Industries (CEI). The company supplied commercial radio stations with machines that automatically loaded and unloaded cartridges of pre-recorded commercials using a programmed schedule that could be changed as required. CEI paid ANCA to design and supply complete robotic load/unload equipment with a smart interface to the cartridge tape machines. This automatically changed the cartridges as required during the periods when the radio station was unmanned.

ANCA used technology from the emerging robot industry and incorporated current machine tool technology. ANCA’s new system provided such a comprehensive solution that systems were installed around Australia and overseas.

For a time the company operated out of McCluskey’s spare room. The two Pats then spent three months working out of a shop front in Moonee Ponds with a mouldy sea-grass floor before moving into an old dairy

in Pascoe Vale. The Pats weren’t there long, either, before the earlier meeting with Zenford’s salesman Bert Herriott began to reap benefits.

The Pats and Karl Ziegler, owner of Zenford, eventually came to an agreement - Zenford would supply a two-axis drill table for the two Pats to test their early NC system on. In exchange, Zenford would get the completed machine back and only pay for the NC system add-on. So now the Pats had a test bed and a challenge. ANCA was now based at the Zenford’s Reservoir factory and was off and running in the machine tool industry.

The Pats had developed a numerical control that moved a machine, but it wasn’t enough to just make it ‘dance’ through the air.

CEI 993 cartridge loader and tape reader for radio stations

The 2 Pats with their first CNC installation, the HMT Mogul Lathe

Pat McCluskey with ANCA CNCs


Ebbco Precision Machining Filtration Systems are designed to eliminate particulate build up in the machine tool, increase fluid life, maintain a consistent part finish and reduce part rejections. The internal filter cartridges are designed for the removal of carbide down to ½ micron.

Ebbco’s new series of Automatic Backwashing Filtration System is highly recommended for carbide application on cutter grinder machines. This unit is designed to provide the best possible fluid clarity while providing optimum filter life. The Automatic Backwashing units include a fluid holding tank with a clean/dirty baffle, a heavy duty filter pump, and a series of filter vessels down to a specified micron to provide uninterrupted flow to the clean fluid tank.

A Fluid Chiller maintains the fluid at a consistent temperature to avoid thermal distortion. The Filter Backwash intervals are factory preset to always maintain uninterrupted clean fluid delivery to the machine delivery pumps, depositing the sludge in an easy to change sludge receiver bag to a 55 gallon Drum assembly. The Backwash unit can be serviced without shutting down, eliminating machine down time. For multiple machines, or central systems, redundant filter and feed pumps are available.

Ebbco offers a full line of filtration systems to filter single or multiple machines. Always providing the best possible filtration at optimum filter life.

Contact us for more information.

Ph: +011 586-716-5151 Email: [email protected]

www.ebbcoinc.com

Increase coolant life through your Filtration SystemFiltering the coolant is a crucial part of grinding. Ebbco briefs us on the latest developments.

19ANCA | Issue 11. 201418 ANCA | ISSUE 11. 2014

tool simulation quality A large number of improvements have been made to the CIM3D simulation software. This has improved simulated tool quality at all levels. Below is the three step process used to deliver the high quality images.

1.The situations where gaps and holes occur between surfaces have been significantly reduced. In previous versions of CIM3D the gaps were more

obvious at coarser detail levels, but still noticeable in the finer details. In CIM3D 2014 at all detail levels the gaps are reduced, providing an improved experience while performing tool measurement and analysis.

2.The second step was the reduction of jagged edges which made the cutting edges and other tool features at surface intersections

much sharper and clearer at all detail levels. This provides further improvements when performing tool measurements.

3. The third step in the process was the reduction of artifacts at the intersection of surfaces. This is particularly apparent in the example below

where the thread surfaces have unclipped and missing surfaces which have been neatly trimmed in CIM3D 2014. There have also been improvements made in overlapping surfaces (e.g. cylindrical grinding) where surfaces previously disappeared.

anti – aliasing (smooth edges)Support for graphics card based anti-aliasing has been added and is turned on by default .This can also be controlled from the File > options > graphics menu.

Why you need the new CIM3D 2014 simulation software

modernised user interFaceUser selectable application styles - with updated icons, toolbars, layouts and controls, have been added to improve the look and feel of CIM3D. These styles can also be customised from the File > options > display > style. Analysis related functionality has been moved to a separate menu for easier access to this function.

Dial controls in measurement view can now be used with mouse scroll wheels. New numerical controls in measurement view allow individual number scrolling with either the mouse wheel or the provided up/down buttons. The tool cross section control in measurement view now shows the actual 3D model of the tool instead of a slider.

Existing version

New version

Existing version Gap removal Jagged edge removal

Existing version New version

Existing version New version

Existing version New versionExisting version New version

ANCA has released its latest version of CIM3D which mainly focuses on the quality and clarity of tool simulation, and on a modernised user interface.


cim3d File FormatCIM3D 2014 now uses a new file format with file extension .cim3d instead of .tpd. The new version can still save TPD files if required.

minimum protrusionA new function has been added which calculates the minimum protrusion length of the tool so the wheel packs will not make contact with the collet or clamp steady. Accessories such as the collet adaptor, collets and top clamp are considered during this calculation. Distances for both collet and clamp (if enabled) are shown. It is also possible to show the tool at the calculated minimum protrusion distance.

machine componentsMachine components such as the MX7 MicroPlus workholding and tool support system, MX7 and TX7 wheel probe in up and down position, and 1-4.5mm Arobotec pads have been added for improved collision detection.

Flute colour mapping has been added which colour codes each flute in the tool. This can be used for checking interference between flutes as flute numbers are also shown in the animation dialogue. The collision dialogue now also displays the operation list.

Thomson Mathew

The minimum protrusion calculation

tHe mAiN BeNefits Of tHis New file fOrmAt Are:

• The CIM3D format is faster to load and save, and produces files that are smaller in size.

• CIM3D 2014 is fully backwards compatible with the TPD format. It has the provision for forward compatibility, for example, a future CIM3D file will still be able to be loaded into CIM3D 2014. This provides better interoperability between versions starting with CIM3D 2014 onwards.

OtHer eNHANcemeNts:

• “Show wheel here” added to tool menu option which appears in the pop-up menu when double clicking on the tool.

• The protractor button on the tool bar is now a drop down menu from which other grid modes can be selected. The grid can now be hidden in the measurement view.

• The user interface will now scale correctly when windows DPI settings are modified.

• Departure time in animate and collision dialogues has been replaced with real time. Also flute numbers and feed rate are now displayed in the animation dialogue. The collision dialogue now also displays the operation list.

• Reliability of the probe cursor has been improved to reduce the occurrence of it ‘falling through’ to the surface being interrogated.


ACEL Lease provides custom financing for new andused equipment at rates comparable to conventional bankfinancing, including 5-7 year terms and payment skips.

With ACEL, you can conserveyour bank lines for other cashflow requirements and avoid tyingup fixed assets with one lender.

Because of our long relationshipto manufacturing, we have amuch better understanding ofyour type of business than dobanks and other lenders.

Contact ACEL the next time you are thinking about addingproductive machinery. We understand.

Telephone USA 866.587.4222www.acellease.com

Machinery and automation specialists

WE’RE HERE TO HELP.

Managers in manufacturing know that remaining competitive in the market requires vigilance. New technologies from your customers and suppliers can provide new opportunities. Neatech Tool in Japan is one such company taking advantage of a new development offered by ANCA, and utilising it to give them an edge as they enter a new market.

Neatech Tool has been an ANCA customer since purchasing their first RGX in 2001 to grow their tool regrinding business. As Neatech Tool’s reputation and capability grew, so did the demand for their regrinding services. ‘You could say we were an early adopter of ANCA grinding machines. This in itself gave us a point of differentiation in the market,’ reports Neatech Tool’s President, Mr Takahashi. ‘Practically, though, the relationship with ANCA developed because we saw them leading the way with machine flexibility and capability.’

