Friday, Sept. 10, 2021 -- Engraver Dial 1
As intended by the designers of this machine, the operator does not do any calculations or adjustments, although this video shows there was a lot of guesswork over the years at Intertype.
The accuracy of this pantograph engraving machine started with the tool grinder. As the tool is ground to a point, the grinder is pre-set to create tooling to the exact depth required to just touch the blank punch. A further enhancement of accuracy for this machine is that the tool profile is ground while it is in the collet. A microscope lens on the grinder is focused in the right location to verify the distance from the collet to the point (with a graticule measurement to verify if any adjustments are required, for example, grinding wheel wear). For some reason, this varied over the years.
Back in the day, another way to verify tool position was to electrically isolate the machine from the tool and then use electrical conductivity to confirm tool contact with the punch surface.
At 01:00 of the video, one can see the micrometer dial shown goes from zero to fifty, being the exact 0.050” depth of the completed punch. Again, no guesswork on the part of the operator.
Friday, Sept. 10, 2021 -- Engraver Dial 1
As intended by the designers of this machine, the operator does not do any calculations or adjustments, although this video shows there was a lot of guesswork over the years at Intertype.
The accuracy of this pantograph engraving machine started with the tool grinder. As the tool is ground to a point, the grinder is pre-set to create tooling to the exact depth required to just touch the blank punch. A further enhancement of accuracy for this machine is that the tool profile is ground while it is in the collet. A microscope lens on the grinder is focused in the right location to verify the distance from the collet to the point (with a graticule measurement to verify if any adjustments are required, for example, grinding wheel wear). For some reason, this varied over the years.
Back in the day, another way to verify tool position was to electrically isolate the machine from the tool and then use electrical conductivity to confirm tool contact with the punch surface.
At 01:00 of the video, one can see the micrometer dial shown goes from zero to fifty, being the exact 0.050” depth of the completed punch. Again, no guesswork on the part of the operator.