# Tacchella AU300 universal tool grinder



## coopertje (Jan 30, 2012)

It has been a little while since I have posted progress on the Stuart 10H build. The reason is that I found a nice grinding machine, I have a lathe (manual and CNC), milling machine (manual and CNC) but did not have a decent grinding machine yet. I was looking for something small (shop is becoming full) and preferable able to sharpen all kinds of tools, center grinding and light surface grinding. I just passed by a used machine dealer and found the Tacchella AU-300. It seems to meet all my requirements, came together with about 15 grinding wheels, a full set of collets and the original dIviding head to sharpen end mills. It's a very stable build machine (375kg) and although its quite old (included original test report dated 1961) it is mechanically in a very good shape. A quick measurement over the table indicated a deviation so small that with the equipment I have available I cannot measure it! 

Below some pictures of the machine as purchased and partly disassembled 

















The original mill holder with indexing











I want to take the machine apart to check everything and also it needs a paint job, the original paint is completely worn out. As you can see below the table has some kind of linear guide






Started cleaning, plastering and sanding the base and the grinding head






Ground layer and spray RAL-7003











After cleaned, plastered and sanded all the peripheral equipment











Used a cardboard box with shop vacuum cleaner as a spraying cabinet, worked out very well!











Ground layer and after sanding again (wet 400 grid) spray the final color





















Some finished parts
















Grounding the base and additional parts





















When I am back home, I am on holiday now I will paint the base and reassemble the machine. I am also having thoughts about a grindingrest to sharpen drills, lathe tools and radius tools. Nice to kill the time in holiday...

Regards Jeroen


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## kustomkb (Jan 30, 2012)

Nice job shoe horning that piece in there! The restoration looks good too. 

I'm sure the machine will easily last another 50 years.

Nice floors too!


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## coopertje (Jan 30, 2012)

Thanks Kevin, I did not think I had space for the machine, but the motivation was enough to create the space needed. Its placed on wheels so I can move it when I need to get something from the back of the shop. Not optimal but it will do for me.


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## cfellows (Jan 30, 2012)

That x-axis roller bearing way system is pretty cool. Do most surface grinders use a setup like that?

Chuck


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## steamer (Jan 30, 2012)

cfellows  said:
			
		

> That x-axis roller bearing way system is pretty cool. Do most surface grinders use a setup like that?
> 
> Chuck



YUP  some jig borers too....Moore to name one.

Dave


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## bvd1940 (Jan 30, 2012)

I am jealous  dam nice machine and nice tune up you did. :bow:


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## maverick (Jan 31, 2012)

A very nice addition to your shop. A high quality universal grinder like this can handle tool and cutter sharpening, surface grinding,
 OD grinding and other operations I can't even remember. Great looking paint job also.

 Regards,
 Mike


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## coopertje (Jan 31, 2012)

Thanks for the comments! The ones that I know all have some kind of linear guide for the X-axis. I guess it has to do with finish of the grinded workpiece. The more smooth you can get it passing the grinding wheel, the better the finish will be. Another thought might be that if you are able to pass it with a reasonable speed the heat in the workpiece will be minimum (and equally spread). If somebody knows the real reason for this kind of construction I am interested to learn. I have a Weldon end mill sharping jig to sharpen the flutes of an end mill. It has an aerostatic bearing, in a way that can be compared with the linear guide of the X-axis. So it must serve some purpose, otherwise they will not go through all the trouble to construct it this way.

I hope the groundlayer will be dry when I return home, I saw on the net that the temperature in Holland dropped below 0 this week. Not very good for paint to dry and harden.... :-\

Below a very rough sketch of my idea of a universal support for tool, drill and radius tooling






In the bottom part there is a 3D angle adjustment to set all the required angles when sharpening cutters and drills. In the middle there is a free rotation point (with locking possibility) for making a radius on a cutter. To set the radius and adjust the position of the radius on the cutter (center, left/right side) I will have a small X-Y adjustment on top. I am not sure if I have enough height available for this tower, I have to measure when I return home. 
Your comments, ideas, improvements etc are very much appreciated, it will be quite some work to make the jig and I prefer to make the correct one first time!

