What are the advantages of grinding compared with cutting？

1. Grinding can meet the requirements of surface finish, size and accuracy.

Grinding can achieve surface finish under Ra=6um, dimensional tolerance under 5um, and can grind parts to a true roundness under 0.03um.

2. Grinding provides a more economical and more stable ceramic or cemented carbide material processing technology.

Turning cemented carbide or ceramics requires the use of diamond (PCD or CVD) inserts. The rapid wear and chipping of the blade will cause the workpiece size to be inaccurate or the blade to be scrapped. This requires increased downtime to replace the blade or resize the workpiece.

On the contrary, when grinding with a diamond wheel, the wheel will only wear the abrasive particles on the surface. Through the self-effect or dressing, new diamond abrasive grains are exposed, which enables continuous grinding without stopping production.

3. Grinding can meet the need of “no cutting marks”

This is about the spiral pattern that can be observed. The single-point cutting tool moves laterally when rotating on the lathe, leaving marks on the shaft.

This surface texture will cause loss of sealing effect on the shaft. By grinding the shaft, the marks can be eliminated.

4. Customers often require grinding

The automotive, aerospace, and medical markets generally also require polishing on key parts.

5. The grinding wheel is not affected by intermittent grinding caused by grooved workpieces

Because the shape of the groove will interrupt the cutting, the turning operation can easily cause the insert to chip too quickly.

6. The unit cost of grinding wheels is lower than other types of tools

In some common cases, the grinding wheel can grind about 120,000 workpieces before it needs to be replaced. If the cost of the grinding wheel is $600, the cost of each workpiece is about half a penny.

7. Less downtime required for grinding

To turn 120,000 workpieces, how many times do I need to change the blade on a CNC lathe?

The decision to use turning or grinding is not static.

These decisions usually require expertise in grinding and turning, and what should be most concerned is how to maximize the productivity and efficiency of users.