Glebar GT-9AC

The Glebar GT-9AC is an automated guidewire grinder: a centerless machine with a wire feeder attached, built to grind tapers, paddles and parabolic shapes into medical guidewires from 0.0015 in (0.038 mm) to 0.045 in (1.14 mm) in diameter. Wires up to 16 ft (4.9 m) long can be loaded, and up to 15 ft (4.6 m) of that length ground.

Position tracking is what defines it. In place of sensors that detect the wire and trigger each diameter change, high-speed imaging and a 1-micron encoder run the whole length of the feeder. Glebar states that wire position is updated every 0.00025 in (0.006 mm) at typical grinding speeds, and feeder length resolution is 1 µm (0.00004 in). Because the grind follows measured position, grind lengths do not depend on the cut length of the wire. A new wire length or profile is a change on the touchscreen.

The grinding head is small by centerless standards. A 9 in (230 mm) work wheel turns at 2,500 rpm on 2 hp (1.5 kW), against a 4 in (100 mm) regulating wheel with a servo-driven variable speed drive. Upper and lower slides each resolve 0.1 µm (0.000004 in), and diameter resolution is 0.00005 in (1.27 µm). The work wheel dresser is programmable, and automatic wheel balancing with acoustic emission sensing is on the feature list.

Feeders come in three lengths: 6 ft (180 cm), 12.5 ft (380 cm) and 16 ft (500 cm). That choice sets the floor space far more than the grinder does. The grinder itself is 58 x 31 x 71 in (147 x 79 x 180 cm) on a 6 in (152 mm) thick granite bed and weighs 3,520 lb (1,597 kg). Tooling is 1.5 in (38 mm) and 3 in (76 mm) wide. Services are modest: 480 VAC, 60 Hz at 20 A, and 4 CFM of air at 80 PSI.