OVERVIEW

Ford Motor Company’s Romeo Engine Plant wanted to upgrade their existing Sanyo and Yaskawa servo amplifiers and motors on several Toyoda camshaft and crankshaft grinders for the facility. Because of an existing relationship with the customer, Galco was asked to offer solutions for the facility. The customer was experiencing drive failures periodically and needed results to eliminate expensive downtime.The customer wanted drives that were more reliable and easy to replace.

SOLUTION

On the surface, Ford’s request was straightforward:  replace drives. Indramat was the drive the plant specified. Since Yaskawa was used in the original equipment at the customers location, and its durability proven, Yaskawa was highly considered in the selection process. Galco’s engineering group researched and cross-referenced existing equipment before selecting the best drives for the job. Once that was complete, Galco replaced the servo drive and motor for the Work Spindle, X-Axis feed, Taper Corrector and Wheel Dresser on the OP10 camshaft and OP70 crankshaft grinders. The CNC unit remained intact. Galco installed new Yaskawa motors that mechanically matched the existing wheel spindle and taper corrector motors. The X-Axis and Wheel Dresser motors needed adapters in order to mount them to the machine. After analyzing the system, Galco recommended installing the new drives on a sub-plate which enabled Galco to create the assembly at their facility. This reduced installation time which brought the customer up and running faster. Galco designed adapter plates for the X-Axis and Wheel Dresser motors as well as new gears for the Taper Corrector and X-Axis motors. The manufacture of these items was coordinated and sub-contracted by Galco. A field check was performed to determine the previous mechanical information on the equipment. Prior to the Retrofit, recording instruments were used to measure the speed and torque during the machines operation. This data was later used during start-up of the new servos. Parts for the Taper Corrector were created emanating from the motor shaft to the gear train and another gear for the x-axis motor to accommodate adapter plate spacing. A field check was performed on all the motors to ensure compatibility of the new mechanical components.

Existing Yaskawa drives on the Toyoda grinder used a custom interface from the manufacturer that responded to commands from the Toyupuc PLC via an I/O interface. The Yaskawa replacement drives included indexer modules which replaced the existing I/O interface. Galco programmed the indexer module on the Wheel Dresser to function like the original Sanyo Dresser Controller. Galco provided custom interface cables for installation, assembly drawings and installation instructions. The original servo drives used potentiometers for set-up purposes. Upgrading to digital drives made for robust functionality; "set it once,and it’s set until you want it changed." Machine set-up was made even easier with set-up software from Yaskawa.

OPERATION

The new system was completely programmed, tested and run-off for approval prior to installation at the customer’s site. Galco field checked the machines for adapter plate accuracy as well as verified the mechanical interface for existing Yaskawa motors on the wheel spindle and taper corrector portion of the job. Program codes were documented as the machine ran. Traces of velocity and amperage for each axis were also recorded prior to the retrofit. The previous equipment used four different amplifiers and Galco’s solution used one common servo amplifier. Galco reduced the customer’s required parts inventory by using a common amplifier for all four axes.

Dresser Motor mounting unit

Drives panel after upgrade

Dresser Motor mounting unit

Spindle Motor mounting unit

Taper Correction Motor Mounting Unit

X-Axis motor mounting hardware with
new adapter plate and gear