Schmitt Expands AEM Sensor Range
The Fluid AE sensor uses the existing oil or water-based grinding-machine coolant with a separate feed from the cutting stream directed at the component or dresser. The noise of the grinding wheel touching the component or diamond is then transmitted back up the coolant stream to the AE sensor and detected by the Schmitt electronics within one millisecond. User benefits include elimination of the grinding-gap time in the grind cycle, notification and prevention of machine-crash conditions, automatic quality monitoring of wheel dressing and machine positional control.
The AEMS system allows rapid and automatic grinding-wheel in-feed, right up to the point of initial contact with a new part loaded in the machine. The system can automatically detect the initial contact and quickly report this event to the machine control, stopping the wheel in-feed without operator intervention. This system has achieved typical cycle-time savings of up to 20 per cent. The AEMS system can standalone or be added to any SBS grinding-wheel balancer controller, providing two sensor-input sockets.
A four-channel SBS controller can give up to eight inputs from eight different AE sensors. Data can be downloaded via a 0 - 10V analogue output to a PC or external data-logger for QA purposes. Schmitt's acoustic sensors are easy to retro fit, resistant to grinding-machine coolants and grinding paste and give reaction speeds faster than traditional methods of spindle load or current monitoring.
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