Vibration-Free Machining of Pilgrim Mandrels

Abstract

A support collar plate for vibration-free holding of workpiece, i.e., pilgrim mandrel, clamped at both ends and to be processed between its ends by means of a grinding wheel, comprised of a base, arranged fixed in place in respect to the workpiece, and a clamp, which extends around the workpiece on at least two oppositely located sides. The workpiece can be clamped by a clamping force, wherein the clamp extends around the workpiece so that it is possible to perform processing in the area of the clamp on the side facing the grinding wheel, and wherein the clamp is floatingly seated in at least one direction perpendicularly in respect to a longitudinal axis of the workpiece, so that the clamp is self-centering in respect to the workpiece. By means of the floatingly seated clamp, the workpiece is maintained independent of exterior forces which change the spatial position of the workpiece.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of the priority filing date in PCT/EP2008/003226 referenced in WIPO Publication WO 2008/128758. The earliest priority date claimed is Apr. 24, 2007.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

None

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

None

STATEMENT REGARDING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL

Portions of the disclosure of this patent document contain material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates to a support collar plate for the vibration-free holding of a workpiece, in particular a pilgrim mandrel, which is clamped at both ends and is to be processed between the ends by means of a grinding wheel.

To produce tubes, a piece of sheet metal, for example in the form of an endless sheet unwound from a roll, is fed in a continuous process to a device, in which the piece of sheet metal is shaped around a floatingly seated pilgrim mandrel into a tube, also double-walled, if required, by means of roller shaping and/or section rolling. For this purpose, a pilgrim mandrel preferably consists of a shaft, around which the tube is initially formed, and one or several jigs, which expand the tube to a desired interior diameter. Following the expansion of the tube to the desired final interior diameter, the tube is longitudinally closed by means of a soldering or welding process over the entire overlapping area of the piece of sheet metal, or in the area of the parallel extending hinges, for example by soldering or welding. Subsequently, a quality check takes place, for example, by means of an X-ray process.

If the tubes being produced are quality tubes, particularly high demands are made on maintaining the interior dimensions, among others. Therefore, very precise pilgrim mandrels are required for the production of precision tubes.

An essential process step in the production of pilgrim mandrels lies in processing by means of a grinding wheel or grinding roller. Hereinafter, the terms grinding wheel and grinding roller are interchangeably used. In the course of this process step, the pilgrim mandrel, which is possibly put together from several individual parts and has been hardened, is clamped parallel with respect to the axis of rotation of the grinding wheel and is grounded by means of a grinding wheel which can be disposed along the pilgrim mandrel. A known and substantial problem exists in that, when coming into contact with the grinding wheel, the long and slender pilgrim mandrel makes excursions transversely to the axis of rotation of the grinding wheel. This results in so-called chatter marks on the ground surface.

It is well known that in producing pilgrim mandrels, an automatically controlled (NC=numerically controlled) support collar plate is guided isochronously with respect to the grinding wheel. The disadvantage here lies in that, in the course of this process step, the workpiece tensions created during the hardening process are not released. Following the removal of the support collar plate, there is a shock, resulting in a poor concentric running of the workpiece.

Also known are self-centering, hydraulic three-point support collar plates which have a topological relation with the workpiece. These types of support collar plates have several disadvantages.

They do not have the ability of acting in a vibration-damping manner. To the contrary, the chatter marks on the workpiece are increased by the hydraulic advancing system. The employment of several of these types of support collar plates, distributed over the length of the workpiece, also does not result in any improvement.

If these support collar plates are employed in a topological relationship with the workpiece, they have the additional disadvantage that a shoulder, which is caused by the worm-like advancement movement, is created on the workpiece every time the support collar plate location is passed.

Known is a device for stabilizing a workpiece in the course of its processing by means of a grinding wheel (U.S. Pat. No. 7,008,294 B2). For reducing vibrations of the workpiece in a transverse direction being created as a result of the contact of the grinding wheel, it has been proposed to arrange a padded body on the side of the grinding roller located opposite the grinding wheel and to press it against the workpiece. The padded body can be pneumatically placed against the grinding wheel. The padded body matches the contours of the grinding roller at least partially. The padded body is made of an elastic solid material or of an elastic outer skin filled with a compressible medium under pressure. The contact pressure of the padded body against the grinding roller can be changed. Vibration damping is achieved by means of the pressure force of the padded body against the workpiece, which is supported at least partially on the grinding disk being excited to vibrate.

