The installation of a Walter Helicheck Advanced tool-measuring machine (www.walter-machines.com) has slashed the time it takes Unilap to ‘profile plot’ PCD profile tooling, spiral router cutters and tungsten-carbide-tipped serrated knives.

The new machine is cutting process times by up to 60% for the specialist manufacturer and regrinder of a range of tools used throughout the wood-working and metal-cutting industries — the latter including US aerospace companies involved with military applications.

Managing director Carl Hughes says that while the main use of the Helicheck Advanced is ensuring that reground tool profiles are exact and accurate replicas of — for example — the plotted helix angles, it is also used for inspecting grinding-wheel packs for the company’s two Walter Helitronic Power tool grinders.

“There are also plans to use the machine for more ‘conventional’ tool diameter and length inspection routines. However, it is for plotting the profiles on a range of serrated and profile knives, in particular, that the machine has transformed lead times for our production of accurately reground tools.

“Furthermore, the machine is allowing us to fully guarantee the accuracy of our work, backed up by computerised data.”

Established in 1974, Unilap uses a range of advanced production machines for the manufacture and servicing of a wide range of tooling; the company also maintains a comprehensive stock of new tools including saw blades, drills, knives and PCD tooling.

Much of the tooling that Unilap receives for regrinding is reverse-engineered, and it was the need to speed up this process that initiated the search for an improved method (although the previous method was digitised, it still entailed manually moving cross-hairs along each profile being inspected).

With X-, Y- and Z-axis capacities of 270, 455 and 325mm respectively, plus a 360deg A axis, the Helicheck Advanced uses three cameras: a back-light unit with 50-times magnification as standard (100-times as an option); a front-light unit with 100-times magnification; and a ‘face’ unit with 100-times magnification. The reproducible accuracy is 1.5µm.

Mr Hughes says: “With two multi-axis Walter Helitronic tool grinders — one with a Disc Loader for processing tooling in multiples — it made sense to invest in a brand that we already knew and — importantly — a machine that also provided a level of flexibility that it appears others couldn’t. The Helicheck Advanced scored on both counts.

“The machine has not only enabled us to speed up the process of reverse engineering but is also software-compatible with the Walter tool grinders, so we can easily and quickly inspect grinding-wheel run-out radii, as well as transfer data on tool diameter and lengths for tooling that is to be reground on the Walters.”