The positioning of a cylindrical workpiece (that has to be machined by grinding) can be performed particularly precisely if the workpiece abuts to at least one, preferably two, static supporting elements and is fixed in a collet of a spindle, which allows a wobble compensation as well as a radial displacement of the spindle axis relative to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece.

A skate blade sharpening system retains a skate blade in a sharpening position whose centerline has a first location relative to a first visual reference feature. A motor-driven rotating shaft has a wheel-mounting location for mounting a grinding wheel for sharpening operation. The shaft accepts an alignment wheel at the wheel-mounting location during an alignment, the alignment wheel having a second visual reference feature having a second location relative to a centerline of the grinding wheel when occupying the wheel-mounting location. An adjustment mechanism moves the shaft transversely during alignment to vary relative position between the wheel-mounting location and the sharpening position including an aligned position in which the centerline of the grinding wheel is aligned with the centerline of the sharpening position, the aligned position being indicated by alignment of the first visual reference feature with the second visual reference feature during alignment.

A skate blade sharpening system used to sharpen the blades of ice skates. The skate sharpener can include a housing that includes an elongated slot for receiving the blade of an ice skate for sharpening, and clamp jaws for retaining the skate. The housing can include at least one slot cover to engage the skate blade. Engagement of the skate blade can be sensed by a controller to enable sharpening operations to proceed. The skate blade sharpening system can automatically operate a grinding wheel and move the rotating grinding wheel back and forth along the lower face of the skate blade a desired number of times to sharpen the skate blade.

A ski or snowboard edge sharpener may include an abrasive grinding wheel, a belt-driven drive train or direct drive system that connects a motor and grinding wheel drive mechanism and decreases the grinding wheel's speed of rotation relative to the speed of the motor, a grinding wheel mount allowing selection and use grinding wheels of different grits and materials and grinding wheel controls allowing the control of the cut depth and the grinding wheel angles relative to the longitudinal and transverse planes of the ski edge surface to be sharpened. The sharpener may alternatively include a grinding wheel and motor that drives the grinding wheel drive mechanism. Such configurations may allow repeated sharpening of a ski edge at specific/chosen angles with a specific/chosen surface finish. A position lockdown device that is part of each of the control mechanisms and a vacuum system to capture grinding residue may be included.

An ice blade measuring system having a holder, a non-contact measuring device, and a data storage means is disclosed. The holder holds the ice blade in a measurement position. The non-contact measuring device being operationally positioned relative to the holder to measure at least a three-dimensional (3D) shape of an ice contacting surface of an ice blade held in the holder. The non-contact measuring device being configured to create a dataset which corresponds to the 3D shape. The data storage means being operatively connected to the non-contact measuring device to record the measured dataset.

An ice blade measuring system having a holder, a non-contact measuring device, and a data storage means is disclosed. The holder holds the ice blade in a measurement position. The non-contact measuring device being operationally positioned relative to the holder to measure at least a three-dimensional (3D) shape of an ice contacting surface of an ice blade held in the holder. The non-contact measuring device being configured to create a dataset which corresponds to the 3D shape. The data storage means being operatively connected to the non-contact measuring device to record the measured dataset.

A grinding wheel for use in a skate blade sharpening system includes a metal grinding ring having an abrasive-coated outer surface for contacting a skate blade to be sharpened during sharpening, and a generally disk-shaped hub to which the grinding ring is fixedly mounted. The hub and grinding ring are configured for mating with an arbor on a rotating shaft of the skate blade sharpening system. Generally the hub is of a less expensive and lower-density material than the grinding ring. In one embodiment, the hub is of a lightweight material such as thermoplastic.

In one aspect, the invention is directed to a sharpener for sharpening a snow/ice travel member such as a skate blade, a ski or a snowboard, which includes a sharpening surface that is movable lengthwise along an edge face of the item to be sharpened. The sharpening surface may be movable lengthwise by means of a motor and a reciprocating mechanism, or may be manually moved by a user.

An automated apparatus for grinding an ice blade on an ice skate comprises a processor, an input device in communication with said processor, a skate holder, a non-contact measuring device in communication with said processor, and a grinding device in communication with said processor. The input device permits a user to select an ice blade grinding option. The skate holder releasably holds at least one said ice skate to said apparatus. The non-contact measuring device is configured to measure a three-dimensional (3D) shape of said ice blade. The grinding device is configured to perform a grinding action on said ice blade in said holder based on said selected ice blade grinding option to change said 3D shape of said ice blade to a desired 3D shape.

An automated apparatus for grinding an ice blade on an ice skate comprises a processor, an input device in communication with said processor, a skate holder, a non-contact measuring device in communication with said processor, and a grinding device in communication with said processor. The input device permits a user to select an ice blade grinding option. The skate holder releasably holds at least one said ice skate to said apparatus. The non-contact measuring device is configured to measure a three-dimensional (3D) shape of said ice blade. The grinding device is configured to perform a grinding action on said ice blade in said holder based on said selected ice blade grinding option to change said 3D shape of said ice blade to a desired 3D shape.