Apparatus for improved control of a grinding machine

In a grinding machine comprising a grinding tool, a worktable on which a workpiece may be mounted for grinding, means for feeding said grinding tool into said workpiece, and means for driving said worktable repeatedly through the same epitrochoid path, apparatus comprising:

• at least one sensing means,
• at least one means for triggering said sensing means to produce an output signal,
• a programming table connected to said worktable and having therein a series of holes arranged in a path similar in shape to the epitrochoid path through which the worktable is driven, the projection of said epitrochoid path onto the plane of the programming table being everywhere throughout said path parallel to the path defined by the holes in the programming table,
• one of said sensing means and said triggering means being selectively mounted in at least one of said holes in said programming table and the other being mounted in such a position that said sensing means is triggered whenever the one is moved past the other as a result of movement of the worktable through the path on which it is driven, and
• means for modifying at least one of the speed of the grinding tool, the position of the grinding tool, the lateral movement of the grinding tool across the workpiece, and the speed of the driving means in accordance with said output signal as the grinding tool is being fed into said workpiece.

In a grinding machine comprising a grinding tool, a worktable on which a workpiece may be mounted for grinding, means for feeding said grinding tool into said workpiece, and means for driving said worktable repeatedly through the same path, apparatus comprising:

• sensing means comprising a first plurality of sensors,
• means for triggering said sensing means to produce an output signal, said means comprising a plurality of triggering devices,
• a programming table connected to said worktable and having therein a first series of holes in the periphery of the programming table, said holes defining a first plurality of paths approximately parallel to one another,
• one of said sensing means and said triggering means being selectively mounted in at least one of said holes in each path in said programming table and the other being mounted in such a position that said sensing means is triggered whenever the one is moved past the other as a result of movement of the worktable through the path on which it is driven, and
• means for modifying at least one of the speed of the grinding tool, the position of the grinding tool, the lateral movement of the grinding tool across the workpiece, and the speed of the driving means in accordance with said output signal as the grinding tool is being fed into said workpiece.

In a grinding machine comprising a grinding tool, a worktable on which a workpiece may be mounted for grinding, means for feeding said grinding tool into said workpiece, and means for driving said worktable repeatedly through the same path, apparatus comprising:

• a first plurality of sensing means,
• means for simultaneously triggering said plurality of sensing means to produce an output signal that is a function of the number and/or position of the sensing means triggered,
• means for connecting either said sensing means or said triggering means to a movable portion of the grinding machine and for positioning the other such that a signal is triggered when the one is moved past the other, and
• means for modifying at least one of the speed of the grinding tool, the position of the grinding tool, the lateral movement of the grinding tool across the workpiece, and the speed of the driving means in accordance with said output signal as the grinding tool is being fed into said workpiece.