GranQuartz, a leading distributor of supplies, tools and equipment used in the fabrication and maintenance of hard surfaces for residential, commercial and industrial end-markets, has developed a comprehensive CNC program together with vendor partners ADI and Zoller for offline productivity solutions for CNC customers. This tool management and productivity system is comprised of the Zoller Tool presetter, the ADI Advant-Edge dressing machine, and a tool press for removing tools from cones. All three of these machines are offline and allow for maintenance and re-calibration to be done while the CNC machine is still able to run production. The system was designed to optimize tool performance and edge quality while also maximizing machine performance, providing better quality edges off the machine. Customers who take advantage of this system see labor savings through elimination of hand touch-ups after the CNC process, allowing tooling to run at drastically increased feed rates while giving a consistent, quality polish.
The first step in the system is the Zoller presetter. This machine is a CNC measuring device that measures the tool to a 2 micron accuracy and then transfers the values of the tool to the CNC machine, allowing the tool to run at peak performance by removing the least amount of stone at each step of the grinding process. Removing a minimal amount of stone ensures the tool provides better-looking edges and significantly increased tool life.