
2015-10-13 | 000-006-295 DE-DE
SCHAEFFLER AG, SCHWEINFURT
Ein technikhistorisches Jubil um
Die Kugelfr smaschine von Friedrich Fischer wurde vor 125 Jahren patentiert
Nach langwierigen und kostspieligen Versuchen war es dem Schweinfurter Schlosser und Dreher Friedrich Fischer 1883 zum ersten Mal gelungen, mit der von ihm entwickelten Kugelm hle geh rtete Kugeln aus Gussstahl gleich gro , genau rund und in hohen St ckzahlen zu fertigen. Vor 125 Jahren, am 17. Juli 1890, erhielt Fischer vom kaiserlichen Patentamt das Patent Nr. 55783 f r seine Kugelfr smaschine.
Durch den Einbau von geh rteten Stahlkugeln in die Lager von Fahrr dern, die Fischer in Schweinfurt selbst herstellte, machte er sie leichtg ngig und damit f r seine Kunden attraktiv. Diese Stahlkugeln wurden damals in England auf Drehb nken in Handarbeit hergestellt. Sie waren nicht sehr pr zise, dadurch bruchanf llig und zudem teuer. Fischer begann deshalb auf eigenkonstruierten Maschinen mit der Herstellung von Stahlkugeln zu experimentieren. 1883 kam der Durchbruch. Mit den ersten, von Fischer entwickelten Kugelm hlen, erreichte er ab dem Jahr 1883 Genauigkeiten der Kugeln von bis zu 0,020 Millimetern, das sind 20 m.
Wer bei der Kugelm hle genau hinschaut, kann die geniale Idee Fischers erkennen: ber den zu bearbeitenden Rohkugeln befindet sich eine Schleifscheibe, die leicht exzentrisch uml uft. Das hat zur Folge, dass die Kugeleigendrehachse um ca. 1,9 Grad aus der Bearbeitungsebene - in diesem Fall aus der Waagerechten - geschwenkt ist. Jede Kugel dreht sich etwa 30 Mal um ihre fast waagerechte Achse, w hrend sie sich gleichzeitig einmal um ihre dazu senkrechte Achse dreht. Somit wird jede Stelle der Kugeloberfl che durch das Werkzeug erfasst und alles, was vorsteht so lange abgearbeitet, bis die Kugel am Ende der Bearbeitung die nahezu ideale Kugelform erreicht hat.
In den Folgejahren stieg die Produktion; ebenso die Zahl der Besch ftigten. 1887 traten zwei M nner in Fischers Unternehmen ein, die bald die Geschichte der W lzlager mitpr gen sollten: Engelbert Fries und Wilhelm H pflinger. Die 1888 von H pflinger konstruierte Fr smaschine erm glichte eine noch wirtschaftlichere und rationellere Produktion der Kugeln. Missstimmigkeiten f hrten jedoch dazu, dass sich Fries und H pflinger 1890 von Fischer trennten und am 15. Mai 1890 ihre eigene Firma gr ndeten. H pflinger baute die patentierte Kugelfr smaschine nach und Fischer klagte dagegen. Das Gericht urteilte salomonisch: Fischer wurde als Patentinhaber best tigt, H pflinger das lizenzfreie Nutzungsrecht zugesprochen.
Mittlerweile waren sowohl Fischers Erste Automatische Gu stahlkugelfabrik wie auch Fries & H pflinger dazu bergegangen, au er den Kugeln auch komplette Kugellager zu fertigen. Um die Jahrhundertwende existierten in Schweinfurt bereits eine ganze Reihe kleinerer Unternehmen, die weitsichtig die Bedeutung der W lzlager f r die weitere Industrialisierung und die st rmisch einsetzende Automobilisierung erkannt hatten.
Fischers Warenzeichen F AG f r Fischer s Automatische Gussstahlkugelfabrik (der Genitiv-Apostroph war 1905 noch blich und wurde bis 1962 im Logo beibehalten) hat nach wie vor Weltruf. Das Prinzip seiner und H pflingers Erfindung, das spitzenlose Schleifen von Kugeln, wird auch heute noch von allen Kugelherstellern angewandt.
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