Fig. 1: Pomini Digital Texturing ™ System Fig. 2: Typical Matrix of Craters
The Pomini Digital Texturing ™ System, as shown above if Figure 1, incorporates an “off the shelf”
high frequency Laser which is controlled by the digital texturing system developed by Pomini. This
combination creates an accurate, flexible and efficient texturing system with the benefits of a laser
source with high reliability, low maintenance and proven in a large number of industrial applications.
The laser source produces a high quality, small diameter beam which is ideal for achieving the precise,
consistent performance required for surface texturing. The control system and laser source allow the
very high frequency operation necessary to achieve the desired surface texture and productivity. A
Fiber Optic delivery system permits very flexible positioning of the texturing head and eliminates the
typical alignment and focus issues with older LT systems.
The surface texture can be designed using computer simulation to achieve the desired matrix and then
the dimensions of craters and peaks can be controlled by the software operating the laser system. A
typical matrix of craters is shown in Figure 2, in this case it is with a high degree of crater overlap.
The ability to control the crater and peak dimensions allows the roughness and skew to be determined
and the broad peaks produced provide very good roughness transfer and wear characteristics in the
rolling mills.
The surface texture matrix that is software controlled allows a wide range surfaces to be produced
ranging from Deterministic to Stochastic and by altering the spacing parameters the density of the
surface texture can be changed to produce “open” or “closed” surfaces.
The Pomini Digital Texturing ™ process has a wide range of surface texture capabilities and after two
years of testing in users rolling mills the performance of the surface texture was sufficiently verified to
design and manufacture the first production machine.
MACHINE DESIGN
The machine was designed in-house at Pomini using the design capabilities and experience with
similar type machines, in particular the innovative new MW series of precision roll grinders. As a
completely new machine the design incorporates features from the latest available technologies for
machine tools.
The design brief was to produce a machine that has high precision, efficient operation,
environmentally friendly, good reliability and low maintenance requirements. It was also desirable that
the machine be easy to install with a minimal foundation and floor space requirements.
It was decided during the preliminary design stages to fully enclose the machine in order to maintain a
clean, safe environment and eliminate any potential guarding issues and maximize operator safety.
The production machine shown in Figure 3 has either met or exceeded the design criteria to produce a
compact installation with low energy consumption