The Story Behind Our Precision Grinding Solutions at Continental Diamond Tool Ltd.
At Continental Diamond Tool Limited, our 40 years of success has been built by delivering the finest custom Diamond Rotary Dressers available in the market. Also called Diamond Rolls, these tools are used extensively in a growing number of grinding operations to primarily facilitate the transfer of highly accurate repeated configurations onto components. What makes a Consort Precision Diamond Rotary Dresser stand out can be summarized in four key aspects: technology, expertise, process, and quality or product excellence. As we have expanded into other product lines, we bring that same commitment to every precision grinding product we produce.
Cutting Edge Technology
In a plunge-style dresser the Rotary Diamond Dresser is mounted onto a spindle of a drive unit which in turn is mounted onto a slideway arrangement that allows the formed periphery of the dresser to infeed into a grinding wheel, thereby transferring the desired shape into it. The form, or configuration, can then be 'ground' on to the component. Plunge dressers are especially accurate for precision grinding as there is no lost form or geometry due to machine movements. Plus, the dressers can be held to submicron levels of accuracy.
Traverse dressing is a grinding wheel dressing technique where the diamond rotary dresser traverses across the surface of the grinding wheel to create a specific profile or shape. Traverse Disc Dressers allow you the flexibility to make profile changes or dress in completely new profiles with the same tool, reducing down time for wheel change overs or roll changes.
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE
Such Industries as the Automotive and Aerospace as well land based Turbine Engine production units employ large quantities of Rotary Diamond Dressers. Typically, within the Aero manufacturing industry, such components as Turbine Blades and Nozzle Guide Vanes as well as Flap Actuating Shafts require their intricate features to be ground with grinding wheels that have been formed with Rotary Diamond Dressers. As can be seen reference is made on our following pages to the many applications within the automotive industry.
CDT Ltd. can offer expertise in the selection of the most appropriate type of Rotary Diamond Dresser by reference to the configuration required and to the grinding machine on which it is to be used. Basically, three processes are employed. Handset Sintered, Random Set Sintered and Reverse Plated. Within each of those categories, selection of diamond type and their placement into the periphery of the Rotary Dresser, plays a major part in determining its operational life and performance. Even before its establishment in 1984, the company’s principals and a large proportion of its employees had many previous years experience in the manufacture of Rotary Diamond Dressers. Bringing with them unique knowledge of the industry, CDT Ltd. — then Consort Precision Diamond — quickly established itself with this one product into the global market of prime and subcontract component manufacturers, earning the respect of competitors and customers alike.
AWARD-WINNING PROCESSES
In respect to the Reverse Plating technique, at Continental Diamond Tool Limited we are particularly proud of the fact that we have been awarded the accolade of winning the BOOST award in the U.K. in 1995 for the design and development of a high speed plating process which dramatically reduced previous lengthy plating times. This achievement gave us a competitive edge against alternative suppliers and satisfied the reduced lead times that customers continue to demand. In the same period, we gained the S.M.A.R.T 1995 award for the development of the electroforming process as an acknowledgement of the reduction in the process time employed in the manufacture of Reverse Plated Rotary Diamond Dressers. CDT Ltd. proudly holds the ISO 9001:2015 Registration Certificate for its Quality Management Systems.
A FOCUS ON PRODUCT EXCELLENCE
The Consort Precision name has become synonymous for outstanding quality and performance in Diamond Rotary Dressers. Since 1984, we have been perfecting the design, development, manufacture, install and maintenance of this advanced dressing technology. This long history with a singular focus has given us the unique ability to provide our customers with the best solution technology can offer. We have the engineering, design, manufacturing and staff resources to supply the highest quality Diamond Rotary Dressers available on the market. Our specialized experience ensures each product we supply is the optimum choice for each individual customer, however demanding and complex the configuration. If an application calls for traverse- or plunge-style rotary dressing, Consort Precision™ Diamond Rotary Dressers are the best tool for the job.
With investment from our parent company, Continental Diamond Tool Corporation, we have expanded our facility in Kinmel Bay to manufacture a wider range of superabrasive products and better cater to a global market. In 2021, an expansion of the Plating lab more than doubled our capacity to produce the high quality tight tolerance reverse plated rotary dressers used by some of the world’s most prestigious corporations. It also paved the way for diversification into electroplated grinding wheels, which we began producing in early 2023. As CDT Ltd. continues to evolve and adapt to the ever-changing technological landscape, we remain committed to delivering innovative solutions and superior products to meet the growing demands of our customers worldwide.