Fast forward to 2012, when Neatech Tool made the decision to expand its business beyond tool regrinding into tool manufacture. Mr Takahashi advises,

‘Our existing customers had a need for quick turn-around of special tools. The question was do we seize this opportunity, or leave it for someone else to benefit from?’ Neatech Tool’s first installation of an MX7 was a decisive step forward in entering the tool manufacturing market. But with many competitors in this field, they needed an edge. Which is why they were interested in the LaserPlus.

By adopting LaserPlus on their tool production machines, Neatech Tool is again reaping the benefits of being an early adopter of new technology. Neatech Tool’s Operations Manager, Mr Ooshima, comments ‘Consistency in the tools we produce can be influenced by a variety of factors. Thermal variation in the ambient or coolant temperature, and grinding wheel wear are key. Utilising the LaserPlus virtually eliminates the influence of these variables which means our tool OD in an unmanned batch run is held within 3 micron. Something that would otherwise be extremely challenging to achieve.’

How Neatech tool stays ahead of the competition with ANCA’s new LaserPlus system

Since their first retrofit of a LaserPlus to their MX7, subsequent orders for tool production machines have all included LaserPlus. Neatech Tool’s ambitions do not stop there. Having seen the success of LaserPlus for their endmill production, Neatech Tool has ordered LaserPlus on their first TX7+ in anticipation of the ability to measure free form profile cutters.

ANCA customers have enjoyed the benefits of measuring tools inside the machine with the iView camera system, LaserPlus will take this a step further. A fully automated process for profile tool measurement using LaserPlus will ensure more consistent

measurement results across operators working on different shifts. All without the need to invest in a separate, and probably expensive, stand-alone tool measurement machine. Like iView, LaserPlus will deliver a detailed measurement report for profile tools, which is an increasing demand from customers seeking to ensure quality control and traceability on the tools they use.

ANCA’s LaserPlus has been developed as the premium tool measurement system, in addition to the existing touch probe. It is currently available for the MX and TX tool grinder ranges. Using a Blum laser that is permanently mounted inside the machine, LaserPlus automatically measures and compensates endmill features such as OD, ballnose profile and radius, and corner-radius profile and radius. Measurement accuracy is within 3 micron, or better.

Companies like Neatech Tool create their own successes, by being closely aware of the market around them. Their adoption of the new LaserPlus, ahead of their competitors, ensures they are well equipped for ongoing success in meeting the needs of their own customers.

Duncan Thompson

By adopting LaserPlus on their tool production machines, Neatech Tool is again reaping the benefits of being an early adopter of new technology.

Advantagebeyond measureAdvantagebeyond measure

Mr Tojima (left) and Neatech Tool President Mr Takahashi in front of ANCA machine


Over the years I’ve visited lots of tool manufacturers producing tungsten-carbide endmills. One thing they all want to do is decrease cycle times.

How do they typically do it? Or, at least, try to do it? They increase their feedrate in flute-grinding. When they do that, bad things usually happen.

Why is that? Think of a grinding wheel as a milling cutter, with each grit on the wheel as a tooth. As you increase the feedrate, the ‘chip load’ on each tooth increases. In grinding, we refer to this as the Chip Thickness, the Grit Penetration Depth, or the Aggressiveness. When this happens, all types of bad things can occur. First, the surface finish might be too rough, as each tooth is penetrating deeply into the workpiece. Second, you may get chipping at the exit, as each tooth is biting deeper into the workpiece and, when it exits, it takes a chunk of material with it. Third, the forces on each tooth are larger, and consequently you may rip it out of the bond material.

How do you increase feedrates without having these bad things happen? Maintain a constant Grit Penetration Depth. Once you have a set of speeds & feeds that are working well for you, you’re probably close to being in the Sweet Spot of the wheel. You want to stay there.

There’s a complex equation for grit penetration depth in grinding. But to keep the same value, when you increase feedrate, you want to increase wheel speed proportionately. If you increase feedrate 25%, then increase wheel speed 25%.

Let’s say your machine operator, Joe the Grinder, is flute-grinding at a feedrate of 100 mm/minute and a 20 m/s wheel speed. He wants to crank things up, so he tries going at 125 mm/minute. Unfortunately, when he does this the wheel gets chewed up and he gets chipping at the exit. So he goes back to 100 mm/minute and says, ‘Yeah, that’s as fast as I can go on this operation.’

Go ahead and let Joe the Grinder crank up his feedrate to 125 mm/minute, or by 25%. But when he does that, crank up his wheel speed 25%, to 25 m/s.

What’s Joe going to say? He’ll say, ‘Dude, we can’t grind that fast. We’ve tried 25 m/s before but we just glaze up our wheel and eventually crack the part.’

Joe’s telling the truth. I’m sure he did glaze his part at that wheel speed – when he was running at 100 mm/minute. But now he’s running at 125 mm/minute, so he needs a faster wheel speed to keep the same grit penetration depth.

Joe may be reluctant, but get him to try the +25% / +25% Rule. Don’t let him use +25% / +0%. He has to increase both of them the same amount. Try it. You’ll be surprised to find that it will probably work just fine. If that works, try +35% / +35%, then +45% / +45%. Of course, there are limitations, as you will be generating more heat and higher temperatures. But you can usually get away with respectable increases before that heat comes back to bite you.

There’s one drawback to running at a faster wheel speed. Ideally, you want your coolant exit velocity to be close to your wheel velocity, or at least 80% of the

Getting feedrates up when flute grinding

GrindinGdocThe

way there. As you increase your wheel speed, if you don’t also increase your coolant velocity, you’ll get less coolant within the pores of your wheel. In creep-feed grinding, coolant is important. Therefore, increasing the wheel speed means you will be losing coolant effectiveness. This results in higher temperatures, increased risk of cracking and, worst of all, softening of the bond material leading to excessive wheel wear. Therefore, if you can pull it off, try to increase your coolant pressure as you increase your wheel speed. Otherwise, beware of the risks posed by the higher temperatures from the poor cooling.

Finally, don’t get obsessed with increasing feedrates. I was on an endmill grinding operation last week where we increased the feedrate by 33% using the technique above. All fine and good, but how much did actual part cycle-time come down? From 760 seconds to 716

seconds. That’s a piddly 6% reduction. Why? Grinding is more than just fluting. There’s relieving and gashing and, in particular, part change and cycling back and forth, and part rotation and everything else. When you break it down, flute-grinding is only a fraction of the cycle. You can work hard to reduce it, but keep in mind it won’t reduce your cycle time proportionately.

I tell my customers to pick a reasonable ‘Q-prime value’ and aim for that. Q-prime is calculated by taking the maximum depth of cut in mm and multiplying it by the feedrate in mm/second. In the above example, the OD was 12.5 mm and the core diameter was 7.1 mm. In single-pass fluting, the maximum depth of cut was (12.5 mm – 7. 1 mm) / 2 = 2.7 mm. At 75 mm/minute, or 1.25 mm/second, the value of Q-prime is 2.7 mm X 1.25 mm/second = 3.38 mm2/s.

In grinding tungsten-carbide endmills, I tell my customers a respectable value is Q-prime = 5 mm2/s. With this value, you’ll be getting respectable productivity, but you won’t be pushing your luck. Of course, you can probably go higher and get away with it. But the law of diminishing returns on cycle time says that perhaps you shouldn’t bother. Pick a respectable value and go with it.

These concepts apply to just about all grinding operations. The +25% / +25% concept applies pretty much across the board. The issue of needing better cooling at higher wheel speeds applies to creep-feed grinding – but in cylindrical-grinding OD grinding you can usually get away with poorer cooling. And the issue of respectable Q-prime values depends greatly on the workpiece material and type of grinding.

These are all the concepts I teach in my three-day High Intensity Grinding Course, held several times a year in the U.S. and Europe.

Grinding Doc seminar with ANCA Melbourne

Feedrate 125% of standard. Wheel speed 125% of standard.

Feedrate 125% of standard. Wheel speed 100% of standard.

Exit edge chipping during flute-grinding of tungsten-carbide endmills.

Dr Jeffrey A. Badger

dr. Jeffrey A. BAdGer, kNowN As ‘the GriNdiNG doC’, is AN exPert iN GriNdiNG who works As AN iNdePeNdeNt CoNsultANt.

