Patent ID: 8460066

Claim:
A grinding machine that grinds a workpiece in a machining region, the workpiece having ends, the grinding machine comprising: a bed; a pair of workpiece support devices located on the bed, each workpiece support device including a clamping portion, a bearing section, and a driving section, and the pair of workpiece support devices rotates the workpiece about a horizontal axis in a state where the workpiece is clamped by the clamping portions on both ends of the workpiece; a pair of first saddles movable in a first direction, which extends along a rotation axis of the workpiece; a pair of second saddles respectively attached to the pair of first saddles, the second saddles being movable in a second direction, which is orthogonal to the first direction; and a pair of grinding heads respectively located on the pair of second saddles, each grinding head including a grindstone, a bearing section, and a drive mechanism, the grinding machine being characterized by partitioning means for partitioning the machining region to be sealed such that the clamping portions of the pair of workpiece support devices and the grindstones of the pair of grinding heads are arranged inside the machining region, and the bearing sections and the driving sections of the pair of workpiece support devices and the bearing sections and the drive mechanisms of the pair of grinding heads are arranged outside the machining region, wherein the partitioning means includes: a fixed cover fixed to the bed; and extendable covers attached, respectively, between the fixed cover and the pair of first saddles, between the first saddles and the second saddles, and between the pair of first saddles, and the extendable covers selectively extending and contracting in accordance with the movement of the pair of first saddles and the pair of second saddles.