Also known is a support device for a workpiece, which is seated, rotatable around its longitudinal axis, during processing by means of a grinding wheel, or grinding roller (U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,210). The support device is comprised of an arm, which supports the workpiece in a direction opposite the direction of rotation of the grinding wheel, is connected with a lever and is pivotably seated around a horizontal pivot axis. Counterweights can be arranged on the lever. Vibration damping is created by a support force, which counteracts an excursion of the workpiece in the direction of rotation of the grinding wheel and is limited by the force of the weight of the counterweights and the transmission ratio between the lever and the arm.

The disadvantage here is that no large forces can be exerted on the workpiece due to the type of construction, which would otherwise push the workpiece away, and making it no longer possible to obtain an accurate measurement and straight-line conditions on the workpiece. In particular, in both cases the vibration-damping force is generated by a one-sided pressure force, whose counter-force is provided by the workpiece. Thus, the vibration-damping force is limited because the workpiece starts to bend, or starts to interfere with the processing accuracy of the workpiece. Furthermore, it is only possible to dampen vibrations in the workpiece in a first plane extending parallel with respect to the axis of rotation, but they remain undamped in a second plane also extending parallel with respect to the axis of rotation and perpendicular with respect to the first plane.

TECHNICAL OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to develop a support collar plate for holding, preferably free of vibrations, a workpiece clamped at both ends, in particular a pilgrim mandrel, to be processed between the two ends by means of a grinding wheel.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION AND ITS ADVANTAGES

This object is attained by means of the characteristics of claim 1. Accordingly, a support collar plate in accordance with the invention for holding a workpiece, in particular, a pilgrim mandrel, free of vibrations, clamped at both ends, particularly to be processed between the two ends by means of a grinding wheel. Said support collar plate is comprised of a base, arranged fixed in place with respect to the workpiece, and a clamp which extends around the workpiece on at least two oppositely located sides, in which the workpiece can be clamped by a clamping force independent of exterior forces acting on the spatial position of the workpiece. In this case, the clamp extends around the workpiece in such a way that it is possible to perform processing in the area of the clamp on the side facing the grinding wheel. The clamp is floatingly seated in at least one direction perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece so that the clamp is self-centering with respect to the workpiece and, by means of the floatingly seated clamp, the workpiece is maintained independent of exterior forces which change the spatial position and the clamping state of the workpiece. Moreover, because of the floating seating of the clamp, perpendicularly with respect to its longitudinal axis, movements of the workpiece are damped by means of the mass inertia of the clamp.

It becomes clear that the invention is realized in every case by means of at least one floatingly seated support collar plate, which does not keep the workpiece at a defined location and squeezes it there, but instead guides the workpiece and supports its. Because of this, the workpiece maintains its full degree of freedom during processing. Workpiece tensions created during the hardening process can be reduced or equalized during pre-roughing processing. In this case, the support collar plate initially moves along with the wobble of the workpiece. Following the first pre-roughening movements, the workpiece becomes calm, and with it the support collar plate. A possible wobble can be easily deduced from the movement of the support collar plate. The support collar plate also has a certain moment of inertia, which has a positive effect on the deflection of the workpiece caused by the grinding wheel. In practical tests, this deflection has been calculated to be a few thousands of a millimeter. This small error can be compensated by placing at least one vibration-measuring finger against the grinding wheel, preferably in the workpiece center.