Dr. Jeffrey A. Badger can be contacted at [email protected]

www.thegrindingdoc.com


Ostrem Tool Company is a leading manufacturer of round shank solid carbide cutting tools. Located in Lyman, South Carolina, USA, Ostrem manufactures tools for the metalworking, automotive, and aerospace industries.

With nearly two dozen 5-axis CNC machines on their floor (including 14 ANCA machines) blank preparation is a crucial component in keeping every machine operating at capacity. It is critical that precision blank preparation never becomes a bottleneck in the process.

On a recent contract, Ostrem was manufacturing an ultra-precision 4 mm diameter reamer for the Aerospace industry. Because of the volume of the job, blank preparation was consuming almost 50% of Ostrem’s precision blank preparation capacity, occupying 5 machines per month.

Seeking a solution, Heath Bolds, president and owner of Ostrem, turned to TRU TECH Systems in Mt.Clemens, Michigan, U.S.A.

Known for its accuracy and industry leading feed rates, Ostrem chose the TRU TECH Revolution Perimetric™ Grinding System. The Revolution AUTO, equipped with a 3 pallet robotic loading system, was the perfect fit for the application. Its lights-out operation enabled the machine to run continuously between shifts. As a result, one Revolution AUTO was able to absorb 80% of the workload needed for the job.

Another reason Ostrem chose the Revolution series was for its size range. The machine’s rigidity and flexible tooling allows the same machine that handles a 4 mm part with precision, to also handle much larger parts.

Ostrem manufactures a large tapered ball-nose endmill for the metalworking industry. Solid Carbide, 200 mm long and over 19 mm in diameter, it features an integral taper that is 125 mm in length. To maintain finish and size, grinding the blank had been taking over 60 minutes per part. Moving

the endmill to the Revolution lowered the cycle time to just under 15 minutes, a 75% reduction in cycle time!

‘I’m amazed at how fast the Revolution can cut through carbide’, said Heath. ‘When the TRU TECH machine arrived on our floor, the backlog on this one job alone was 90 days. The Revolution cleared that backlog in 3 weeks!’

“It’s always a fine balance to maintain the grinding wheel at higher feed rates, but the rigidity of the Revolution yields excellent wheel life, size and finish at very aggressive feeds. The Revolution sets up quickly, and makes fast, accurate parts with near-perfect concentricity. It’s really impressive.”

TRU TECH Systems provides Ostrem with more than just machines. They provide solutions. Ostrem uses TRU TECH’s REVO™ grinding wheel. The wheel is formulated to work in tandem with the Revolution’s aggressive feed rates.

“On some of our jobs, we’ve been able to grind over three thousand parts without ever having to dress the wheel,” Bolds said.

Ostrem Tool owns ten TRU TECH Grinders, including the Revolution and Revolution AUTO.

Revolutionise PRecision GRindinG with TRU TECH

Revolution AUTO with robot loader

End Mill Setup

Ostrem’s ANCA machines


REVOLUTION

VERSATILITY

Fast, Easy Setup • 1mm to 75mmUltra Precise • Zero Runout • Speed

Revolutionize Precision Grinding

TRU TECH Systems • Mt. Clemens MI • U.S.A. • www.trutechsystems.com

The early years of ANCA were spent designing and manufacturing controllers such as the 200 Series CNC that used a VDU (Visual Display Unit) as standard, which was a world first at the time. The early arrangement with Zenford-Ziegler provided a salesforce to find OEMs with suitable products to add the controllers to. Retrofitting old Japanese and British machines from manual to CNC was a big part of the early ANCA work.

In 1982 at the Australian International Engineering Exhibition (AIEE) machines from CIG, Farley, Laser Lab, Hercus and Zenford-Ziegler were all fitted with the ANCA 200 Series CNC. As McCluskey remembers, ‘It didn’t escape our attention that all these companies were making some sort of machine tool. We were only getting about 10 per cent of the sale price, but were doing all of the work and getting all of the headaches.’ The basic problem was that ANCA at the time was in the OEM business which required more engineering resources. Its products could not be sold to an end user, they were sold to a machine tool builder that incorporated them into a machine that was sold to an end user.

As Australian manufacturing suffered in the early eighties customers stopped ordering. It became clear that unless ANCA expanded outside of the Australian market, it would eventually fall victim to the economic cycles of a small domestic market. Boland reflects how the recession of 1982 had two outcomes for ANCA, ‘Firstly ANCA decided it must be in control of its own destiny in terms of sales and marketing. And secondly that it must sell on the international market. A strategic decision was made to split from Zenford-Ziegler and to move into the export market.’

ANCA also made the decision to diversify into end-user machine tools that could be sold directly to the market.

towards ANCA’s first tool grinder

the journey

ANCAMill, a 3-axis vertical milling machine

ANCA’s 2nd controller was the 75mP, then came the 75Em and then the Series 2000

The initial plan was that the body of a machine tool would be purchased and that motors and control system would be fitted to it and sold under the ANCA brand. In September 1983 an experienced machine tool engineer, Chai Chaitra was recruited to assist. This initial machine was the ANCAMill, a 3-axis vertical milling machine.

anca Finds its niche

In 1983 ANCA had a CNC system on the Laser Lab stand at a trade show in Cincinnati, Ohio and received an enquiry for a CNC system for Tool and Cutter Grinders. It was from Jack Wingate, the owner of a sales representative agency for K.O. Lee, an American manufacturer of manual tool grinders. He painted a picture of a market waiting to be tapped.

ANCA took this enquiry very seriously. Initially the concept was to have a machine tool body based on a manual tool grinder but with modifications to fit motors, drives and a CNC. Although it worked it was apparent that the limitations of the manual machine concept were operationally significant. Despite this, the first converted manual machine was sold to Ryco in Melbourne and was in use for many years.

They were geometrically complex which suited ANCA’s expertise in software and the competition at the time was either very complex, or didn’t offer a high level of features. They knew they had found the product that they had the experience, ideas and existing

engineering to be able to provide something that customers in the tool grinding market needed.

launch oF First anca designed tool grinder – Fastgrind (tg4)The underlying motivation was to develop a business model that allowed the development of a significant export market. It was decided that it was impossible to export CNC controls to foreign machine tool builders considering the limited communications in the early 1980’s. Exporting a finished ANCA designed tool grinder was reasoned to be a simpler task and would solve some past problems.

After research completed at EMO (European Machine Tool Show) the two Pats contracted a machine designer named Gerhardt Heuler to help create an entirely different kind of grinding machine. McCluskey

remembers, ‘I worked backwards from the cutting tool to create a machine that was both efficient and user-friendly.’ The unique design allowed the grinding wheel to move along the tool which meant the machine took up 30 per cent less floor space than its competitors. Concurrently Boland wrote the original applications software, the technology he developed was a lot easier to use than existing machines at the time.

The first FASTGRIND created a sensation at IMTS in Chicago in 1986 with its small footprint, large capacity, user-friendly software and strong colours. Many found it hard to believe that it was made in Australia and thought it must be from Austria! It was sold to Bob’s Tool and Cutter in Indianapolis. An exclusive distribution agreement was signed with K.O. Lee and they marketed the machine as Quadragrind. The installation at Bob’s Tool and Cutter was ultimately accepted back due to a variety of reasons. Analysing the issues the customer had led ANCA to introduce in-machine measurement of key tool dimensions by using an electronic probe, an innovation that gave ANCA its market breakthrough. It was called the Fastprobe. Boland remembers, ‘FASTGRIND took off after that!’

ANCA was on its way on an exciting and ongoing journey in the tool grinder market.

ANCA’s first tool grinder the FASTGRIND (TG4) in 1986

ANCA made the strategic decision that CNC Tool and Cutter grinders were the market they had been looking for.

ANCA decided to design their own machine from scratch and eliminate all the issues encountered when modifying a manual machine.


