Motorized blade rest apparatus and grinding system with motorized blade rest apparatus

A grinding system comprising:

• a work wheel arranged to grind a workpiece;
• a grinding motor arranged to cause rotation of the work wheel;
• a regulating wheel arranged to brace the workpiece against the work wheel during grinding;
• a motorized blade rest apparatus arranged to hold and transport the workpiece during grinding, the apparatus including:
• a movable carriage structured for supporting the regulating wheel for movement along a first axis towards and away from the work wheel,
• a movable ram assembly structured for movement along a second axis towards and away from the work wheel, wherein the carriage is supported by the ram assembly, and wherein the first axis is parallel to the second axis,
• a work rest assembly supported by the ram assembly, the work rest assembly including:
• a first slide portion mounted on the ram assembly,
• a movable second slide portion structured for movement along a third axis perpendicular to the first axis, the second slide portion being movable relative to the first slide portion, and
• a work rest blade mounted on the second slide portion and structured to support the workpiece to be ground by the work wheel,
• a work rest motor operatively coupled to the second slide portion to move the second slide portion along the third axis;
• and
• a computer processor operatively coupled to the work rest motor and programmed to control the work rest motor to controllably move the second slide portion along the third axis.

A method of grinding a workpiece using a grinding system, the method comprising steps of:

• loading the workpiece in a motorized blade rest apparatus of the system, the apparatus including:
• a movable carriage structured for supporting a regulating wheel for movement along a first axis towards and away from a work wheel,
• a movable ram assembly structured for movement along a second axis towards and away from the work wheel, wherein the carriage is supported by the ram assembly, and wherein the first axis is parallel to the second axis,
• a work rest assembly supported by the ram assembly, the work rest assembly including:
• a first slide portion mounted on the ram assembly,
• a movable second slide portion structured for movement along a third axis perpendicular to the first axis, the second slide portion being movable relative to the first slide portion, and
• a work rest blade mounted on the second slide portion and structured to support a workpiece to be ground by the work wheel;
• a work rest motor operatively coupled to the second slide portion to move the second slide portion along the third axis, and
• a computer processor operatively coupled to the work rest motor and programmed to control the work rest motor to controllably move the second slide portion along the third axis;
• and
• controlling, via the computer processor, the work rest motor to move the second slide portion along the third axis during a grinding operation on the workpiece.