Despite advances in BINIC turning centers and cutting tools that have made great strides for hard turning rather than grinding, grinding has proven to be a better choice.
That is the position we have taken. With these interests in mind, whether it’s hard turning or grinding, manufacturers are always eager to find the best machining process.
We often advise users on the advantages of grinding and hard turning. We say that there are at least seven reasons to grind rather than bite the scalp:
1. Grinding is good at meeting the surface finish, size and roundness requirements, the grinding process can obtain better surface finish, the dimensional tolerance is less than 0.008 mm, and the parts are ground to a roundness of less than 2 microns.
2. Grinding provides a more economical and stable process than turning compared to ceramic and cemented carbide materials. Hard turning of cemented carbide or ceramic requires a diamond (PCD or CVD) insert. Rapid wear and chipping of the blade can result in dimensional changes or scrapped parts. This increases downtime to replace the blade and resize the part. Conversely, when grinding these materials with a abrasive grinding discs, the wheel will wear out gradually. The abrasive grinding discs can be trimmed to expose new diamond grains without stopping production.
3. Grinding meets the “lead-free” specification. This specification refers to the “spiral” visible on the shaft. It is created by a single-point cutting tool that moves laterally as the part rotates on the lathe. This surface pattern can cause premature failure of the seal on the shaft. Lead can be eliminated by cutting into the grinding shaft.
4. Grinding is a common customer requirement. The automotive, aerospace and bearing industries often polish on critical parts.
5. The abrasive grinding discs is not affected by intermittent cutting caused by workpieces with features such as keyways or splines. Depending on the shape and size of these features, interrupted cutting can result in premature blade cracking during hard turning operations.
6. The cost of parts for the abrasive grinding discs is lower than other types of tools. In some common cases, the abrasive grinding discs can use 30,000 parts before it needs to be replaced. If the cost of the abrasive grinding discs is Rs. 3000, which is every 10 rupees.
7. Less downtime is required for grinding. How many times does it take to replace the blade on a CNC lathe for the entire 30,000 parts?
We noticed that most decisions about grinding or hard turning are not cutting and drying. These decisions often require expertise in grinding and turning, so the value of consulting with professional teams in their network and technology provider alliances. “Of course we are interested in raising awareness of BINIC’s range of grinding machines and turning models, but our main focus is on maximizing user productivity and efficiency.”