40 Percent Improvement for Carbide Grinding with CDT Wheels on a Studer CNC Grinder
“Continental Diamond Tool knows grinding wheels … give them a problem and they tackle it.”
Continental Diamond Tool recently had a customer looking to replace the grinding wheel on their Studer CNC grinder. They were searching for a modern solution that would be compatible with both their newer and older CNC grinder models. With this upgrade, they hoped to reduce their cycle times and increase utilization of their capital equipment.
CDT proposed a transition to a diamond wheel for carbide grinding, and it was determined that our newly formulated vitrified diamond grinding wheel would accomplish their goals in this circumstance. Our engineers customized the core material to improve vibration damping characteristics. We also dynamically balanced the wheel allowing for improved start-up and wheel performance.
After extensive testing of the grinding wheel on their new programmable, variable speed Studers, with the same parameters as the previous competitors wheel, they slowly increased feeds until they reached the optimized 40% cycle time reduction with great success.
With the older Studers, our team ran into a complication. Because those machines use a pulley driven system, the grinders did not have the desired 6500 SFPM for vitrified diamond included. When hurdles like this arise, we meet those challenges head on. The solution to purchase a new pulley size allowed the older Studers to achieve the optimal speed for 40% cycle time efficiencies.
Besides gaining efficiency, the new wheel has extended our customers profile and form capabilities, adding Straight 1A1, Anglehead 1E1, Slotting/Groove, Face 6A2, and ID 1A8 styles. With these new capabilities our customer has been able to increase their through-put by 40% or more.
Additionally, because their old Studers are performing like new with extended capabilities, the customer will be able to delay the replacement of these old CNC grinders. At $450,000 a machine, this is a significant benefit.
Our next project will extend rotary dressing capabilities to their old Studer CNC grinders. They currently off-line dress both their current grinding wheels every other day on these older machines. Their newer Studers have rotary dressers that eliminate off-line dressing. Once rotary dressing is implemented on all their machines, it will greatly reduce their maintenance downtime.
The results from this custom project have been impressive with added value in multiple steps of the process summarized below:
· Reduced cycle times more than 40%
· Increased through-put by more than 40%
· Increased utilization of capital equipment
· Opened the door for the elimination of off line dressing
At CDT, we value our relationship with loyal customers. One of the key aspects of working with them has been our ability to expedite orders when needed and improve product performance and ultimately add value to the bottom line. When we are familiar with a company's unique process, we can often compress our four week standard lead-times to deliver in as little as one week. We can also organize blanket orders with scheduled releases.
When we asked their CFO why they chose CDT for their grinding wheels, he said, "Continental Diamond Tool knows grinding wheels, and their team is always innovating. Give them a problem and they tackle it — with excellent service, quality, and follow through."
It was a pleasure working on this project, and we're always happy to be of service!