The Jones and Shipman 524 Easy surface and profile grinder meets the requirements of the production environment as well as the accuracy, quick set up and change over demands of the toolroom. It also fulfils the criteria of both CNC and manual operation thanks to a GE-Fanuc control system and Jones Shipman 'Easy' software. Complex shapes, angles, radii and ultra flat surfaces can be precision ground quickly and easily.

Even inexperienced operators can obtain immediate improvements in set up and changeover times and in overall productivity for more complex work.

This is due to the combination of GE-Fanuc Touchscreen technology with Jones and Shipman's proprietary 'Easy' icon based software, which offers numerical control without the inherent complexity or cost penalties of traditional CNC systems.

In fact the 524 Easy can function as either a simple hand/hydraulic controlled machine with manual dressing and no set-up procedures or, once set using the easy-to-use 'self teach' software, can perform fully automatic dressing and grinding cycles.

With levels of functionality comparable to CNC but at lower cost all 'Easy' models are fast and simple to set-up via the touchscreen and easy-to-use Jones and Shipman icon-based software.

The control possesses the capabilities to interpolate two axes simultaneously to provide the creation of complex shapes, angles, radii and surfaces, with quick and easy set-up.

Y and Z axis control is via ballscrews driven from GE-Fanuc AC digital servomotors with 0.000004in (0.01 micron) Heidenhain 'Absolute' linear scale feedback.

On start-up, the 'Easy' control offers the operator three simple options: Manual mode, Dress mode or Grind Cycle mode.

In Manual mode the 'Easy' operates as a simple hand operated machine with hydraulic or manual table movement and handwheels for the crossfeed and downfeed which show position via a scale readout on the screen.

Work speeds and feeds are simply adjustable via the touchscreen should the operator wish to set an area grind or auto downfeed in place of manual movement once he has touched on.

Dress mode offers five standard wheel shape options flat, slot, facing, Vee form and full ISO with one or two diamonds as needed.

Dressing increments, speeds and frequency allow for roughing and finishing to optimise wheel performance.

A great feature when the full software package is incorporated is 'intelligent roughing out' of the wheel, - the system will automatically 'chop out' a basic form and then finish dress using the exact profile.

Wheel dressing can be initiated in or out of cycle and dress-on-demand for plain or complex wheel forms is provided as standard.

Dress-On-Demand allows the operator to press the Dress button at any time and the machine will stop wherever it is, dress the wheel with full compensation and return to continue from where it left off.

Grind mode allows from one to 20 grind cycles to be linked as the complexity of the component dictates including plunge, multi plunge, area (intermittent or continuous), face grind, plunge and face and multi plunge and face.

The 524 Easy has been designed from scratch to give improved productivity.

With a new bed, saddle, table, column etc, it offers increased precision, geometry and rigidity and continues a long-established tradition of excellence in manufacture.

Generously proportioned high-grade cast iron major units all combine to create greater rigidity for optimum performance in terms of grinding accuracy and repeatability.

The wheelhead slide moves vertically on low friction, preloaded ball and roller bearings, thereby ensuring extreme sensitivity, while the hand scraped table and saddle slideways are Turcite coated and lubricated automatically to reduce friction to the minimum possible.

'Sliding dogs', which are simply moved by hand without the need for tools, set the table reversal length, their positions being detected by proximity switches sited in the saddle.

Innovative design, high build quality and a rigid and stable machine structure combine to ensure accuracy and productivity and makes this the product of choice for both old and new to the art of precision surface grinding.

The 524 Easy forms the cornerstone of Jones and Shipman's all new range of Surface Grinders.