I was working with Sandvik in 1988 when I was approached by ANCA to see if I wanted to support the company’s distributor, K.O.Lee, in the USA. They had been selling ANCA products since 1986 – it was ANCA’s first tentative steps towards globalisation – but it wasn’t going as well as they had hoped. The idea was to put an Australian employee with them to see if that would make a difference. I was twenty-seven at the time and decided to take a year’s leave of absence from my job to give it a go.

So over to Aberdeen, South Dakota I went. But meanwhile, the relationship with K.O Lee had disintegrated. The Pats decided that they’d be better off doing it themselves and in early 1989, ANCA Inc. was formed. We moved into twelve by twelve feet of rented space belonging to Laser Lab in Farmington Hills, Michigan. I was doing sales and Rick Monteith was there to provide technical support. Bill Wallace was with us on and off and the Pats were there quite a bit as well.

On numerous occasions I questioned my decision to join, but once you’re in the enthusiasm of the ANCA people is infectious and it’s so easy to get enthralled by what the business does. Those first few months turned out to be incredibly exciting despite the difficulties that we constantly faced.

It was the time of the release of the TG4, and it was also the time of Crocodile Dundee. That movie didn’t portray Australia as a technologically advanced nation but we had the technology of our machines there to sell that story. However, what the movie did was break the ice with potential new customers and I lost track of the times that Paul Hogan’s Crocodile Dundee character helped me in those early days!

We were so small that I remember us trying to do TG4 demonstrations in the back of the Laser Lab building before we could even get the machine to work. The ANCA technology was so far ahead of itself that even we had troubles operating it at first. I’d stall a customer in the meeting room by playing a VHS

launch into the US

ANCA Inc’s

russell riddifOrd President, ANCA Inc, USA Started at ANCA in 1988 – over 25 years ago

‘WE usED To BE A DoT IN ThE oCEAN BuT NoW WE’rE AN EsTABLIshED, ForMIDABLE CoMPETITor.’

Pat McCluskey, unknown, Jan Langfelder, Russell Riddiford and Bill Wallace with ANCA FASTGRIND van

Russell Riddiford

corporate video, ducking out as soon as it was on to go and see how Rick Monteith was going preparing for the demonstration. If he wasn’t ready I’d go back to the tape and play it again, stopping it at certain parts to discuss them in as much detail as I could muster. Eventually the client would say, ‘How about we see the machine now?’ and either it would be working or we’d have to confess the situation of our developing operation.

But once we got up and moving we sold nine machines in that first year. In the previous three K.O. Lee had only sold three. Every time we made a sale we’d crack open champagne and puff on big cigars. And no matter what time of day it was we’d call the Pats to let them know, partly to help them keep the creditors at bay and partly to let them share in the success.

We became confident that we had a future and that it was in our own hands. In 1990 we moved into our own premises in Novi that covered 25,000 square feet and set about preparing for sales of the new TG7, which was a big success. We selected a central city, like Michigan, so that we could be close the market. We set a 500-mile radius that we wouldn’t sell outside of so that we could control servicing costs and create a strong reputation in a limited area before we cast our net wider.

About a year later we doubled our capacity by also leasing the factory next door and expanded our reach to 1000 miles. It was an exciting time and it was rewarding to be involved in a key period of the company’s growth. At the time there couldn’t have been more than forty or fifty staff across the entire ANCA business, so we were all in it together and it was very satisfying.

Perhaps the most difficult time for the established USA business was post September 11, 2001. The impact was immediate and it put us – along with the entire country – into some turmoil. Sales dropped, orders were cancelled and we had to let staff go. It was emotional. But we learnt from it and when the GFC hit hard in 2008, we were better prepared to cope with the difficulties as a result. We were more resilient and made longer-term decisions to retract the least amount possible so that when the economy bounced back – as we knew it would – we’d be ready for it. Staff went to reduced hours rather than be retrenched, we slowed operations rather than cancelled them altogether, and we waited patiently for the inevitable upswing.

These days, there are around eight hundred people across the wider ANCA group and there are forty-four working with me in the Americas, which now includes Mexico and Brazil. There was only that many in the whole of ANCA when I started!

We have a much more diverse product range now, so that helps with sales figures. An example of diversification is that the business bought a small finance company called ACEL Lease in 2008, which is used by customers to finance machine purchases.

We used to be a dot in the ocean but now we’re an established, formidable competitor. We’ve learnt from our experiences and have developed a sound business structure and foundation that allows us to make strategic commercial decisions, improve quality and efficiencies and continue to innovate. ANCA’s a big place now and we’ve had to evolve past the ‘she’ll be right’ attitude of yesterday, but the enthusiasm is still there and the future looks very bright.

Russell Riddiford (centre) with the TG4 at a customer’s factory

Russell Riddiford (on left) on EMO stand


Approximately half an hour away from ANCA Inc (Wixom, Michigan), is a city that needs no introduction – Detroit. A city which was once the automotive capital of the world and is the birth place of Motown and techno. It is based on the East coast of the USA and is the biggest city in the State of Michigan. With a broad range of activities, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Being the birthplace of Ford, you can’t leave Detroit without learning about the history behind the car. The best place to do this is at The Henry Ford where you can do the Ford Rouge Factory Tour. Not only will you find out the history behind Ford, you can also watch cars being assembled.

If you find yourself in downtown Detroit take note of the beautiful architecture. Detroit has one of the largest surviving collections of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century buildings. Stroll down to Hart Plaza, along Detroit River, where you’ll find plenty to do and see.

Detroit has a rich, diverse culture, with ethnic hubs such as Greektown and Mexicantown. In Greektown you’ll find well known restaurants such as The Laikon Café and Cyprus Taverna, as well as entertainment complexes like the Greektown Casino. Mexicantown is home to another one of Detroit’s most vibrant communities, where you can grab the best tacos in town from one of the many taco carts.

The best time to visit Detroit is summer, although some people may find July quite warm as it is 29˚C on average. Therefore, some prefer June

to August when the weather is, on average, 25˚C. With hot summers, Detroit faces just as cold winters, on a December day temperatures average around 0˚C.

PLACES & THINGS TO SEE

Belle Isle park - Cross over the MacArthur Bridge and visit a 982 acre Island Park between United States and Canada. Belle Isle has many attractions such as an Aquarium and a 13 acre botanical garden.

Hart plaza - Sometimes referred to as the heart of Detroit, hosting live music events and various ethnic festivals during summer, Hart Plaza is definitely a ‘must-do’.

HeIdelBerg project - Started in 1986 on the city’s East Side McDougall-Hunt neighbourhood, the Heidelberg project revolves around art, community, and restoration. The open air art environment has transformed decrepit old houses, junk, old cars & trash into works of art.

MasonIc teMple - The largest masonic temple in the world is located in Detroit, designed in neo-gothic architectural style this is a building not to miss (pictured above right).

renaIssance centre - A group of seven interconnected skyscrapers in downtown Detroit that are General Motors headquarters. If you have the time head up to Coach Insignia, a steakhouse on the 72nd floor.

THINGS YOU CAN DO

Motown MuseuM - Visit the record label headquarters that signed super stars Diana Ross & The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Temptations, Stevie Wonder and many more.

edsel & eleanor Ford House - This Mansion became the new residence of the Edsel and Eleanor family in 1929. Edsel Ford was the son of Henry Ford and an executive at the Ford Motor Company. Their impressive home reflects their passion for art and quality design. A must see attraction!

tHe Henry Ford - Visit the Henry Ford Museum to see historical objects that Henry Ford collected as far back as 1906. The collection includes antique machinery, pop culture items, automobiles and more. Greenfield Village, which shares the same complex as the Museum gives a fresh insight into the American way of life from that time period. The Ford Rouge Factory tour is also popular and allows you to see the Ford production line in action.

casIno - With three large casinos in Detroit, you are never too far from a slot machine. MGM Grand Detroit is the biggest out of the three.

DAY TRIPS THAT ARE

WORTH MAKING

cIty oF grand rapIds - The second largest city in Michigan, on the Grand River. In this

city to the west you can visit everything from craft breweries to the magnificent clear water beaches. It is only a two hour drive from Detroit.