Regards Jeroen


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## Holt (Jan 31, 2012)

I just finished renovating a Tacchella 40L at work, lovely universal grinder, the table was out by 0,03 mm, not much, but far too much when the grinder are used to grind 0,01 mm air vents in plastic injection moulds. i changed all rollers, and gave the table a turn on the large grinder


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## coopertje (Jan 31, 2012)

Hi Holt,

If my table is out for 0.003mm I will jump from happiness. I am probably even not able to measure such a runout with a 0.01mm resolution meter. The base table I cannot measure any runout with tools available, I have my doubts about the upper table, I had a large runout on that one 0.3mm over 100mm distance. But when disassembling the machine I found a lot of grease and dirt between the 2 tables, hope that is the reason for runout. If not, I have to find a "friend" with a big grinder to straighten the upper table ;D

By the way, do you know how to use the machine for OD grinding? I understand to place the workpiece between the centers, but then... is it rotated by hand or is there some kind of jig between the workpiece and centers?

Thanks, regards Jeroen


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## Holt (Jan 31, 2012)

Sorry, i just saw i was too generous with the zeros, it was 0,03mm runout. our grinder came with a motor attachment, with r-8 collets, 3 jaw and a magnet + several other items


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## coopertje (Jan 31, 2012)

That 1 extra zero make a big difference! :big:

Ok, get the point. The workpiece is motor driven. So the machine probably has that kind of center with a double function, center and at the same time drive the workpiece. That should not be so hard to make. However a picture of this original motor and centers (your 40L) would be very nice!

Regards Jeroen


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## Holt (Jan 31, 2012)

I will try to remember to take some pics in the near future (tomorrow evening)


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## krankie frankie (Jan 31, 2012)

This should count for an official tool gloat, or is that on a different form?
John


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## cfellows (Jan 31, 2012)

steamer  said:
			
		

> YUP some jig borers too....Moore to name one.
> 
> Dave



So, are those ball bearing races or just simple rollers on an axle?

Chuck


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## coopertje (Jan 31, 2012)

John, help me out, what does a "tool gloat" mean? (sorry my English is not that good) 

Chuck, they are rollers acting like a ball race. The table rest on the rollers and the rollers rest on the machine base. Both base as table have scraped guides. The rollers are kept on distance with a copper strip. I will take a better picture when I am home and post it.

Regards Jeroen


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## Holt (Feb 1, 2012)

cfellows  said:
			
		

> So, are those ball bearing races or just simple rollers on an axle?


They are roller bearing rollers, you can buy them from a SKF dealer, 100 pieces per box

Holt


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## steamer (Feb 1, 2012)

"...Another thought might be that if you are able to pass it with a reasonable speed the heat in the workpiece will be minimum (and equally spread). If somebody knows the real reason for this kind of construction I am interested to learn....."

They use rollers for low friction...on a surface grinder, that cycles a lot, that is very important.

On a jig borer, the low friction of the rollers minimizes "stick-slip" friction which improves positional accuracy of the table....something tha is very important with a jig borer.

The next step up from the rollers is a hydrostatic table that floats on oil.  Very effective, but the hydraulics to support it is very expensive, and require more maintenance.

On the jig borers and jig grinders, the ways are scraped , and then lapped to fractions of a micron flatness and straightness before the rollers are assembled to the machine.  

Dave


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## Florian (Feb 1, 2012)

I think there is another very important fact with those roller bearings: wear!

With those Roller bearings, there is almost no wear compared to "normal" prism guides. This, is, because there are no surfaces sliding against each other, the rollers only roll on the surface.

It then is very important to protect those guides from any dust and dirt but then they are very precise and long lasting. 


Cheers Florian


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## steamer (Feb 1, 2012)

You are correct Florian....hence my comment about friction and high cycles on a recip....

Dave


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## BillTodd (Feb 1, 2012)

cfellows  said:
			
		

> So, are those ball bearing races or just simple rollers on an axle?
> 
> Chuck



 I know exactly what you're thinking Chuck :LOL:

"Can I add that to my tool grinder?"

Bill


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## coopertje (Feb 1, 2012)

Thanks for the explanation Holt, Dave and Florian! Thats why I like this site so much, so much knowledge available (and shared), I am learning every time I log on!

Chuck, with your machining capabilities it should be piece of cake to have the roller bearing construction in your grinder. And it would be a fun project too in my opinion....

I am missing 2 rollers (on the outher end of the table), will it be ok if I make then out of normal steel without hardening? I think it will not hurt and the machine will not be used intensively. I do not feel like buying 100 pieces if I need 2 :-\

Regards Jeroen


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## Florian (Feb 1, 2012)

steamer  said:
			
		

> You are correct Florian....hence my comment about friction and high cycles on a recip....
> 
> Dave



Oh aehm.. .

