AKE: High-Performance Tools for Grinding and Cutting Applications

For a clean finish, you need precision tools. The company AKE Knebel has not found anything suitable on the market for precision control and has simply developed something itself - the real-time analyzer. Product manager David Brodmann explains what it can do and what exactly it is used for in our trade fair TV presenter Simone Dericks.

Precision control for precision tools and high-performance tools

Simone Dericks: Hello Mr. Brodmann, greetings. Yes, we are here with you now, with the company AKE. What exactly does AKE do? David Brodmann: We are a manufacturer of precision tools and high-performance tools. We have a fifty-year history. We came here to Grindtec with our new analysis device - the Realtime Analyzer. Here you have the opportunity to look at and measure sawing and milling tools. Simone Dericks: That was really born out of necessity, wasn't it? That's what I heard.

David Brodmann: Exactly, it was about looking at our tools in detail, there was nothing concrete on the market at the moment. We then developed it ourselves. We originally developed it for our quality control - we also have several in our company - and use it to check our grinding processes, and we have one in our complaints department. And we can make quality visible here in a relatively simple way - quality that would otherwise remain hidden from view. You can see it here on the screen - we can look at and measure teeth at up to 200x magnification. Simone Dericks: How does that relate to how do I get the image there?

View and measure saw blade teeth at up to 200x magnification

David Brodmann: Exactly, so the system works on the one hand with the base frame. Then we have the optics here and the optics work with our screen. In other words, the software is included here. We can then measure something here... Simone Dericks: What do I see here? David Brodmann: You can see a sawtooth here at 45x magnification. And in the zero-degree position. In other words, we are looking directly at the top of the circumference. We can now use our various measuring tools to measure the cutting width in a very simple way. We can also rename it if we like, i.e. we simply enter "SB" here for cutting width, we can read out the angles here, it's done with 2 mouse clicks. And we can check our tooth geometry very quickly and easily.

David Brodmann: Exactly, you can then look here, how much wear do I have? How much do I actually have to grind away? This is particularly interesting for the sanding service. Because if he grinds away too much afterwards, the customer complains because he has taken away too much material, if he grinds away too little, the tool is blunt. Simone Dericks: How much time does that save me? David Brodmann: You can remove the most common dimensions in 1 or 2 minutes - you can also do it afterwards. This makes everyday life much easier. Simone Dericks: And how do you see the future with the machine - where do you see yourself in 1-2 years?

David Brodmann: We're only just starting out at the moment, so we have a large audience here at Grindtec. We can present this once - and we expect a great response. We are constantly developing and have now developed new accessories in the last 12 months - in other words, we are constantly developing them to meet our own requirements. On the one hand, we have now developed something specifically for sawmills - that we also accept sawmill saws. They have a larger bore diameter here. We can't get them on here with our fixture - once we show it. If we have a diameter of 150 or larger, they would fall through here - we have a larger plate here and can therefore also accommodate these saws. Simone Dericks: Yes, I'm curious to see where you will be in a year or two. Of course, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and wish you a successful Grindtec.