BInder park zoo - Only two hours away from Detroit, get face to face with an American black bear, cheetahs, monkeys and lots of other exotic animals from Africa and other parts of the world.

soutH Haven - Another one of Michigan’s featured beach towns with a rich heritage. In this eastern shore town you will find great dining and unique shopping experiences, with beautiful views and breathtaking sunsets.

canada - Windsor in Canada is only a 10 minute drive from Detroit CBD. Even Toronto is only three and a half hours away, possible if planned in advance.

aIr zoo - Aviation museum and amusement park, the Air Zoo has many of the world’s rarest and oldest aircrafts, most of which are still airworthy! Definitely worth the two hour drive.

FrankenMutH (lIttle BavarIa) - Michigan’s own little Bavaria, enjoy scenic views of the Cass River while being taken back in time to a place with horse drawn carriages and decorated streets. Enjoy the Bavarian Hospitality of this quaint town.

MIcHIgan’s adventure aMuseMent park - The largest theme park in Michigan. With over 7 roller coasters and an outdoor water park it is popular in summer with locals and tourists.

tHe HOme Of ANcA iNc – tHiNGs tO see & dOrOB fOreGArd

DID YOU KNOW

• Detroit was the first city to pave a road

• Detroit supplied 75% of liquor during the American Prohibition period

• Detroit was the first city to broadcast news over a radio

• Detroit is the birthplace of techno & Motown

• Detroit is home to the world’s only floating post office

Belle Isle ParkGeneral Motors HQ


“Having first researched the suitability of the available grinders several years ago, we bought our first ANCA grinder. Impressed by the ease of use and both the volume and the quality of the machine’s output, to help satisfy the increasing demand for our products, we soon invested in a second ANCA grinder.

“Prompted by ever rising demand for our hip, knee and extremity implant solutions, a decision was recently made to buy another grinder and bring previously subcontracted grinding work in-house. Mindful of the technical advancements that have been made in the field of grinding since we last tested the market, despite our excellent experience with our existing ANCA machines, we reflected on the merits of several alternative machines.

“Although a couple of the grinders that we considered had many of the qualities that we were looking for, the TX7+ from ANCA represented the most complete standard package. In addition, ANCA’s range of orthopaedic specific accessories and ANCAM NX specialised orthopaedic software allowed us to specify a machine that exactly matched our needs.

“Given our operators’ knowledge of the ANCA system, the reliability and performance of our existing machines and the excellent service we have had from ANCA UK, it was pleasing to know that ANCA had made such technical progress since our last purchase.”

Corin Medical’s chosen machine, the TX7+, is ANCA’s premium machine. It has the flexibility to accommodate a wide range of medical components, including a wide variety of implants and instruments. Corin Medical’s TX7+ utilises some of the wide range of accessories such as the travelling steady (P-axis) for superior tool support.

The grinding of medical grade alloys presents various challenges for meeting dimensional and surface finish requirements on the finished part. The flexibility built into ANCA software, combined with a wide range of tooling options, ensures solutions to tough challenges such as these.

Of importance to Corin Medical was that ANCA software is complemented by ANCAM NX, the flexible solution for orthopaedic grinding. ANCAM NX provides the ability to convert CAD models into ANCA grinding cycles from the Siemens PLM NX environment. This allows grinding of complex orthopaedic implants and associated instruments such as knee implants and bone rasps.

Andy Edwards continued, “Our new TX7+ was recently installed, following a short training period. Our multiple operators have enjoyed a very short learning curve. This was due largely to the machine’s easy to use software and intuitive controls. Our new ANCA grinder is now delivering the promised output volumes across our 3-shift operation and consistently producing the highest standards of work.”

Since Corin Medical’s foundation in 1985, the past three decades have seen the pioneering company develop into an acknowledged global leader in the field of orthopaedic innovation. The introduction of a range of landmark Corin developments has helped to improve the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of patients around the world.

The nature of the products made by orthopaedic implant and medical device manufacturers necessitates the use of the most technologically advanced machining and finishing systems. The impressive range of cutting-edge CNC machine tools and related equipment operated by Corin Medical Ltd illustrates the quality of the technology required to manufacture such demanding products.

Coordinated from Corin Medical’s HQ in Cirencester in South-West England, a worldwide network of research associations and continued investment in new technologies and product development ensures that the company remains at the forefront of innovation. Corin continues to broaden its innovative product offering which today includes a comprehensive portfolio of hip, knee and extremity implant solutions.

Andy Edwards, Corin Medical, Group Manufacturing Director explained, “With an increasingly active and demanding patient population, the need to provide state-of-the-art conservative treatment pathways, in addition to more traditional interventions, has never been more important. Through continued product development, in addition to investment in design, production and quality control technologies, Corin remains firmly committed to responsible Innovation. “State-of-the-art test methodologies are used to

develop and verify all new technologies, to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of all our prostheses. Ground-breaking computer simulation technologies use clinical data to predict the lifecycle of prostheses. Extensive mechanical simulation, which is designed to replicate patient behaviour, is used to help ensure that product performance is optimised over the life of the implant.

“Research into new materials allows us to offer world first technologies for the next decade, through developing products based on the very best in implant technology, designed to enhance longevity and performance. To ensure that our research and development translates into the efficient production of the finest possible products, we constantly invest in the best available machine tools.

Hip

ANCA TX7+ being used at Corin Medical

Corin Medical discusses how they produce their world leading orthopaedic range with mike welsh

‘With an increasingly active and demanding patient population, the need to provide state-of-the-art conservative treatment pathways, in addition to more traditional interventions, has never been more important.’

Unity Knee™


ElEvatE your grinding pErformancE

As every grinding process is unique it makes sense to contact the grinding oil supplier and discuss the requirements with respect to the grinding oil.

the range

In order to meet today’s requirements oelheld GmbH offers a wide range of products in the SintoGrind family – the right grinding fluid for each application.

SintoGrind TTK. Viscosity of 5.5 mm²/s The grinding fluid for tungsten carbide with best possible temperature control.

SintoGrind HSS. Viscosity of 10.0 mm²/s Designed for grinding HSS and all other steel materials.

SintoGrind TTS. Viscosity of 7.1 mm²/s Designed for a mix of tungsten carbide and HSS grinding.

SintoGrind 353. Viscosity of 8.4 mm²/s Grinding and honing fluid for precision gears. Best possible protection against surface burning.

SintoGrind IN. Viscosity of 7.4 mm²/s Special high speed grinding fluid for materials used in the Aerospace industry, like titanium alloys and nickel superalloys.

SintoGrind MP. Viscosity of 8.3 mm²/s Brand new grinding fluid for customers focusing on HSS and steel alloys, but also grinding tungsten carbide. Surface burning and discolouration on HSS and steel alloys is successfully avoided, while the performance on tungsten carbide is not sacrificed. This product is also suitable for grinding PCD, MCD, CBN, cermets, ceramics.

SintoGrind IG. Viscosity of 5.4 mm²/s This grinding fluid was designed for 2 tasks: Reducing cycle times and improving surface finish.

innovation leader For 125 years

Since 1887 oelheld GmbH from Germany has been developing high-end metal working fluids. The company has conducted a significant amount of Research and Development (R&D) on tool grinding fluids during that time.

20 years ago, when most tool and cutter grinders were using water soluble products, oelheld GmbH launched a revolutionary grinding fluid for the cutting tool industry – SintoGrind.

the idea

Replace water soluble products with pure oil, and replace pure oil (based on mineral oil or hydrocrack oil) with synthetic polyalphaolefines (PAO). This idea was unique and the benefits were significant:

• Safe for users

• Shorter cycle times and improved surface finish

• Extremely low foaming and excellent air release properties

• Lowest possible cobalt leaching

• Outstanding long life characteristics and very low refill quantities

the team

Since then oelheld engineers and technicians in the R&D department have proven themselves worldwide. Particularly with regards to the improvement of grinding fluid performance. They use the latest base oil and additive technologies to meet today’s cutting tool industry demand for shorter cycle times, increased surface finish and tool life.

The many years of R&D show the importance of additives in the grinding fluids, as they play a key role. Their effect in terms of cutting speed, heat development, lifetime of the grinding wheels, filterability, surface finish and, very importantly, cobalt leaching is enormous.

