GRC
In partnership with the well-known German Engineer Andreas Weidner, the team of PTZ Weidner and TMJ has developed a new concept in ring parting technology that is adaptable to a wide range of products and applications.
The Giant Ring Cutter (GRC) is a fully automated CNC controlled ring cutting device that automatically parts rings of a wide range of heights, outer diameters and wall thickness. The design is adaptable to almost any range of ring sizes from 500 mm to 8 meters or larger
Wall thicknesses of over 300 mm are precisely separated.
The unique clamping unit that also serves as the ring load/unload unit automatically aligns itself to the programmed cut thickness and clamps the ring during the cutting operation.
The clamp holds the ring even during the cut through holding it firmly (and safely) in place. The parted ring stays clamped until the cut is complete and then the unit automatically stacks it in a stacking area for lift truck pickup.
The CNC controlled saw head is a specially guided unit that holds the blade rigid and guides it in a precise manner through the entire cut. Parallelism of the cut is outstanding with .3 mm average accuracy. And, since the kerf is only 3 mm, it is possible to obtain a higher number of parted rings from a given blank.
Meaning more parts per mult. Due to the special blade design, high feed rates and short parting times are possible. For example:
The GRC can part a ring thickness of 7mm height by 900mm Outer diameter and 100 mm wall thickness, from a blank made of an extremely hard material like Duplex in as little as 30 minutes.
This is much faster than typical lathe parting or band sawing can achieve. In some cases, the GRC is more than twice as fast as conventional metods.
Because the blade is in contact with only a small portion of the ring for a very short time, it does not build up excess heat and requires only minimal lubrication. After cutting the blade is cool to the touch extending blade life more than 30% more than other parting. The saw blade produces small dry chips that are easily channeled to the integrated conveyor system.
The unique laser guided alignment automatically aligns the blade for each cut insuring CNC accuracy of every part and it is all done without operator intervention. Cut settings are preprogrammed via the color touch screen display.
Because all cutting applications are different, we welcome the opportunity to discuss with you how our new technology and benefit your bottom line. Simply contact us at GRC@girardusa.com or contact us by phone.
The results are impressive. With a smooth surface finish of about 1.6 Ra machining of the faces is frequently not necessary. This smooth surface finish is obtainable on many different materials from hard such at Inconel to soft materials such as copper. And, because the ring does not get hot during parting there is no distortion.