The floatingly seated clamp, resting dynamically free against the workpiece, together with the base arranged fixed in place in regard to the workpiece, forms a freely floating two-point support collar plate, which does not exert any horizontal or axial forces on the workpiece. This freely floating support collar plate aids the workpiece in retaining its own natural position so that, following processing, the workpiece is free of tension and therefore becomes straight-lined and wobble-free. The tensions existing in the workpiece as a result of the hardening process are released by the freely floating support collar plate in the course of processing. In this way, it is possible to create a perfect concentric running of the workpiece. Because of the clamp, which extends around the workpiece on at least two oppositely located sides, the movement of the floatingly seated portion of the support collar plate is coupled with the workpiece by means of which the stability of the workpiece is aided. The clamp which, in contrast to the workpiece, has a large moment of mass inertia, thereby aiding the workpiece in not getting into an undesired vibration state, which would otherwise show up as chatter marks on the workpiece surface. It is possible to act at a high pressure without pushing the workpiece out of position by means of the freely oppositely arranged force arrangement of the contact points, also called support collar plate contact points, between the clamp and the workpiece, or with a strong clamping force on the workpiece. During the process, the damping effect is extremely increased and it is possible in this way to produce workpieces free of chatter marks. By means of the floating clamp of the support collar plate it is also possible for the first time to produce, for example, long, non-circular, polygon-shaped shafts or pilgrim mandrels. To increase the damping effect, it is possible to distribute several support collar plates, preferably at short distances following each other, over the entire workpiece length.

A preferred embodiment of the invention provides that weights can be arranged on the clamp for matching the mass inertia of the clamp to predeterminable damping required for the vibration-free processing of the workpiece. By means of adjustable counterweights, it is possible to evenly adjust the force effects at the contact locations between the clamp and the workpiece, also called support collar plate contact points, so that no forces push the workpiece out of its natural position in an undesired direction.

Preferably, the weights should be made of a vibration-damping material. The weights can simultaneously be used for producing a clamping force maintaining the workpiece in the clamp.

The clamp is preferably provided with freely movable, exchangeable inserts in the area of the contact points between the workpiece and the clamp, through whose exchange, the adaptation of the clamp to different workpieces, for example, different workpiece diameters, can be performed, and/or by means of whose exchange a different number of contact points can be produced between the workpiece and the clamp. It is possible to expand a two-point support collar plate, which merely has two contact points between the clamp and the workpiece, into a three- or four-point support collar plate having three or four contact points between the workpiece and the clamp. This is done by means of V-shaped inserts, which are arranged on the clamp, are freely movable, and constitute the contact points, or support collar plate points, between the workpiece and the clamp. It is conceivable to provide interchangeable, fixed or freely movable V-shaped contact point inserts in order to cover different workpiece diameters with the same support collar plate.

Another preferred embodiment of the invention provides for the base of the support collar plate to be magnetic in order to adjust the support collar plate without tools and independently of the machine, and therefore also the position of the contact points (also called support collar plate contact points) between the workpiece and the clamp, along the longitudinal axis of the workpiece.

The clamp can be height-adjustable in relation to the base in order to adjust the position of the contact points to different tip heights, or for matching the support collar plate to machines of different tip heights, between which the workpiece is clamped.

Preferably the support collar plate has means for active vibration damping of vibrations created by the contact between the grinding wheel and the workpiece, which are arranged between the base and the clamp, and/or on the clamp, and/or in the area of the contact points between the clamp and the workpiece, and/or between the clamp and the weights. The means for active vibration damping preferably comprise at least one piezo element consisting of several piezo layers stacked on top of each other. In this way, a mechanical reaction in the form of pressure or traction, into a pre-selectable direction acting counter to a deflection of the workpiece, takes place by applying an external voltage. Only by means of the adjustable high contact pressure in the area of the contact points between the workpiece and clamp (which extends around the workpiece from at least two oppositely located sides) does the employment of active vibration dampers become possible (in the form of piezo elements arranged, for example, in the area of the contact points). In this way, it is possible to additionally suppress possible vibrations in the course of processing. In principle, it is also conceivable to act on the weights by means of the piezo elements so that, because of an acceleration caused by a displacement of the weights relative to the clamp, a force is generated which counteracts a deflection of the workpiece.

An additional preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the support collar plate has means for detecting the amplitude and direction of vibrations. The production dependability can be increased by means of integrated vibration-measuring arrangements in that it is possible to cause an immediate processing stop via the machine software when the workpiece starts to vibrate because of, for example, processing advancement values being too high. Furthermore, the means for detecting vibrations can be used for controlling the means for active vibration damping.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the floating seating of the clamp in at least one direction perpendicularly in relation to the position of the longitudinal axis of the workpiece includes a hinge which is arranged between the base and the clamp, and has at least one pivot shaft extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece.

