Since 2004, Bourn & Koch has been the foremost authority on Blanchard vertical rotary surface grinders, building new machines, providing expert parts and service for existing machines, and remanufacturing and rebuilding machines to new condition. Bourn & Koch also owns and services Mattison, a manufacturer of both horizontal reciprocating surface grinders and vertical rotary surface grinders. An integral part of any grinder using a magnetic chuck is the chuck controller, a device for energizing and de-energizing the magnetic chuck. Over time, this controller fails and requires replacement. It is also needed for any new Blanchard grinder and is typically replaced on all remanufactured and rebuilt Blanchard grinders.
For years, the industry gold-standard for magnetic chuck controllers was Magna-Flux. They were renowned for building the best controller available. Magna-Flux was Bourn & Koch’s trusted supplier for years. Many other companies held Magna-Flux in high regard for the quality of their chuck controllers. When Magna-Flux decided to no longer build new controllers, Bourn & Koch knew it was the right time to start developing their own magnetic chuck controller.
Technology hasn’t changed much in the world of chuck controllers. The majority of the other available controllers on the market are based on technology that has been around since the 1970s. When Bourn & Koch decided to develop their own chuck controller, they knew it had to be something forward looking, using today’s technology to provide their customers with a sound solution that improved upon the design.
Peter Mischler, Bourn & Koch’s engineering manager, is fond of acronyms. Besides being a machine tool guru, he’s great at coming up with acronyms and names for Bourn & Koch’s new products. His name for the new magnetic chuck controller is MagIC, short for Magnetic Integrated Chuck Controller. MagIC features a modern touch screen design with both local and remote-control modes and internal sensing for diagnostics, all forward looking features for tomorrow’s manufacturing workforce. Improvements on the design include the ability to use residual power levels for magnetic holding power, programmable demagnetization cycles, and a smart demag feature that will demagnetize the chuck in under one second. Fast demagnetization is key for production environments and reduces the “swarf to swarf” time in grinding.
Another key feature in MagIC is the use of optimal voltage for magnetization. Inherently, magnetization of an electromagnetic chuck generates heat. This can cause the chuck face to warp over time, causing issues with flatness and parallelism, requiring that the chuck be dressed, reducing the overall life of the chuck. With the use of optimal voltage, the heat generated is lower, reducing the warping that is caused by traditional chuck controllers.
MagIC is capable of being integrated on both new and legacy grinding machines, allowing you to keep running your Blanchard or Mattison for years to come. The interface can also be connected to the internet allowing for remote diagnostics and software updates as further advances are made.
To learn more about replacing your existing magnetic chuck controller with MagIC on your Blanchard or Mattison, contact Bourn & Koch today at 815-965-4013 or email [email protected]. To learn more about how this technology improves our new and remanufactured Blanchard grinders, email [email protected].