Centerless grinding

Grinding operations on external surfaces of cylindrical or conical parts, with continuous or interrupted cut, by means of precision grinding machines with horizontal axis wheels.

This type of machine implies that the workpiece is not supported between centers, but rather by contact between a support blade and a regulating wheel. The abrasive wheel, opposed to the latter, performs the machining.

Based on the movement of the part, the process is defined as: through-feed grinding and plunge-cut grinding.

The part is set in slow rotation by the regulating wheel, so that the entire external cylindrical surface is machined. The part, supported at the bottom by the support blade, is “braked” by the regulating wheel, which, being inclined relative to the axis of the abrasive wheel (also called the grinding wheel), allows the part to assume both rotary motion and axial feed motion.

In this way, the part passes through the entire machine tool and, during the passage, the grinding is performed. This is particularly useful for the continuous machining of cylindrical parts in large quantities. In these cases, the raw components can be introduced into the machining area by an automatic feeding system, which guarantees high productivity levels.

In this type of operation, the part is always supported on the support blade and set in rotation by the regulating wheel, but the axis of the latter and the grinding wheel are parallel, thus canceling the feed movement of the part and allowing the abrasive wheel to advance radially, removing the set stock allowance up to the desired dimension.

This configuration is necessary in cases where parts with different diameters or particular geometries must be machined that do not allow the part to rotate and advance simultaneously.

Machine setting to achieve the required roundness and cylindricity tolerances
Maintaining effective dressing of the regulating wheel and the abrasive wheel
Non-homogeneous stock allowance on the profile to be machined
Very long parts to be machined (bars), which require high experience from the operators
Soft and gummy materials that tend to clog the regulating wheel and/or wheel or stick to the support blade; parts with an unfavorable diameter/length ratio creating part feeding problems during machining
Burns caused by bent parts or excessive stock allowance
Achieving good roundness on thin-walled parts
Difficulty with manual loading due to safety reasons
High production of swarf with consequent filtration problems
Obtaining parts with very low roughness and free of surface micro-scratches