Air release propertyEvaporation loss to Noack (DIN 51 581) at 250°C. Basic fluids of equal kinematic viscosity.

Mineral Oil Hydrosack Polyalphaolefines


High-performance grinding fluids by oelheld:

Synthetic intelligence in perfection!We offer reformulated solutions for your machining process.

oelheld GmbH Ulmer Strasse 135 -139

70188 Stuttgartphone: +49 711 168 63-0

fax: +49 711 168 [email protected]

Human Technologyfor man, environment and machines

oelheld U.S., Inc. 1760 Britannia Drive, Unit 1 Elgin (IL) 60124phone: +1 847 531 8501 fax: +1 847 531 [email protected]

Storr-oelheld (Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd.Room 1909, H!Time International Tower

No.888, Sichuan Road(N)Hongkou District, Shanghai, 200088

phone: +86 21 365 217 51fax: +86 21 365 217 53 [email protected]

5S is a simple but powerful approach to organising your workspace to ensure it is efficient, safe and productive. It is a 5 step process, each step

starting with the letter ‘S’ which is where the name comes from. 5S was developed in Japan and was originally based on Japanese words which have been translated to English 5S equivalents. The original words were Seiri (sort), Seiton (straighten, or set in order), Seiso (clean or shine), Seiketsu (standardise) and Shitsuke (sustain). The ANCA Group has adopted this key component of establishing a Visual Workplace and as the first step towards building a lean enterprise. A brief summary of the 5S methodology, in the order that it needs to be implemented, is given here.

1S SORTSeparating what you need from what you don’t need. Disposing of junk and ‘red tagging’ items not required but that might be useful to others.

2S STRaighTen

Organising the items you do need (identified in step 1) so that it becomes easy to get to and return back to its place – ‘A place for everything and everything in place’.

3S Shine Cleaning, inspecting and fixing, as required.

4S STanDaRDiSe

Defining procedures, checklists, organisation systems (colours / lines / labels etc.) to support 5S.

5S SUSTain Maintaining 5S through audits, recognition, training and reinforcement.

5 steps to improved productivity

A display in the ANCA factory with 5S action items, results & rosters

An example of tools stored in a visual 5S system

ANCA is starting to see a number of benefits from implementing 5S. These include – cleaner and safer work areas, less searching for items, less wasted motion, less space and an overall increase in worker pride and morale. The workplace is also starting to become more ‘visual’, where things that are out of place are now very obvious!

Anyone can do a clean-up and most people feel good after doing one. Unfortunately too often this becomes a one-off exercise. What makes the 5S approach different from other housekeeping programs is the last 2 Ss – ‘Standardise’ and ‘Sustain’ through continual auditing, training and reinforcing the change in behaviour required. It is these last 2 Ss that ANCA is currently working on.

ANCA previously went through a group-wide training and clean-up program. After time went on, certain areas started to fall back to previous habits. Cross-audits are currently being established in all work areas, to ensure all departments are fully supported and motivated to ‘sustain’ 5S.

The payoff is tremendous for any company doing 5S the right way. The rigour & discipline involved in sustaining 5S, helps develop a ‘continuous improvement’ (Kaizen) mindset that becomes the perfect launch pad for implementing more demanding lean manufacturing processes in a company.

Hansel Serrao

5s is a simple but powerful approach to organising your workspace to ensure it is efficient, safe and productive


Robot double actHow double robot automation in the TXcell helped a company remain competitive TXcell tool grinder

and robot cell

Manufacturing markets have experienced dramatic changes in the last ten years. One of the most significant changes, experienced by many, is the shifting of the mass production of commodity items from established industrial markets, to emerging markets. Reduced labour costs are a key consideration for this move. So where does that leave manufacturers in those established industrial markets? For an increasing number of ANCA customers, one part of the solution lies in taking steps to optimise efficiencies in their production processes.

Consistency in processes, speed of cycle times, reliability in capital equipment, incorporation of multiple processes into one set-up and the capacity to run across shifts

with unmanned production. These are all areas where manufacturers are seeking constant improvements to remain competitive against low cost labour markets.

Four years ago ANCA released the TXcell tool grinder. Based on the highly successful TX7+ grinding machine platform, the TXcell uses a robot to change wheel packs and the tool itself. Use of a robot in this system also means other secondary processes could be included in the TXcell. ANCA has successfully integrated a variety of secondary systems into the TXcell to meet customer specific requirements. These include the presentation of parts for laser etching, feature recognition cameras or external grinding spindles.

In response to the specific needs of one customer in particular, ANCA has taken the TXcell capabilities to a new level. The addition of a smaller, secondary robot enabled the TXcell to automatically load parts into a fixture (developed by ANCA), before the large robot loaded the fixture itself into the grinding machine. This eliminated what has until now been a manual operation requiring an additional person.

Another enhancement made for this customer was the addition of a 75,000RPM spindle to the TX7 grinding machine. So while the main spindle was used for heavy grinding operations, the secondary spindle allowed the inclusion of special operations requiring a grinding wheel of just 10mm diameter. Were it not for this, these operations would have been conducted in a separate grinding set-up, requiring further capital equipment and factory infrastructure.

The other key development delivered to this customer was a high torque work headstock.

Given the tool diameter and high grinding forces involved, headstock torque was identified as a key challenge in the project. Working within the existing physical constraints of the machine, ANCA’s Electrical Engineering team developed a specialised headstock motor that doubled the torque available in the headstock. This ensured grinding feed-rates and cycle times could be met.

TXcell Product Manager, Duncan Thompson, comments, “ANCA has always had a ‘can do’ attitude when it comes to working with customers on special projects. The TXcell, with its built-in capacity for flexibility and expandability, allows our customers to achieve process improvements and cost savings that keep them competitive in the dynamic world of manufacturing.”

The addition of a smaller, secondary robot enabled the TXcell to automatically load parts into a fixture, before the large robot loaded the fixture itself into the grinding machine

Special additional 75,000 RPM spindle shown on right


I came into contact with ANCA in the early 1980s when I was working for James Machinery and went to sell ANCA a Magnascale measuring device. Not long after that Pat McCluskey and I got talking. The technical stuff he was talking about was fascinating and I said I’d love to see what he’d been working on. We met up at his house in Footscray, which was full of electronics. You could see that he was passionate and talented – he always said, ‘if we can control two axes, we can control the world,’ and to his credit he wasn’t far off! I couldn’t say that I knew he’d end up owning an industry-leading, global organisation, but the success of ANCA doesn’t surprise me.

I’d always wanted to work for someone who manufactured and created rather than just re-sold other people’s equipment and technology, so when Pat asked me if I wanted to join them in 1983, I did. They’d just moved from the back office of Zenford Ziegler into the Bell Street factory. There were seven or eight guys and it was very exciting – in fact it always has been because technically it’s always been enormously challenging and that comes from the Pats. Their focus was very obvious

and their skills complemented each other perfectly. Pat Boland was incredible with the theory and software and always said, ‘yes, we can do it,’ whenever there was a problem. Pat McCluskey had a sixth sense for machines and electronics and was also very practical.

By 1985 we’d increased our applications for using CNC, so we wondered what to do next. People were buying our control for $25,000, adding it to their $40,000 worth of hardware, then selling the combined lot for $400,000. There were difficulties with the Laser Lab arrangement and finally one day, Pat Boland had had enough. He said, ‘This is ridiculous – we’re doing everything for them including the service – let’s get our own machines!’ and so the next stage of the business was born. I obtained an old machine from Taiwan that was control-ready and we fitted it ourselves. We bought the old machines at a reasonable price, fitted on a control, and then with the two together sold them for much higher profit than just supplying the control. It was the start of the retrofitting business and it meant we could do everything – controls, software, fitting and machines. It also meant customers didn’t have to throw out their old, under-performing machines because we could upgrade them.

After that we grew to twenty-five or thirty people, but it didn’t matter if there were four, forty or four hundred, the Pats never lost their focus and never lost the creation of new ideas. They just dragged everyone along with them for the ride!

