There are many benefits of centerless grinding, but what is it and what are the benefits.
Centerless grinding is the process of removing material from a workpiece to achieve precise, rounded surface finishes, ideal for small cylindrical metal parts.
How does it work?
The process is relatively simple, with three essential parts – the grinding wheel, regulating wheel, and work blade. The workpiece is held in place between two rotating wheels, one which controls speed and while the other abrasively grinds. Because of this simplified formula, it allows for ease of production.
There are two primary methods of centerless grinding, thru-feed, and in-feed. Thru-feed operates by feeding the piece completely through the grinding wheels, where it enters on one side and exits on the other. This is highly efficient as well as cost effective due to its short lead time. Infeed centerless grinding grinds parts requiring multiple diameters and profiles where the part is never fed through the machine. This is best for grinding more complex shapes.
Benefits of centerless grinding
- Centerless grinding is preferred for operations where many parts must be processed in a short amount of time. Compared to grinding between centers, the load time is exceedingly small so the process becomes continuous.
- Since the error of a center is eliminated, the piece exists in a “floating” condition which takes less of a toll and allows for a longer wheel life.
- Centerless grinding machines can be feed parts automatically – which saves a significant amount of time and labor.
- Centerless grinding allows for much tighter dimensional tolerance that can be held on parts, where grinding between centers doesn’t come close.
Is centerless grinding for you?
As you can see above there are many benefits of centerless grinding. If you require high volume production, rapid rounding, and accuracy, then centerless grinding may be what you’re looking for. The specialists at Wisconsin Metal Tech deliver parts with superior roundness and fine surface finishes and work to meet your most critical schedules, whether that’s next week, next day, or even the same day if necessary. Regardless of location, we can supply expert grinding services from Wisconsin to around the world.
