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ANCA Delivers 1000th RX7 CNC Tool Grinder

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GESAC receives 1000th ANCA RX7 in Thailand ceremony

ANCA has presented the 1000th RX7 tool and cutter grinder to Xiamen Golden Egret Special Alloy Company (GESAC) at a ceremony in Thailand on 11 October. The machine was accepted by GESAC General Manager Wu Qishan and Precision Tool Manufacturing Manager Chen Rongde in a traditional ribbon cutting ceremony.


ANCA CEO Grant Anderson and GESAC General Manager Wu Qishan cut ribbon


ANCA CEO Grant Anderson, who presented the machine to GESAC, commented on the importance of the milestone.

“ANCA is extremely honoured that Mr Qishan and Mr Rongde, were able to come to Thailand to accept the 1000th RX7 machine in person. This is a very special occasion for ANCA, and we are delighted to be able to share it with GESAC as one of our strategic partners in China”, he said.
 

The RX7 Story - Designed to Fill a Gap!

The RX7 story is of a product that began as a great idea that improved even more in development. Designed originally as a regrinding machine, the compact platform was quickly recognized as something more than what it was originally designed to be.

“ANCA’s machine portfolio had a gap in it,” recalls Product Line Manager Greg Perry.”We had the smaller RGX and the powerful TX7, but nothing in-between. The TX7 would grind tools in the mid-size range, but being designed for heavy production, it was not economical to use that way. It was simply too much machine.”

With the competition having machines better suited to regrinding, ANCA set its engineers the task of designing and building a regrinder that would deliver an excellent price/performance relationship. The second part of the challenge, as with all grinder design, was to make the footprint as small as possible.

“The machine had to be productive up to 16 mm tool diameter, but it had to be able to grind larger tools if needed. Space is money, so we had to create a machine with a very large working envelope for the smallest footprint possible. In the end we managed to squeeze a lot into a small space.”
 

Grindtec 2004 - the Customers Loved it - but for Manufacturing!

The RX7 debuted publically at GrindTec in 2004, and the customers were very clear in their assessment of the new machine: they loved it, but not for regrinding.

“They told us it was better suited to manufacturing, partly because the spindle power was so high. And that’s what it became, an excellent and very flexible platform for mid-range production!”

One of the innovations built into the new design was the unique double-ended spindle. The machine it replaced (the RGX) also had two spindles, but the positioning made using the second one restrictive. The RX7 design brought a second wheel pack with equal capability into the manufacturing equation, which was an attraction for new customers.

Since its launch, the RX7’s flexibility has made it an excellent choice for further development, being used as a platform for the GX7+ regrinder, the WGX woodworking tool grinder, the RX7SP micro-tool grinder and the very successful entry-level FastGrind.

With number 1000 in place, the RX7 is among the most popular ANCA models of all time. ANCA continues to develop new accessories and models in response to customer feedback, market research and ongoing R&D. A company culture of continuous improvement means that the 1000th RX7 was not exactly as the first one! And the next 1000 tool grinders will include improvements not even thought of by the market yet! Stay tuned!

30 December 2011