History
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History |
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Model 1018 Uni. on 90" cabinet
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As early as 1910, Charles A. Kirwin was designing Crystal Lake Grinders for the grinding of small watch and typewriter reamers, counter bores and plug gages. Model developments through the years have given these grinders world wide acceptance as the smoothest and most accurate Gage Grinders known. Robert Kirwin introduced their one R.M.S. Crystal Lake Grinder in 1936 as advertised in early trade magazines. This approach with separate motor drive mounted over the Wheel head and Work head (a feature still maintained to this day) is the backbone behind the Crystal Lake Grinder design. The overhead drive eliminates motor vibration and provides ample power so a motor larger than the Work head and Wheel head can be used. When a spindle is of double taper design, ground round to .000015, held tight in solid bronze double taper bearings and running on a thin film of light hydraulic oil, tight tolerances and good finishes are easy to maintain. When necessary, spindle can be stopped for the measuring of small work without having to redress grinding wheel as motor recoil is taken up by springs on the hinged motor plate. During the decade of the 50's, rapid advancement in spindle life was increased with the use of High Speed Steels proving score resistant and more stable at warmer head temperatures. Water cooling was also added to Wheel heads to help extend the life of these spindles. The vast majority of the nearly 5,000 Cylindrical grinders manufactured (including the Crystal Lake Grinder featuring the same spindle design) is still used on production work today. During the same decade, a move to make these machines more eye appealing was made by replacing the three-legged benches with heavy steel cabinets. Motor hoods were mounted when desired, but the overhead drive was retained as this simplistic design still provided invaluable. The weight of the grinder bases doubled, longer table bearings were added and helical gearing helped to increase the smooth operation of these precision machines. During the decade of the 70's, still more advancements were made with High Carbon, High Chrome Wheel head Ways becoming a standard feature increasing the smooth operation on heavy cuts. Way life was also increased; a definite side benefit to the life of these fine performance machines. A filtering system was offered self contained inside the cabinet, along with all electrical components hidden from sight in the cabinet. During the decade of the 80's and into the 90's, more advancements in automation and special applications were made. Glenwood O'Dell, Jr. designed creep-feed automation for the quartz industry. He also developed the combination OD/ID head as a single unit which simplified set-up time and increased production. CLG has always been used in the flow control industry. Glenwood recognized the need for a machine that would meet the specific requirements of grinding the hydraulic spool value. The flow-control grinder was introduced in 1993 to better satisfy these type of grinding requirements. With the demand for automation in the cylindrical grinding field CNC controls have been added to these time honored grinders which blend timeless simplicity with the computer age for increased production and ease of operation. Web ChangesThis is where we'll announce the most recent additions to our web site. If you've visited us before and want to know what's changed, take a look here first.
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