The ANCA Motor Temperature Control Technique has been granted a patent.

ANCA CNC Machines has been granted a US patent for motor temperature control (MTC), a technique intended to increase precision machine tool stability.

The ANCA patent is a method of keeping motorised spindles at a consistent temperature. The impact of temperature variations, particularly the temperature of the spindle, is a significant challenge in using precision machine tools, according to the business. Changes in ambient temperature, coolant temperature, run time, spindle rpm, and spindle load can all induce temperature changes in the machine tool. The solution proposed by ANCA is to actively control spindle temperature by adjusting electrical losses in the motor element while maintaining spindle motor speed and load. This is accomplished through the use of specialised firmware in the spindle drive amplifier.

A common technique to precision machining is to run the machine through a warming cycle to get all of the machine’s elements to a state of thermal stability. This warmup cycle will typically take about 30 minutes. This time is said to be decreased to roughly five minutes when using MTC.

The ANCA GCX is a specialised machine for grinding skiving cutters used in the production of internal and external gears for electric vehicles. The drivetrain of electric vehicles includes a high-speed gearbox. The correctness of this gearbox’s components will affect the lifetime, efficiency, and noise of electric vehicles. MTC is a critical enabling technology for the GCX to generate AAA-class cutters. It is used to regulate the temperature of a dressing spindle, which is utilised to create a high-precision profile on a grinding wheel. MTC is also used to regulate the temperature of the primary grinding spindle during up to 12 hours of continuous grinding.