Electrochemical grinding (ECG) solution provider Tridex Technology, a Glebar Company, provides a burr-free solution for grinding the teeth in arthroscopic shavers with its SG-1645 (pictured) and SG-2060 burr-free electrochemical surface grinding machines.

Arthroscopic shaver teeth are commonly produced by conventional abrasive grinding, wire EDM or laser cutting, which are slow processes resulting in long cycle times. EDM and laser cutting burn away the metal at high temperatures, leaving changes to the metal surface including heat affected zones, recast and slag. Laser cutting requires significant post processing to produce an acceptable sharp edge and surface finish. Conventional grinding requires a secondary process of deburring without damaging the cutting edge. It also involves frequent wheel dressing to maintain the correct form and a high quality part.

Tridex designed and manufactured a solution that can cut shaver teeth burr free, without recast, slag or heat damage and much shorter cycle times.

Tridex developed and manufactured the SG-1645 and SG-2060 surface grinding machines for burr-free grinding on applications with tight tolerances on stainless steel and other heat sensitive materials. ECG can cut full depth forms in one pass requiring less wheel dressing with wheel life lasting up to 20 times longer.

"With our ECG process we can drastically reduce cycle times where shaver blades that have straight cut teeth can be stacked up to 30 parts at a time generating cycle times of 10 seconds per piece," said Tom Travia, Glebar's vice president of business development.

Each machine features a CNC and high-precision components for high accuracy and repeatability. The optional pallet loader features a 180 degree index table, allowing parts to be loaded during the grinding operation, reducing loading time to almost zero and maximizing productivity. All Tridex machines feature safety rated door interlocks, servo systems and pneumatics and are certified to CE and the ISO 13849 Machine Safety Standard.