Harcliff Mining Services has invested in one of the largest Hӧfler Klingelnberg gear-grinder machines in Africa.
Harcliff Mining Services is a specialist engineering and manufacturing company servicing the mining and minerals sector and other heavy industries. The focus of the company is design, engineering, manufacture, spare parts, maintenance and refurbishment of new and existing equipment. It offers grinding mills and components, scrubbers, open gearing, kiln and drier components, industrial gearbox rebuilds, Radicon, Benzlers, Elecon and Kumera gearboxes and drives and crusher wear and mechanical spare parts.
The new Hӧfler Rapid 2000 cylindrical gear grinding machine, which was manufactured and supplied by the Klingelnberg Group’s plant in Germany
“Grinding gears to exacting standards forms a sizeable percentage of the mix of machining that is done in our facility in Meadowdale, Germiston, Gauteng. The clients that we service are operating equipment that is used in harsh and rough conditions but still require precision. Up until now our gear manufacturing has been done mostly with manual equipment. The gear hobbers and shapers have performed admirably but they are slow and represent old technology,” said Darren Bagnall, Managing Director at Harcliff Mining Services.
“We can manufacture, repair or refurbish a gear 2 000mm in diameter, one that can weigh up to 14 tons and is used in industrial gear boxes and where open gearing is required. For example this type of work could take up to two weeks, double shift of machining time. Far too long. But more importantly the old technology starts to lose accuracy,” explained Bagnall.
Inside the new Hӧfler Rapid 2000 cylindrical gear grinding machine
The machine also has a highly flexible direct-drive 5-axis grinding head and allows for swivel angle adjustment during the grinding process
“The decision was taken to invest in the latest gear grinding equipment and we have just completed the installation and commissioning of our new Hӧfler Rapid 2000 cylindrical gear grinding machine, which was manufactured and supplied by the Klingelnberg Group’s plant in Germany.”
“This is a major growth milestone for us and represents a R20 million investment.”
“The Rapid 2000 is capable of achieving the higher accuracy classes of the AGMA (American Gear Manufacturing Association), DIN and ISO standards, well beyond the capabilities of traditional hobbing and gear shaping manufacturing methods, allowing us to manufacture precision gear components and pinions up to 2 000mm diameter and 14 tons in weight with a module range of 1-50. Another significant advantage of this technology is that we can achieve vastly reduced manufacturing cycles in comparison to the traditional methods, allowing us to offer reduced turn-around times to our customers.”
“We are now looking at two shifts for the example I was referring to earlier.”
The Hӧfler Rapid 2000 is suitable for workpiece diameters of up to 2 000mm
The Rapid 2000 is capable of achieving the higher accuracy classes of the AGMA (American Gear Manufacturing Association), DIN and ISO standards, well beyond the capabilities of traditional hobbing and gear shaping manufacturing methods
“The superior surface finish of the tooth flank and root fillet achievable with the Hӧfler is also important to us,” adds Graeme Kneale, Technical Director at Harcliff Mining Services.
“The root bending and flank pitting service factors for the gear design are directly related to the surface finish of the tooth and root, which is critical to the service life of rotating gears which undergo millions of stress cycles,” explains Kneale.
“The in-board testing head is capable of measuring to the nearest 0.1 micron and generating detailed tooth geometry inspection reports including tooth profile, lead, pitch and span measurements, which greatly complements the quality assurance aspect of our manufacturing process. It’s an important step for us and we’re proud to be able to offer the latest technology to our customers,” added Darren Brown, Divisional Director for Harcliff Technical Services.
The superior surface finish of the tooth flank and root fillet achievable with the Hӧfler is also important
“The Hӧfler Rapid 2000 is suitable for workpiece diameters of up to 2 000mm. With standard features that include a cast polymer machine bed, a torque motor-driven machine table, an integrated inspection system, a sturdy grinding spindle, and a dressing system for frequent profile modifications, it is the perfect solution for our cylindrical gear manufacturing. Technologies such as high-speed grinding and best-fit grinding help to reduce manufacturing and delivery times dramatically,” continued Brown.
“The machine also has a highly flexible direct-drive 5-axis grinding head and allows for swivel angle adjustment during the grinding process.”
The root bending and flank pitting service factors for the gear design are directly related to the surface finish of the tooth and root, which is critical to the service life of rotating gears which undergo millions of stress cycles
Harcliff Mining Services is an engineering and manufacturing company that currently operates predominantly in the mining and minerals sector, but is broadening its focus to include power generation, the cement industry, materials handling applications, and other heavy industries where large gearing and splining is required. Harcliff Mining Services is a member of the AGMA and is ISO 9001:2008 accredited.
Harcliff Mining Services offers grinding mills and components, scrubbers, open gearing, kiln and drier components, industrial gearbox rebuilds, gearboxes and drives and crusher wear and mechanical spare parts to OEMs and to end-users. The company has manufacturing capabilities in Asia and local representation of European OEMs.
For further details contact Harcliff Mining Services on TEL: 011 392 1714 or visit www.harcliff.co.za