The clamp can be pivoted from an initial position in regard to the base in which the clamp cannot be brought into contact with the workpiece. It can then be pivoted into an engagement position in which the clamp can be brought into contact with the workpiece. To assure the easy loading of the workpieces into a machine tool, support collar plate placement options should be provided. These can, for example, be realized by means for pivoting the clamp in respect to the base.

Another preferred embodiment of the invention provides for cooling medium nozzles to be arranged in the area between the contact points between the clamp and the workpiece. Hydrostatic cooling water nozzles integrated into the support collar plate, constituting the contact points between the workpiece and the clamp, prevent the occurrence of surface markings on the workpiece and also act in a vibration-damping manner.

It is important to stress that the support collar plate, in accordance with the invention, is not limited to producing pilgrim mandrels, but can also be utilized in all cases in which long, slender workpieces, such as profiled shafts or tubes, must be subjected to processing by grinding.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the invention to develop a support collar plate for holding, preferably free of vibrations, a workpiece clamped at both ends, in particular a pilgrim mandrel, to be processed between the two ends by means of a grinding wheel.

This object is attained by means of a support collar plate for holding a workpiece, in particular, a pilgrim mandrel, clamped at both ends, particularly to be processed between the two ends by means of a grinding wheel. Said support collar plate is comprised of a base, arranged fixed in place with respect to the workpiece, and a clamp which extends around the workpiece on at least two oppositely located sides, in which the workpiece can be clamped by a clamping force independent of exterior forces acting on the spatial position of the workpiece. In this case, the clamp extends around the workpiece in such a way that it is possible to perform processing in the area of the clamp on the side facing the grinding wheel. The clamp is floatingly seated in at least one direction perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece so that the clamp is self-centering with respect to the workpiece and, by means of the floatingly seated clamp, the workpiece is maintained independent of exterior forces which change the spatial position and the clamping state of the workpiece. Moreover, because of the floating seating of the clamp, perpendicularly with respect to its longitudinal axis, movements of the workpiece are damped by means of the mass inertia of the clamp.

FIGURES

FIG. 1, a perspective plan view of a device for processing a workpiece, which is clamped at both ends and is held between its ends by several support collar plates, by means of a grinding disk,

FIG. 2, a plan view of a support collar plate of the device in FIG. 1 in a viewing direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the workpiece,

FIG. 3, a detailed plan view of a first exemplary embodiment of the support collar plate in FIG. 2 in a viewing direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the workpiece,

FIG. 4, a detailed plan view of a second exemplary embodiment of the support collar plate in FIG. 2 in a viewing direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the workpiece,

FIG. 5, a detailed plan view of a third exemplary embodiment of the support collar plate in FIG. 2 in a viewing direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the workpiece,

FIG. 6, a detailed view of a support collar plate in FIG. 1 in which, for a clearer view, a second gripper arm which, together with a first gripper arm, constitutes a clamp, has been removed,

FIG. 7, a perspective plan view of the support collar plate in FIG. 6 in an exploded view, and

FIG. 8, a perspective plan view of the support collar plate in FIG. 2 in an exploded view.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

• 1 Device
• 2 Support collar plate
• 3 Vibration-measuring finger
• 5 Clamp
• 6 Gripper arm
• 7 Gripper arm
• 10 Grinding wheel
• 11 Pilgrim mandrel, workpiece
• 12 Drive mechanism
• 13 Tip
• 17 Base
• 18 Tube
• 19 Shaft
• 20 Weight
• 21 Weight
• 24 Insert
• 25 Insert
• 26 Shaft
• 27 Vibration sensor
• 28 Pivot shaft
• 29 Active vibrations damper
• 30 Hinge

DESCRIPTION

In a device 1, represented in FIG. 1, for processing a pilgrim mandrel 11, which is clamped at both ends, by means of a grinding wheel 10, three support collar plates 2 are provided, which hold the pilgrim mandrel 11 between its ends, free of vibration. The pilgrim mandrel 11 is clamped between two tips 12, 13 of the device 1, one of which is driven. A vibration-measuring finger 3 is used for measuring vibrations, or deflections, being generated by the contact between the pilgrim mandrel 11 and the grinding wheel 10. Production dependability can be increased by means of the vibration-measuring finger 3, for example, in that a cessation of processing can be immediately initiated by means of the machine software in case the workpiece 11 starts to vibrate as a result of process advancement speeds being too high.

