Patent ID: RE45075

Claim:
A profile grinding machine comprising: a base; a work unit disposed on one side on the base and including a work table for gripping a work; and a stone unit disposed on another side on the base and including a stone rotating mechanism for holding and rotating a grinding stone about an axis thereof, wherein the work unit includes first, second and third moving devices for supporting and moving the work table in an X-direction and a Y-direction intersecting with each other in a horizontal plane, and in a Z-direction normal to the horizontal plane, respectively; the stone unit includes a turning mechanism capable of turning the grinding stone about a vertical axis substantially coinciding with a leading end portion of the grinding stone, and the turning mechanism comprising : a rotatable table having a rotational axis and fourth and fifth moving devices, the rotatable table being disposed above the base for rotating about the rotational axis, and the fourth and the fifth moving devices disposed above the rotatable table for supporting and moving the stone rotating mechanism in a U-direction and a V-direction, intersecting with each other in the horizontal plane, respectively ; and a numerical controller which controls the first, second and third moving devices in the work unit and the rotatable table in the stone unit, wherein the numerical controller controls the work unit such that the work is moved in the X-direction and the Y-direction in synchronism with movement of the work in the Z-direction, and the numerical controller controls the stone unit to move the stone rotating mechanism to a predetermined position and rotate the rotating rotatable table at a predetermined angle on the rotational axis such that the leading end portion of the grinding stone substantially coincides with the rotational axis of rotatable table .