Surface Grinding Machine Buying Guide

Surface Grinding Machine, commonly referred to as the surface grinder, this machine is a surface polishing tool. It is equipped with a sandpaper-like wheel, which shaves off unwanted material making your workpiece’s surface uneven and coarse.

The machine’s vise accommodates your component and is responsible for bringing it into contact with the grinding wheel.

Parts of a Surface Grinder

At first sight, you can tell that surface grinding machines feature a myriad of distinct components beneath their hood.

Once you start using the machine, you will realize that each component has a starring role despite its size or composition. They include:

· Grinding Wheel

This is a disc that resembles an actual wheel and it is tasked with shaving off the undesired parts from your component. You can think of the grinding wheel as your cutting tool. They come in distinct forms including;

• Aluminum Oxide Grinding Wheels:They boast exceptional cutting abilities, making them the preferred choice for polishing hard and soft metals.
• Diamond Grinding Wheels:They are arguably the most robust grinding wheels thanks to the inclusion of diamonds. This has soared their utilization in grinding heavy-duty components made of metal, carbide, and composites.
• CBN Grinding Wheels:These wheels feature cubic boron nitride, which is almost as hard as diamond. As such, their use transcends machining steel and other hardened alloys.
• Silicon Carbide Grinding Wheels:These wheels are revered for their fast-cutting action and they have proven to be relatively hard. This has propelled their use in grinding non-ferrous metals. They are, however, relatively more brittle.

· Machine Base

This is essentially your surface grinder’s shell, which not only accommodates other components but also absorbs vibrations during grinding. As such, the base is typically made of sturdy materials, particularly cast iron. Weak bases are likely to make your grinder unstable during machining and this will leave you with coarse and uneven surfaces.

· Vise

This is a table-like surface equipped with magnetic capabilities that ensure it accommodates your workpiece securely during grinding. In addition to supporting your workpiece, the vise conveys your component to the grinding wheel either by rotating or by moving back and forth. Contemporary surface grinders come with automatic work tables.

· Wheel Guard

This is simply the sheltering housing your grinding wheel and it is responsible for safeguarding your or your operators from flying shavings.

Often made of robust metal, this sheltering features an opening from where you can access your grinding wheel for maintenance or substitution.

· Wheel Head

This is the supporting structure that allows your grinding wheel to move. It also supports the spindle, meaning you can adjust its length to impact your cutting depth.

Contemporary surface grinding machines, allow you to control the wheel head’s movement and positioning via CNC programs.

· Column

Typically supported by the grinder’s base, the column runs vertically and it accommodates your wheel head and spindle. It allows you to move the wheel head vertically and this consequently will enable you to position your grinding wheel for grinding.

Surface Grinding Machines

The type of surface grinder you will need to grind a metallic component is different from the type of grinder required to machine ceramic workpieces.

The specificity of your application dictates the type of machinery you will need. You can choose from:

· Horizontal Spindle Surface Grinders (Reciprocating Table)

They are known for the unique configuration of their spindle and the type of work table or vise they come with.

Their spindle is horizontally positioned meaning that your grinding wheel shaves off unwanted parts as your reciprocating vise oscillates your workpiece back and forth. Horizontal spindle surface grinders thrive in finishing both small and large components.

· Vertical Spindle Surface Grinders (Reciprocating Table)

Unlike their horizontal spindle grinding machines, these grinders are specialized to help you grind your workpiece’s sides.

They also feature a reciprocating vise, meaning that your mounted workpiece oscillates horizontally as your grinding wheel eliminates the bumps. They achieve a high degree of accuracy hence they are heavily exploited to grind flat, large, and sturdy components.

· Horizontal Spindle Surface Grinders (Rotary Table)

These surface grinders have a rotary vise as opposed to the reciprocating table.

Their spindle configuration is however horizontal-based, which permits them to achieve tremendously fine finishes.

Grinding is undertaken as your workpiece is revolved severally, with your grinding wheel extracting uneven bumps. These grinders are greatly revered in the aerospace and automotive industries due to their suitability for large components.