The support collar plates 2 represented in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5 each consist of a base 17, which can be arranged, fixed in place on the device 1 (FIG. 1) in relation to the workpiece 11, as well as a clamp 5, which extends around the workpiece 11 from at least two oppositely located sides and by means of which the workpiece 11 can be clamped by a clamping force which is independent of exterior forces acting on the spatial position of the workpiece 11. The base 17 of the support collar plate 2 is magnetic in order to be able to adjust the support collar plate 2, and therefore also the position of the contact points between the clamp 5 and the workpiece 11 along the longitudinal axis of the workpiece 11 without tools and independently of the machine. Here, the clamp 5 extends around the workpiece 11 in such a way that processing can be performed on the side of the workpiece 11 facing the grinding wheel 10. The clamp 5 is floatingly seated in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece 11, so that the clamp 5 is self-centering with respect to the workpiece and, by means of the floatingly seated clamp, the workpiece is maintained independent of exterior forces which change the spatial position and the clamping state of the workpiece 11. The clamp 5 is constituted by a first gripper arm 6 and a second gripper arm 7, which are hingedly connected with each other via a shaft 26. The floating seating of the clamp 5 is produced by means of a hinge 30 arranged between the base 17 and the clamp 5, which has a pivot shaft 28 which extends parallel in relation to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece 11, by means of which the first gripper arm is connected with the base 17.

Because of the floating seating of the clamp 5, movements of the workpiece 11 perpendicularly to its longitudinal axis are damped by the mass inertia of the clamp 5. Weights 20, 21 can be arranged on the clamp 5 for adapting the mass inertia of the clamp 5 to a preselectable damping required for the vibration-free processing of the workpiece 11. Moreover, at the same time the weights 20, 21 are used for applying a clamping force for holding the workpiece in the clamp. By means of the adjustable weights 20, 21 it is possible to evenly adjust the force action of the contact points between the clamp 5 and the workpiece 11, so that no forces push the workpiece 11 out of its natural position. In this case the weights 20, 21 have been arranged on the two gripper arms 6, 7 in such a way that, because of the laws of leverage, no forces are created, which act on the position of the workpiece 11, and instead only a clamping force is generated, which holds the workpiece 11.

The weights 20, 21 are made of a vibration-damping material.

In the area of the contact points between the workpiece 11 and the clamp 5, the clamp 5 is provided with freely movable, exchangeable inserts 24, 25, by means of whose exchange an adaptation of the clamp 5 to different workpieces 11, for example to different workpiece diameters, can be performed, and/or by means of whose interchangeability a different number of contact points between the workpiece and the clamp 5 can be provided.

Here, the support collar plates 2 represented in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5 differ because of the selection and combination of the inserts 24, 25.

Thus, as can be clearly seen in FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8, in a view perpendicular in relation to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece 11, the inserts 24 are semicircularly shaped, and in a view parallel with the longitudinal axis are embodied to be level. Such an insert constitutes a contact point between the clamp 5 and the workpiece 11. In contrast thereto, and as can be clearly seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inserts 25 are embodied V-shaped in a view parallel in relation to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece 11. Such an insert forms two contact points between the clamp 5 and the workpiece 11.

The clamps 5 have be adjusted in height in respect to the base 17 in order to be able to adjust the position of the contact points to different levels of the tips, or to be able to match the support collar plate 2 to devices 1 with different tip levels, between which the workpiece 11 is clamped. To this end, a tube 18 has been placed against the base 17, in which a shaft 19 is arranged in a height-adjustable manner and pivotable around a pivot shaft formed along the longitudinal shaft of the tube 18 and the shaft 19. By means of the pivot shaft the clamp 5 can be pivoted from a deflected position, in which the clamp 5 cannot be brought into engagement with the workpiece 11, into an engagement position, in which the clamp 5 can be brought into contact with the workpiece 11.

A support collar plate 2 is again shown in an exploded view. The same reference numerals as in FIG. 2 have been used here.

