Meister Abrasives USA Inc. in December 2015 added an advanced CNC manufacturing system to its lineup, making it possible for the North Kingstown, R.I., company to manufacture large diameter external wheels in the United States using equipment, materials and a manufacturing process identical to those used by its parent corporation in Switzerland. The new CNC system is said to be capable of producing large vit CBN and diamond abrasive wheels up to 1,225mm (about 4') in diameter.
"By making these products at our facility in North Kingstown, we will be able to reduce lead times for external grinding wheels larger than 500mm in diameter by up to 40 percent," said Bruce Northrup, vice president and general manager of Meister Abrasives USA. "Customers will be able to count on getting large external grinding wheels in 6 to 8 weeks, rather than 9 to 10 weeks.”
Large-diameter external grinding wheels represent about 20 percent of Meister Abrasives USA’s total sales. Northrup said he believes that percentage will grow as short lead times now make it reasonable for manufacturers to consider Meister’s advanced big wheel abrasive technologies for such applications as fuel injector needles, cam and crank, and OD grinding of transmission components.
Large pellet wheels for lapping and fine grinding are another area where customers may be enticed to resurface large wheelbases—weighing several thousand pounds—with quality Meister Abrasives pellets. In the past shipping these bases to Switzerland was prohibitive from both a cost and lead-time perspective.
Related Glossary Terms
- abrasive
abrasive
Substance used for grinding, honing, lapping, superfinishing and polishing. Examples include garnet, emery, corundum, silicon carbide, cubic boron nitride and diamond in various grit sizes.
- computer numerical control ( CNC)
computer numerical control ( CNC)
Microprocessor-based controller dedicated to a machine tool that permits the creation or modification of parts. Programmed numerical control activates the machine’s servos and spindle drives and controls the various machining operations. See DNC, direct numerical control; NC, numerical control.
- computer-aided manufacturing ( CAM)
computer-aided manufacturing ( CAM)
Use of computers to control machining and manufacturing processes.
- cubic boron nitride ( CBN)
cubic boron nitride ( CBN)
Crystal manufactured from boron nitride under high pressure and temperature. Used to cut hard-to-machine ferrous and nickel-base materials up to 70 HRC. Second hardest material after diamond. See superabrasive tools.
- grinding
grinding
Machining operation in which material is removed from the workpiece by a powered abrasive wheel, stone, belt, paste, sheet, compound, slurry, etc. Takes various forms: surface grinding (creates flat and/or squared surfaces); cylindrical grinding (for external cylindrical and tapered shapes, fillets, undercuts, etc.); centerless grinding; chamfering; thread and form grinding; tool and cutter grinding; offhand grinding; lapping and polishing (grinding with extremely fine grits to create ultrasmooth surfaces); honing; and disc grinding.
- lapping
lapping
Finishing operation in which a loose, fine-grain abrasive in a liquid medium abrades material. Extremely accurate process that corrects minor shape imperfections, refines surface finishes and produces a close fit between mating surfaces.
- outer diameter ( OD)
outer diameter ( OD)
Dimension that defines the exterior diameter of a cylindrical or round part. See ID, inner diameter.
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