Didn't even read that... :-X

Cheers Florian ;D


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## cfellows (Feb 1, 2012)

BillTodd  said:
			
		

> I know exactly what you're thinking Chuck :LOL:
> 
> "Can I add that to my tool grinder?"
> 
> Bill



You're on to me, Bill. I sure do like the looks of that. However, after thinking about it, I'm not sure it's practical for a table as small as mine. Seems like I'd need some way to hold the table down, onto the rollers. Now I'm thinking some kind of slide with linear bearings might be better.


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## coopertje (Feb 1, 2012)

If you look closely to picture below you will see a roller bearing in the middle of the base (in the back side near the back side rollers). On the bottom of the table there is a L-shaped piece of metal. The roller bearing can be lowered by means of a set screw holding the table to the rollers.







For sure the linear guide solution is much more easy and quicker to make and will have the same end result.

Regards Jeroen


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## Holt (Feb 1, 2012)

As promised some pics of the rotary attachment
















I haven't used it yet, so don't ask me how it works, we bought it just before Christmas, and i have concentrated on the main machine






With one of these it's quite easy to grind the table on the Tacchella, it travels 0.5 X 1 meter


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## coopertje (Feb 1, 2012)

Thank you so much Holt! It helps a lot. Consider yourself lucky with all the additional equipment, they are hard to find and normally pricey! Thats a very nice (and big!!!) grinder you have there. Must be very comfortable to have these kind of machines in reach...

I see that the motor is attached to the dividing attachment, that also clarifies the mounting hole on front of the unit. Put the workpiece in a collet or mount a MK4 center to work between the centers. 

I do not want to be a pain in the ..s, but do you have any idea of the final rotation speeds. Judging from the pictures I assume that the motor is a 1500 rpm type and the gearing of the pulleys seem minimum 1 to 10. I searched on the inet but there is not much information available about Tacchella. Since I am a complete novice in grinding your info is very valuable!

Regards Jeroen


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## steamer (Feb 2, 2012)

Florian  said:
			
		

> Oh aehm.. .
> 
> Didn't even read that... :-X
> 
> Cheers Florian ;D




Hard to if I didn't type it huh..... ;D  No worries Florian....

Dave


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## Florian (Feb 2, 2012)

Now i'm confused!? 

I meant your statement about friction and high cycles... 
(Could have referred to it...)

Cheers Florian


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## Holt (Feb 2, 2012)

coopertje  said:
			
		

> I did not think I had space for the machine


I can help you with that problem, i will gladly help you get rid of that chassis taking up space in your workshop, and unselfish as i am, i will do it for free (well almost ;D) I have the perfect engine for it http://efiminis.olicentral.com/index.php?topic=92.0


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## coopertje (Feb 3, 2012)

Holt, you are too generous! Sacrificing yourself to help me create space, its almost too much ;D The chassis is a Innocenti Cooper 1300 from 1975. Body welding is almost finished, just at the moment I do not have the motivation (and space) to continue with it. If I want to get rid off it I let you know. Very nice engine work you have done :bow: :bow: :bow: I will keep mine 8 valves, but will put some upgrade parts in it. My aim is about 85 - 90HP. 

Is there any change you could have a look at the speed of the motor on the Tacchella attachment and a rough indication on the pully gearing? It would help me a lot with selecting the type of motor and speed regulator.

Have a good weekend, regards Jeroen


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## Holt (Feb 4, 2012)

I have been looking at the motor, but there is no rpm written on it. i might be able to take a look at it next friday, while my son is practicing the saxophone ;D (not that i dont want to listen to him, but because he practise close to my work)


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## Holt (Feb 8, 2012)

I have measured the rpm on the rotary attachment (well, i could infact count the lowest speed ;D) Lowest speed is 200 rpm, and highest speed is app 300 rpm, the motor is only 680 rpm and of course right and left switch Thm:


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## coopertje (Feb 8, 2012)

Thanks Holt! Appriciate a lot your efforts to get the information. I got a small 12V motor that is used to run a fan of a car. The rpm seems quite high, but with a mechanical resuction to increase torqe and anaddotional electronic pwm controller I should be able to reach the mentioned rpms. Lets see if the power is enough to rotate a workpiece in counter direction of the spinning grinding wheel. I fly home tomorrow, hope the groundlayer has dryed a little, it was extremely cold in Europe as I have seen on the news. I am in Brasil right now, 36 degrees in the shadow.....