The mid-eighties were also when the FASTGRIND was launched and that made a big difference. Then I remember in January 1987 we sat around, figuring out a way to automatically measure tools as you go,

Our success is because of our innovations

‘I’D ALWAys WANTED To Work For soMEoNE Who MANuFACTurED AND CrEATED rAThEr ThAN jusT rE-soLD oThEr PEoPLE’s EquIPMENT AND TEChNoLogy’

cHAi cHAitrA Project Manager With ANCA since 1983 – Over 31 years

Chai Chaitra

which was revolutionary and what the market wanted. By April the same year we were demonstrating our solution at Westec Machine Tool Show in Los Angeles, USA. It took our main competitor Walter almost three years to replicate it and we had done it from scratch in six months.

Around then was when we also began working and testing machines remotely via modem. It was basic compared to now, but I remember a customer in India had some problems, so with us here and their engineer there, we could ‘see’ and ‘operate’ without touching the machine. Over there they thought there were demons in our ANCA machines! But not everything turned golden. In 1987, we decided to make our own machining centre because no-one else was doing it here. Pat designed it on the back of a cigarette packet at 30,000 feet in a plane and it really was a beautiful machine. It was called the MMC800 and we sold six to eight of them, but we found that overseas competitors had adopted the concept and were able to sell them, so we canned it and decided to remain focused on what we’d been doing well here – and to keep making it better and better.

I believe that our success is because of our technical innovations and seventy per cent of that is because of the Pats – we were ten steps ahead all the time. And when you remember that we were thousands of kilometres away from the engineering and technical centre of central Europe and there was no internet, email, or faxes, and hardly any magazines in those days

so that you could keep up with what was happening in the industry. It makes the Pats’ innovations and advancements even more impressive. In the early days we could stay afloat because we were technically ahead, but now that we’re bigger, selling and managing is a much bigger focus.

The Pats can’t be as involved in absolutely everything anymore, but they still try hard to be! They are still exactly the same as when they started and they still lead everything.

Acceptance of ANCA first tool grinder by Bob’s Tool and Cutter Grinding. From left, Chai, Ibrahim Dalgadin, Bob and his wife

In front of EG3 machine in 1993 - Tim Akinkugbe (far left), Mr S.H. Lee (long time ANCA dealer), Rick, customer, Chai in the centre with Joon Lee to the right of him, then customer and Bill Wallace to the right


My association with ANCA started way back in 1975 with some work experience while I was still at school. My Dad used to be the Pats’ boss at the Ammunition factory and I guess that’s how I ended up getting some experience with them in the very early days of their business. Mind you, the experience was limited to drilling holes in bits of metal plate, so I’m not sure why I came back to it!

Dad used to tell me how Pat McCluskey once took a battery from a plane, or somewhere, and hooked it up to his Mini to make an electric car he could drive to work. How he’d wear odd socks, or decide to get to work on a given day by only taking left turns just to see if he could do it. I think everyone that comes into contact with both the Pats are intrigued by them – they aren’t run of the mill people!

When I finished school I became ANCA’s first electrical apprentice. It was more of a cadetship really and I combined the work with two days of study. By then we’d moved to Bell Street and I remember how worn out it looked and how the floors needed repainting because there was oil everywhere. My job was extremely important – cleaning the toilets, getting the lunches and cleaning the two Pats’ cars. Pat McCluskey had a silver Toyota T18 and Pat Boland had a brown Corolla, and cleaning them was easily the worst part of my job. It would take half a day to do McCluskey’s – there’d be McDonalds wrappers, bits of electronic equipment and all sorts of things.

They were fun times though. We’d play table tennis or cards at lunchtime and the staff would go on ski trips and 4WD trips together. We even had an indoor cricket team with ANCA uniforms. There were also practical jokes, like wiring up capacitors under tables to scare people, or dropping massive pieces of sheet metal behind someone to make them jump.

From cleaning cars to Manager

‘I sTILL gET A Buzz WhEN I TAkE PEoPLE ArouND ThE FACTorIEs AND shoW ThEM WhAT WE Do. IT rEMINDs ME ThAT WhILE MANy ThINgs hAvE ChANgED ovEr ALMosT Four DECADEs, WE’rE sTILL A CoMPANy ThAT hAs ThAT ‘WoW!’ FACTor.’

deAN mcBAiN Systems Engineering Manager Started at ANCA in 1983 – over 31 years ago

While we were at Bell Street, we had up to forty people on staff after a few years because we were doing retrofits and had started building our own machines. We even had proper cleaners, which meant I could be 100 per cent involved in the projects, so that was good news! Back then the focus was on electrical, rather than mechanical, but these days it’s swung around totally.

There were times while ANCA was growing when we’d have Government officials coming to visit about grants we’d applied for, or banks would visit to see how we were going, and we had a whole routine worked out.

Five minutes after the guests arrived the reception would page someone, ‘International call for…’ to pretend we were a global business. The production guys would put on white coats and crowd around in the testing area while the guests were being shown around, then bolt back out into the factory area to make it look busy out there as well. It was hard not to laugh as we were doing it!

Moving to Bayswater was exciting, but it didn’t change the Pats much. Pat Boland became renowned for just nodding off at random times. He’d do it in a meeting until someone prodded him, or McCluskey said, ‘For Christ’s sake, wake up!’ But he’d immediately wake up and ask a question relevant to what we were talking about. It was both unnerving and impressive!

Boland was always coming up with new things – there were times where we’d all sit around trying to overcome some seemingly impossible issue, but we got there in the end. In fact, I think the Pats love that part of the process and that ability has always been a big strength of ANCA - the Pats’ attitude rubs off. These days I don’t get stressed about problems because I know we’ll work through them and get there in the end. And get there quickly, too. I’m constantly surprised about how quickly we can turn around the creation of new machines – often in as little as twelve months which is unusual for the industry.

I was in the USA office from 1993 to 1995, which was run out of the Laser Lab offices at first. It was cramped but it did have a great donut place around the corner. Then we moved to Farmington Hills which was much bigger. There were eight or nine of us and we’d pretty much go to the office with our toothbrushes and our bags and ask where we’d be off to that week. It was fun for a while, but after two years I’d burnt out.

The Pats were never great at processes and procedures, but as we’ve grown they’ve assigned those jobs to others. We now have professionals who look after those areas and a significant number of procedures and checks are in place. The Pats would just jump through all the hoops they needed to get 90 per cent towards the solution then leave the final 10 per cent to us to figure out. We’d always rush to get a prototype complete for a show, it would be well received, and before we knew it customers would already want to buy them. But they couldn’t have been so innovative and couldn’t have built the company up so quickly doing it any other way.

We’ve grown so much, the family atmosphere doesn’t exist like it used to. There are teams within each section, but overall it’s not the same. But there still aren’t too many places around that do what we do and because of the size of our company people can travel and experience things they otherwise wouldn’t. It has always surprised me how capable and how diverse ANCA is. There has always been this attitude that we have the ability to achieve anything that we put our mind to, a real positive thinking way of operating. I still get a buzz when I take people around the factories and show them what we do. It reminds me that while many things have changed over four decades, we’re still a company that has that ‘wow!’ factor.

