General information on the dressing cycles

Fundamentals

 
Machine

Refer to your machine manual.

For dressing operations, the machine must be prepared accordingly by the machine manufacturer. The machine manufacturer may provide his own cycles.

The term "dressing" refers to the sharpening or trueing up of a grinding tool inside the machine. During dressing, the dresser machines the grinding wheel. Thus, in dressing, the grinding tool is the workpiece.

The dressing operation removes material from the grinding wheel and may cause wear of the dressing tool. The material removal and wear lead to changed tool data that need to be compensated for after dressing.

In dressing, the workpiece datum is located on an edge of the grinding wheel. Select the respective edge by using Cycle 1030 ACTIVATE WHEEL EDGE.

Identify dressing operations in your NC program with FUNCTION DRESS BEGIN / END. When you activate FUNCTION DRESS BEGIN, the grinding wheel is redefined as the workpiece and the dressing tool as the tool. This might result in the axes moving in the opposite direction. When you terminate the dressing mode with FUNCTION DRESS END, the grinding wheel is redefined as the tool.

Dressing

Structure of an NC program for dressing:

  • Activate milling mode
  • Call grinding wheel
  • Move the tool to be dressed to a position near the dressing tool
  • Activate dressing mode; select the kinematic model if necessary
  • Activate wheel edge
  • Call dressing tool; no mechanical tool change
  • Call the cycle for dressing the diameter
  • Deactivate dressing mode

0 BEGIN PGM GRIND MM

1 FUNCTION MODE MILL

2 TOOL CALL "GRIND_1" Z S20000

3 L X... Y... Z...

4 FUNCTION DRESS BEGIN

5 CYCL DEF 1030 ACTIVATE WHEEL EDGE

...

6 TOOL CALL "DRESS_1"

7 CYCL DEF 1010 DRESSING DIAMETER

...

8 FUNCTION DRESS END

9 END PGM GRIND MM

 
Tip
  • The control does not support mid-program startup while dressing is active. If you jump to the first NC block after dressing using mid-program startup, the control will move the tool to the last position approached during dressing.

Notes

  • If you interrupt a dressing infeed movement, the last infeed will not be considered. If applicable, the dressing tool executes the first infeed or part of it without removing material if the dressing cycle is called again.
  • Not all grinding tools require dressing. Comply with the information provided by your tool manufacturer.
  • Please note that the switchover to dressing mode might have been programmed into the cycle sequence already by the machine manufacturer.
  • Dressing