Clansman Dynamics Ltd.

Manipulators have been used in forges for many years and have proved an effective way of feeding furnaces, mills, hammers and presses. Operations in forges tend to be more restricted and require better planning and flexibility to provide complete integration. Because of the high value parts being handled in forges, break down and stoppages are costly, reliability is key to the design.

The flexibility of the Clansman G45 when coupled with a Clansman turntable allow castings to be ground on all surfaces.

The G45 utilises a 45Kw electric motor driving a grinding spindle through a multiple “V” belt drive.

The G45 needs to be enclosed in a grinding cell to protect the operators, but due to its compact size, the extraction for the cell can be kept to a minimum.

The G45 grinder is designed as a direct replacement for swing frame grinders. It has a grinding power of 45kW, and we estimate can complete the work of approximately 8 swing frame grinders. It has 4 axes of moment – vertical, horizontal, slew and roll.

The grinding head can tilt ±20°. This type of machine is only really suited for heavy duty grinding on flat surfaces – for example riser stubs.

The G45 grinder is fitted with a 500mm diameter grinding wheel, but is it is difficult to change this to a smaller size due to the size of the grinding head – it makes it very difficult to see a smaller stone.

 

The G30P grinding machine has a significantly more complex control system, which allows much more accurate and precise grinding to take place. It also has a smaller and more flexible grinding head which allows for more accurate grinding and allows the G30P grinder to reach more difficult areas of the casting.

It has a grinding power of 30kW, which makes it more suitable to smaller castings. It has 5 axes of movement – vertical, horizontal, slew and 2 axes of roll, allowing 360° movement if the grinding head. It can be fitted with a wide range of different grinding stones and cutting disks.

The G30P machine can also be fitted with a delta motion controller. The delta controller allows both pressure and position control, which allows the machine to follow a surface and provide consistent material removal over a selected area.

The delta controller also has a “teach and learn” facility where in theory the operator can define a set area and the machine will automatically grind away material in that boundary. The semi-automatic function of the delta controller makes the G30P significantly more versatile than the G45 machine.