Thanks agian for the info!

Regards Jeroen


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## coopertje (Feb 19, 2012)

Just a small update here, unfortunately its to cold in the shop to paint the machine. My wife stayed in Brazil for 2 more weeks, so i took my change and brought the small parts inside and put them on the dinning table. They were already painted in ground layer, just needed a finish layer RAL 7003.

Before






And after






If time allows I will make some grinding stone adapters soon.

Regards Jeroen


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## vcutajar (Feb 19, 2012)

I hope your wife doesn't see your last two photos. Mine for sure would go ballistic. :hDe:

Vince


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## steamer (Feb 19, 2012)

Yes...the old saying....."Don't poke the bear!" comes to mind :


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## Holt (Feb 19, 2012)

Lets hope she says "what papa does is always right" :bow:

Who am i kidding? Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof} Rof}


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## coopertje (Feb 20, 2012)

I would say..."No risk, no fun!" When I stop replaying in about one week the risk was too big.... ;D


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## coopertje (Mar 26, 2012)

Finally the temperature has gone up and in my shop its between 15 and 20 degrees celsius, nice temperature to finish the painting of the Tacchella base this saturday!






When the paint was dry enough to not make stains I started assembling the machine. This is the best part for me, after many hours of dirty work of degreasing, sanding and painting its so nice to put all parts back and see the machine come together again. Below the electrical panel, made a small modification for the LED lamp (if you have Ikea go check it out, its a 3W LED lamp on a flexible arm for 6,99 euro!!)






Here is the result of the work. Mechanically the machine was just perfect, just cleaning and oiling was enough. The rest was optical work.































I am pleased with the result, now find some time to start to play with it. I am afraid it will take some time, i have a big honey do list waiting for me and cannot post phone things anymore with the excuse its too cold

Have fun, regards Jeroen


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## vcutajar (Mar 26, 2012)

Jeroen

That's a beutiful finish you managed to get. Are you sure you want to use it and scratch the paint? ;D

Vince


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## coopertje (Mar 27, 2012)

Hi Vince,

Thanks, it took quite a lot of sanding to get the machine as it is now. I will not use it for about 4 weeks, give the paint the rime to dry. I hope it will not damage too quick, i used an indutrial grade of paint. I guess its the same with a new car, the first scratches hurt the most!

Regards Jeroen


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## lazylathe (Mar 27, 2012)

Jeroen that is a wonderful result!!! :bow:

Almost looks to good to use!!!

Andrew


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## Holt (Mar 27, 2012)

Very nice indeed! is this the original color?

Holt


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## coopertje (Mar 29, 2012)

Thanks Andrew and Holt. The colour is RAL7003, and it should be the original color for the machine. Your lathe is coming along nicely too, and with free tools :big:

If I have time this weekend I will make some assesoires fit to the machine, I have a weldon end mill sharpening fixture and a weldon drill sharpening attachment. Also i need to make the video for the broaching tool... And keep the wife happy with fixing things in the house. 

Regards Jeroen


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## steamer (Mar 29, 2012)

That looks awesome Jeroen!  Thanks for letting me send my worn out cutters over to be sharpened .....Buddy! ;D :big:


In all seriousness!  Great Job!

 :bow:

Dave

PS....you have apparently survived the return of your wife.....or at least you are being very brave regarding the overall pain level.... :big:


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## coopertje (Mar 31, 2012)

Thanks Dave. And great idea!please do send me your worn out tools, i can use them well since I need to develope some skills in resharpening. I can practice on yours and when I know how to do it I can start on my own tools :big:

I put a nice electric lavendel smell dispenser in the living room. She was so happy when she returned, so nice of me to make the house smell flowers and fresh. Oh sweetie, its nothing.... I like to make you happy ;D

Have fun regards Jeroen


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## Holt (Mar 31, 2012)

coopertje  said:
			
		

> I put a nice electric lavendel smell dispenser in the living room. She was so happy when she returned


Is that "cheating on your wife" ? :big:
Holt


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## steamer (Mar 31, 2012)

Holt  said:
			
		

> Is that "cheating on your wife" ? :big:
> Holt



Naaaaa!  If mama is happy...Everyone's Happy!

Dave


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## coopertje (Apr 1, 2012)

I go with Dave :


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