Dean with Jeff Foregard at EMO exhibition in Germany

Dean using TXcell robot pendant


ANCA GlobalSpecifications for new FX Linear & MX Linear ranges

AsiA pAcific

ANCA Pty Ltd Melbourne Australia +61 3 9751 8200ANCA Machine Tool (Shanghai) Co. Ltd Shanghai China +86 21 5868 2940ANCA India Bangalore India +91 80 4219 8107ANCA Japan Nagoya Japan +81 561 53 8543ANCA Thailand Ltd Rayong Thailand +66 3 895 9252ANCA Motion Taichung Taiwan +886 4 2359 0082Sahamit Machinery Bangkok Thailand +66 2 295 1000CKB Hamamatsu Japan +81 53 459 2239 Hiroshima Japan +81 82 227 3211 Nagoya Japan +81 52 776 4832 North Kanto Japan +81 50 8881 7820 Osaka Japan +81 6 6442 3270 Tokyo Japan +81 3 3498 2131SH International Seoul South Korea +82 3 1777 3130

eurOpe

ANCA GmbH Weinheim Germany +49 620 184 6690Riccardo Marchesi – ANCA Torino Italy +39 33 55285881ANCA (UK) Ltd Coventry United Kingdom +44 24 7644 7000Karel Redig – ANCA Edegem Belgium +32 3448 4165Christophe Chaumet – ANCA Meximieux France +33 675 186 395Slawek Antoszczyk – ANCA Wielkie Drogi Poland +48 668 150 552Springmann Austria GmbH Feldkirch Austria +43 5522 70960ALBA Precision sro Brno Czech Republic +420 548 214 098Tek Team Ltd Yehud Israel +972 3 632 3576Ravema AS Oslo Norway +47 66 85 90 10MAVIS VS Impex srl Bucaresti Romania +40 311 046 636ZAO Rosmark Steel St Petersburg Russia +7 812 336 2727ALBA Precision sro Banska Bystrica Slovakia +421 48 414 8627Cohersa Industrias SA Barcelona Spain +34 937 724 298Ravema AB Varnamo Sweden +46 370 488 00Springmann SA/AG Neuchatel Switzerland +41 32 791 1122 Niederburen Switzerland +41 71 424 2600CNC İleri Teknoloji ve Tic. Ltd. Şti Istanbul Turkey +90 212 786 6200BATEX Ltd Kiev Ukraine +380 44 583 5382

NOrtH AmericA

ANCA Inc. Wixom, MI USA +1 248 926 4466Focus Technology Charlotte, NC USA +1 704 799 6820Grinding Solutions San Pedro Garza Mexico +81 1776 5851Innovative Machine Solutions Inc. Watertown, WI USA +1 414 333 1343Machine Tool Marketing Inc. Bixby, OK USA +1 918 369 7065Machines & Methods Inc. Bellevue, WA USA +1 425 746 1656 Beaverton, OR USA +1 503 617 1992Magnum Precision Machines Phoenix, AZ USA +1 602 431 8300 Albuquerque, NM USA +1 505 345 8389Metalworking Technologies Limited Arlington Heights, IL USA +1 847 818 5800Modern Tools Inc. Stoneham, MA USA +1 781 438 3211North South Machinery Brea, CA USA +1 562 690 7616Productivity Inc. Minneapolis, MN USA +1 763 476 8600 Cedar Rapids, IA USA +1 319 632 4288 Omaha, NE USA +1 402 330 2323Smith Industrial Machine Sales Rochester, NY USA +1 585 738 8323Smith Machinery Salt Lake City, UT USA +1 801 263 6403SMS Machine Tools Rexdale, Ontario Canada +1 416 675 7300Southtec System, Inc. Palm Coast, FL USA +1 386 864 0453

sOutH AmericA

ANCA do Brasil São Paulo Brazil +55 15 3221 5512

ANCA’s entry level machine for light manufacturing & sharpening.

ANCA’s economical CNC grinding machine. Same design as FX3 Linear with more options.

Same design as FX5 Linear but with more spindle power & more options.

ANCA’s most economical bi-symmetrical gantry based machine.

Same design as the MX5 Linear, but with more spindle power and 4 extra wheel packs.

Machine Structure Single Column Single Column Single Column Bi-Symmetrical Gantry Bi-Symmetrical Gantry

Spindle Power 9.5 kW (12.7 HP) peak 4.2 kW (5.6 HP) S1

9.5 kW (12.7 HP) peak 4.2 kW (5.6 HP) S1

19 kW (25.4 HP) peak 8.2 kW (11 HP) S1

26 kW (35 HP) peak14 kW (19 HP) S1

38 kW (51 HP) peak20 kW (27 HP) S1

Wheel Packs 1 x Ø 203 mm (8”) max 2 x Ø 203 mm (8”) max 2 x Ø 203 mm (8”) max with wheelchanger: 6 x Ø 203 mm (8") max

2 x Ø 203 mm (8”) max 3 x Ø 203 mm (8”) max or 6 Ø x 152 mm (6”) max

Tool (shank) Diameter Productive up to Ø 12 mm (1/2")

Productive up to Ø 12 mm (1/2")

Productive up to Ø 12 mm (1/2")

Productive up to Ø 16 mm (5/8”)

Productive up to Ø 25 mm (1”)

Tool Length (Max)* * flute length - may vary depending on tooling

200 mm (8") 200 mm (8") 200 mm (8") 300 mm (12”) 300 mm (12”)

Loader Type n/a FastLoad-FX (option) FastLoad-FX (option) Robot (option) loads tools & wheels

FastLoad-MX (option)RoboMate (option)

FastLoad-MX (option)RoboMate (option)

Max. Tool Capacity(with loader)

n/a FastLoad-FX: 153 x Ø 3 mm 36 x Ø 12 mm

FastLoad-FX: 153 x Ø 3 mm 36 x Ø 12 mmRobot: 840 x Ø 3 mm 520 x Ø 6 mm 221 x Ø 12 mm

FastLoad-MX:245 x Ø 3 mm156 x Ø 6 mm42 x Ø 16 mmRoboMate:2520 x Ø 3mm1560 x Ø 6 mm462 x Ø 16 mm189 x Ø 25 mm

FastLoad-MX:245 x Ø 3 mm156 x Ø 6 mm42 x Ø 16 mmRoboMate:2520 x Ø 3mm1560 x Ø 6 mm462 x Ø 16 mm189 x Ø 25 mm

Spindle Type Single Ended Induction Single Ended Induction Single Ended Induction Single Ended Permanent Magnet

Single Ended Permanent Magnet

Drive System Linear Motor Linear Motor Linear Motor Linear Motor Linear Motor

Linear Scales Standard on X & Y-axes, optional on the Z-axis

Standard on X & Y-axes, optional on the Z-axis

Standard on X, Y & Z-axes Standard Standard

Touch Screen Yes (Full Touchscreen) Yes (Full Touchscreen) Yes (Full Touchscreen) Yes Yes

Tool Load Time n/a 20 sec FastLoad-FX 20 secRobot 12 sec

FastLoad-MX 24 secRoboMate 15 sec

FastLoad-MX 24 secRoboMate 15 sec

Travelling Steady (P-axis)

n/a n/a n/a No Option

MicroPlus n/a Option Option Option Option

Overhead Top Clamp n/a Option Option Option Option

Pop-up Steady n/a Option Option Option Option

Auto-Stick 1 Stick (option) 1 Stick (option) 1 Stick (option) 1 to 4 Sticks (option) 1 to 4 Sticks (option)

Touch Probe Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

LaserPlus n/a Option Option Option Option

Automatic Wheel Probe n/a Option Option Option Option

iView (semi-automatic tool inspection)

Option Option Option Option Option

iBalance Option Option Option Option Option

Dimensions 1930 mm (76”) W 1800 mm (70”) D 1810 mm (71”) H

1930 mm (76”) W 1800 mm (70”) D 1810 mm (71”) H

1930 mm (80”) W 1800 mm (70”) D 1810 mm (71”) H

2269 mm (89”)W1446 mm (57”)D2015 mm (79”)H*with RoboMate 2379 mm (94”)W*2168 mm (85”)D*

2269 mm (89”)W1446 mm (57”)D2015 mm (79”)H*with RoboMate 2379 mm (94”)W*2168 mm (85”)D*

49ANCA | Issue 11. 2014

www.anca.com [email protected]

enhanced accuracy • upgraded Technology

3 models – FX3 Linear / FX5 Linear / FX7 Linear

Linear motors – Unique cylindrical design rated to IP67. Doesn’t use separate cooler, so uses less power and floor space.

AM5000 system – Latest technology with faster processing

Full Touchscreen monitor – Customisable with Windows 8

In-machine automation – Uses less floor space (robot or FastLoad)

Remote pendant – Handheld for easy operator access & set-up

The tool grinder you’ve been waiting for

It’s here!

ANCA_SharpEdge_Issue11_2014.pdf - ANCA - CNC Machines

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