· Vertical Spindle Surface Grinders (Rotary Table)

Equipped with a vertical spindle, which supports and moves your grinding wheel vertically, and a rotary vise, which spins your workpiece for grinding, these grinders favor large, circular components. They make it possible to grind your component’s size with utmost precision.

· Single Disc Surface Grinding Machines

Equipped with a single abrasive wheel, these grinders thrive in machining comparatively humongous workpieces.

They boast of a larger contact area, meaning that they shave off unwanted material quite faster and more efficiently. They are primarily exploited to deburr and level uneven components for aerospace and automotive machinery.

· Double-Disc Surface Grinder

This advanced surface grinder boasts twin grinding wheels configured to grind in contrasting directions. This means that your component gets polished on both sides concurrently.

This means that your workpiece is essentially sandwiched between these two abrasive wheels. It thrives in grinding thin workpieces.

How to Operate Your Surface Grinding Machine

Producing essential components like gears and other high-tech components requires you to pay close attention to the finer details like surface finish.

Surface grinding ensures that your processed components stand out by sculping smooth surfaces. Here is everything you need to know about its operation:

1. Configure and Prepare Your Surface Grinder

Get the component you intend to grind onto your grinder. Place it on the vice and fasten it to ensure it will remain immobile during grinding. Make certain your placement is accurate to avert grinding wrongful sections of your component.

2. Select Your Ideal Abrasive Wheel

Before embarking on grinding, settle on a grinding wheel whose traits favor your component’s traits.

This will ensure you get your desired results. For instance, you may settle for an aluminum oxide grinding wheel with finer grits, if you intend to achieve a relatively smoother finish.

3. Set Your Machine

Now, set the rate at which you want your component’s surface ground. Bear in mind that setting a higher feed rate may result in a comparatively coarse finish. Also, set your grinder’s wheel head angle as well as your desired depth of cut.

4. Grinding

Proceed to activate the surface grinder and this will initiate the simultaneous movement of your grinding wheel and your workpiece.

The vise will bring your component towards the abrasive wheel prompting material removal. If you notice excessive heating, apply an appropriate coolant.

5. Finalizing

Subject your component to a final grinding pass to refine the smoothness of its surface. During the final pass, you may lower the feed rate or utilize a finer-grit wheel to smoothen the surface.

Taking Care of Your Surface Grinding Machine

Neglecting your surface grinding machine will surely leave you with flawed surfaces, making your components inferior and less appealing. It can also translate into costly downtimes thus emphasizing the need for proper maintenance. Here is everything you need to keep your surface grinder in top shape:

• Cooling:If your surface grinder features a coolant system, make certain the coolant’s level never drops significantly. Refill it in advance to avoid running out of a coolant during surface grinding.
• Cleaning:Surface grinding generates dust and metal shavings, which can interfere with future operations. This makes it necessary to remove the resulting chips and dirt frequently. When cleaning, ensure you also dislodge the remaining coolant and lubricant.
• Alignment:Depending on how frequently you use your surface grinder, always realign any misaligned components. If you are a frequent grinder, perform pathways and work table realignments weekly.
• Lubrication:Do not wait for the squeaky sound on your machine’s spindle bearings or guideways grow become too loud to apply a lubricant. Often lubricate your grinder’s moving components for seamless grinding.

Surface Grinding Machine Applications

Industries that could do with finely polished components are aplenty and this explains the prominence of surface grinding machines today. Their prevalence in the following industries proves their significance:

• Die Manufacturing: A flawless surface is a necessity in dies and molds hence surface grinders have found great usage in the production of dies for metal stamping and injection molding.
• Automotive Industry: In the automotive industry, surface grinding machines help polish cylinder heads and shafts, which must be smoothly finished to fit in perfectly.
• Aerospace Industry: Aerospace parts including landing gears and plane wings have no margin for error hence they require surface grinders to perfect their finish.
• Electronics Manufacturing: When manufacturing distinct electronics like circuit boards, surface grinders play a pivotal role.
• Prototype Manufacturing: Employing surface grinders when crafting prototypes ensures that engineers get to experiment with near-perfect samples.