Ancora patents a new technology: FLEXY

Flexy: the variable geometry polishing head

Ancora patents a new accessible and revolutionary technology

Ancora, the SITI B&T Group’s company specialized on finishing technologies, ended the experimental phase and are proud to present Flexy: the new variable geometry polishing head. Designed to improve the gloss homogeneity, reduce tools consumption and offer a greater flexibility in polishing.

This accessible patented system solves a common problem which today is addressed manually by the operators, the challenge of planarity, convexity, and concavity on large sizes and ceramic slabs.

In the large sizes polishing and lapping process, the traditional heads do not fit the ceramic conformation and therefore they don’t apply the same pressure on the entire surface. Concentrating the pressure on the convex extremities, increases the risk of chipping the glaze away, compromising the final result and making the operator’s intervention necessary.

With Flexy, Ancora’s team patented the ultimate solution, based on a new positioning of the tools on the head.

More specifically, creating an offset in the positioning of the tools, the structure becomes more flexible and it fits the surface it is working on better. Flexy can, maintain three tools in the traditional position, on the outer radius of the head, and move on an inner radius the rest of the tools, in an offset position. Such offset has been proved critical for the treatment of the curved surfaces: allowing the head for a higher flexibility and working homogeneity.

This composition also leads to a reduced consumption of the tools, which being distanced from one another, heat up much less and gain a longer life. This ensures a less frequent replacement and therefore progressive costs and energy savings.

According to the aim and the type of slab, the operator will always be able to set the tools in the traditional position or adopt the offset method. An advantage, the interchangeability, wich offers more possibilities within a single technology.

Flexy is compatible with any kind of machine. The application of these special heads, even in small numbers, gives immediately remarkable results.

This patent adds to the already extraordinary path of technological development Ancora, and SITI B&T Group have invested in, to offer plants with a high technological value.

Over the years, the lapping and polishing phase has become smoother thanks to the new machines’ structure. The double beam swing of the polishers, namely a bridge every ten heads, has rendered the structure lighter and faster, independent from the input and output transverse motion speed of the heads. All this allows to meet any kind of production need and to eliminate any abrasion marks.

The production dynamics have been influenced by the increasing demand of the market for large sizes, which requires dedicated solutions. In this regard, Ancora have applied proportional valves to solve planarity related problems. These valves automatically set the pressure and the counter-pressure of the heads, based on the conformation of the slab, reducing the operator’s intervention. Further more, the introduction of smart brushless motors, for which Ancora has been a pioneer in the world of ceramic plants engineering, has allowed to control the working pressure based on the treatment and the slab’s surface.

In this ever evolving scenario, the new variable radius tangential head, Flexy, figures as part of a process of enhancement of the finished product’s aesthetics.