It is important to stress that a basic idea of the invention is the tension- and vibration-free processing by grinding or turning of long, slender shafts or tube-like workpieces in a processing tool by means of one or several floatingly seated, self-centering support collar plates, which simultaneously damp vibration movements, or vibrations transversely to a longitudinal axis of the workpiece. By means of this, a substantial problem in connection with grinding of pilgrim mandrels is solved, which is caused by vibrations in the form of transverse oscillations created by the contact of the grinding wheel with the workpiece. Workpieces free of chatter marks can only be damped by means of large contact clamping forces, preferably distributed over the entire length of the workpiece. When employing active vibration dampers it is a prerequisite in the same way to act with large forces on the workpiece surface. The support collar plate, in accordance with the invention, permits, on the one hand, to act on the workpiece diameter with large forces, or at a large contact pressure, in order to obtain a large damping effect, and, on the other hand, to finally maintain the natural workpiece axis in order to achieve perfect concentric running, together with a vibration-free surface of the workpiece. Furthermore, the device in accordance with the invention permits the employment of active vibration dampers, for example, in the form of piezo crystals.

The invention can be commercially employed in particular in the field of the production of pilgrim mandrels.

All features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings, may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specific function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6. In particular, the use of “step of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.

Claims

1. A support collar plate for the vibration-free holding of a workpiece, in particular a pilgrim mandrel, which is clamped at both ends and is to be processed between its ends by means of a grinding wheel, characterized in that

the support collar plate is comprised of a base, arranged fixed in place with respect to the workpiece, and a clamp, which extends around the workpiece on at least two oppositely located sides, in which the workpiece can be clamped by a clamping force, wherein the clamp extends around the workpiece in such a way that it is possible to perform processing in the area of the clamp on the side facing the grinding wheel, and wherein the clamp is floatingly seated in at least one direction perpendicularly with respect to a longitudinal axis of the workpiece so that the clamp is self-centering with respect to the workpiece

and, by means of the floatingly seated clamp, the workpiece is maintained independent of exterior forces which change the spatial position of the workpiece, and movements of the workpiece perpendicularly with respect to its longitudinal axis are damped by means of the mass inertia of the clamp.

2. The support collar plate in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that weights are arranged on the clamp for matching the mass inertia of the clamp to predeterminable damping.

3. The support collar plate in accordance with claim 2, characterized in that the weights are made of a vibration-damping material.

4. The support collar plate in accordance with claim 2, characterized in that the weights are simultaneously used for producing a clamping force for maintaining the workpiece in the clamp.

5. The support collar plate in accordance with claim 3, characterized in that the weights are simultaneously used for producing a clamping force for maintaining the workpiece in the clamp.

6. The support collar plate in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the clamp is provided with exchangeable inserts in the area of the contact points between the workpiece and the clamp, through whose exchange the adaptation of the clamp to different workpieces can be performed, and/or by means of whose exchange a different number of contact points can be produced between the workpiece and the clamp.

7. The support collar plate in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the base is magnetic.

8. The support collar plate in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the clamp is height-adjustable in relation to the base.

9. The support collar plate in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the support collar plate has means for the active vibration damping of vibrations being created by the contact between the grinding wheel and the workpiece.

10. The support collar plate in accordance with claim 9, characterized in that the means for active vibration damping preferably include at least one piezo element, by means of which a mechanical reaction in the form of pressure or traction, into a pre-selectable direction acting counter to a deflection of the workpiece, takes place by applying an external voltage.

11. The support collar plate in accordance with claim 9, characterized in that the support collar plate has means for detecting vibrations.

12. The support collar plate in accordance with claim 10, characterized in that the support collar plate has means for detecting vibrations.

13. The support collar plate in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the floating seating of the clamp in at least one direction perpendicularly in relation to the position of the longitudinal axis of the workpiece includes a hinge which is arranged between the base and the clamp and has at least one pivot shaft extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece.

14. The support collar plate in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the clamp can be pivoted from an initial position in regard to the base, in which the clamp cannot be brought into contact with the workpiece, into an engagement position, in which the clamp can be brought into contact with the workpiece.

15. The support collar plate in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that cooling medium nozzles are arranged in the area between the contact points between the clamp and the workpiece.