Repair grinding gets on a roll

Problematic blade marks have been ground out within tolerance, and the component has been restored to its place in full production. The component is a through-hardened 62 Rockwell steel roller from a belt splitter in the manufacturing unit at Master Abrasives, the UK distributor for Micromatic Grinding Technologies.

The belt splitting device had become less effective in production due to wear on the roller part, which needed refurbishing. As the UK distributor for Micromatic, Master Abrasives has the eco 200 cylindrical grinding machine set-up for demonstration purposes in its grinding and finishing showroom and took the opportunity to use the machine.

Richard Clarke, Master Abrasives facilities technician, explains: “The wear marks on the roller were from a blade used to splits rolls of coated material inside the manufacturing device. These marks had to be ground out to make the equipment effective in production once again.

“We usually get the roller sent out to be ground externally, which is more expensive and a longer lead-time than it is for us to do the work in-house. This is why we were pleased with the excellent results from the Micromatic eco 200 machine used with our Master grinding wheels; it has saved us valuable time and resources.”

The eco 200 is a basic but high-precision grinder which can be used for external, internal or face grinding applications. The machine is installed at the centre of Master Abrasives’ grinding and finishing showroom in Northamptonshire and is available for demonstration with many of the additional accessories offered by Micromatic, including the digital readout. The machine’s small footprint and low cost combined with its ability to hold tight tolerances makes it an ideal economical entry model machine for toolrooms.

Ian Meredith, applications engineering manager, says: “For successful grinding and finishing, manufacturers need more than a great grinding machine. We have set-up our demonstration machine with high accuracy Cool-Grind coolant nozzles and coolant by Q8 Oils. Our own Master brand of high-quality abrasive grinding wheels and dressers are available to suit a variety of applications for a high-quality finished part.”

The Master grinding wheel used in this process was a regular aluminium oxide 46 grit abrasive in a vitrified bond. A single point dresser by Master was used for dressing the grinding wheel prior to use. The Master brand of grinding wheels are available in a full range of conventional abrasives including silicon carbide, zirconia, ceramic aluminium oxide and many others for a variety of applications. The wheel shape, abrasive type, grit size, structure, hardness grade and bond type can all be advised by Master Abrasives applications engineers who help customers to set the specification to provide the ultimate finish.

The coolant nozzles in the Master showroom supplied by Cool-Grind Technologies deliver more accurate coolant flow and pressure to the grinding zone, resulting in grinding faster, achieving better product quality, experiencing reduced tool wear, and minimising the flowrate and size of the filter unit. The two solutions offered by Cool-Grind are for bespoke designs for unique grinding machines and objectives or the standard Grind-Loc kits for a flexible solution.

The machine coolant used in this application was supplied by Q8Oils which has worked with Master Abrasives to supply the suitable oils and cutting fluid for the eco 200 U demonstration machine. The team of technical experts at Q8Oils helps manufacturing companies by providing products to improve the operational efficiency and optimise the production process.

Mr Meredith concludes: “With the customer’s full application details, we can present a cost-effective, high-productive solution including the machine, the right abrasives, coolant nozzles and dressers for a high-quality finished part. Our dedicated applications engineering team would be happy to help and provide any technical advice.”

Master Abrasives www.master-abrasives.co.uk