RFQ Seeking surface grinding services in New England

[GDO]

I have ~340 AEB-L stainless knife blades in need of surface grinding
They are about 5 inches long, 1.3 inches wide, and are currently 0.135 inches thick. I need that to come down to 0.127 to 0.129 with bow under 1 thou
They're annealed now but will be heat treated so im happy to send them to you in your preferred condition. I'd like to be within driving distance to keep shipping out of the equation.
Im currently using a 48 grit SG wheel for good results. I dont know what kind of Ra range that is, but im sure youll be producing better results with the same grit and a better surface grinder than my tormach. Ideally the project would be done before August

 

[michiganbuck]

I don't think much of the Tormach. I sent them a few emails on how they might improve it, but I think they discontinued making it.
*Silll with the right wheel, it should grind .oo4" per side in SS.
What wheel are you using? How often do you dress? some 46 wheels load with one pass. Sometimes a harder very open wheel with frequent dressing is a key to SS, with a setup that seems solid with a tap tap all over with a small hammer.
I used to use a 3/8 Allen wrench for tapping hammer
No, I don't want the job. Likely another PM guy will take it.
Only a few bucks for shipping so distance should not be a problem.

 

[Ox]

I would really be looking for someone with a double disk grinder for your app.

Especially since SS aint magnetic, the double disk lends it'self to this even better, and since it takes off both sides at once, you would git the straightest results.

Only catch is your dimensions.
IDK if that is a hurdle for DDG's or not? (large and not round)
Would require tooling charges for a part specific carousel wheel, but with 380 pcs, it should amortize well.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[GDO]

I don't think much of the Tormach. I sent them a few emails on how they might improve it, but I think they discontinued making it.
*Silll with the right wheel, it should grind .oo4" per side in SS.
What wheel are you using? How often do you dress? some 46 wheels load with one pass. Sometimes a harder very open wheel with frequent dressing is a key to SS, with a setup that seems solid with a tap tap all over with a small hammer.
I used to use a 3/8 Allen wrench for tapping hammer
No, I don't want the job. Likely another PM guy will take it.
Only a few bucks for shipping so distance should not be a problem.

Its just a grizzly with white paint and some steppers, which was a big step up from the worn out boyer shultz 612. Not so much in terms of tolerances but in how it preserves the joints in my arms and lets me do other things. It does make a great finish if I run it at a mile per year. I asked them why they discontinued it and they said it didnt sell well.

Camel Grinding Wheels 34318. Id say I dress it once every 50-70 thou of material
The results are good enough, they're just slow and I have other things on the schedule. Thanks for the tip! I have more troublesome stainless that could definitely use some help like that.

 

[GDO]

I would really be looking for someone with a double disk grinder for your app.

Especially since SS aint magnetic, the double disk lends it'self to this even better, and since it takes off both sides at once, you would git the straightest results.

Only catch is your dimensions.
IDK if that is a hurdle for DDG's or not? (large and not round)
Would require tooling charges for a part specific carousel wheel, but with 380 pcs, it should amortize well.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

This stainless is similar to 440B, its magnetic.
I use double disk for my other alloys but this one comes in with not enough material to take off. My usual place says a minimum of 10 thou for good results. I send in 140 coming down to 127 and it can still end up with some mill texture left behind on 1-2% of parts. Maybe thats just my place but idk

 

[michiganbuck]

QT: (I asked them why they discontinued it and they said it didnt sell well.)
One of the reasons it didn't sell well was the pause between changing long travel directions (left and right).
I don't know how accurate of surface finish because I never used one.

Company videos of the machine made surface finish and size ability seem OK.

 

[Garwood]

Is a Blanchard finish acceptable?

 

[GDO]

QT: (I asked them why they discontinued it and they said it didnt sell well.)
One of the reasons it didn't sell well was the pause between changing long travel directions (left and right).
I don't know how accurate of surface finish because I never used one.

Company videos of the machine made surface finish and size ability seem OK.

yeah its fine, just slow. for the price, im happy to keep it for smaller in-house projects

 

[GDO]

Is a Blanchard finish acceptable?

how fine can blanchard go? Im looking for something that can tumble out in an hour or two with medium grit media

 

[Garwood]

how fine can blanchard go? Im looking for something that can tumble out in an hour or two with medium grit media

Yes? No? Probably? I'm not sure how to answer that. You need a finish spec or you need to have one Blanchard ground and see if you like it.

If you are doing these on a low end surface grinder and are happy you will probably be thrilled with Blanchard finish and speed.

 

[GDO]

Yes? No? Probably? I'm not sure how to answer that. You need a finish spec or you need to have one Blanchard ground and see if you like it.

If you are doing these on a low end surface grinder and are happy you will probably be thrilled with Blanchard finish and speed.

Could I send you some samples? How low of an Ra can it go?

 

[Ox]

One catch to the Blanchard is that - at least on side 1 - that you apparently need to run them 1 at a time?

If'n yuh can't count on cleaning up both sides in a double disk, then you Shirley can't rough more than one at a time in the Balnchard.

???


-------------------

Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[Garwood]

Could I send you some samples? How low of an Ra can it go?

I can run samples for you. Annealed will grind faster. The parts will be parallel within a couple tenths, but flatness isn't going to change.

Imo, your heat treat process is going to make or break flatness.

Grind for finish, size and parallel.

Blanchard will smoke surface grinding for taking hundreds of flat parts to size.

 

[Garwood]

Could I send you some samples? How low of an Ra can it go?

I sent you a private message with my contact info.

 

[memphisjed]

I think a mini Blanchard pattern would be cool finish.

 

[EmGo]

I think a mini Blanchard pattern would be cool finish.

They made a desktop blanchard. It was for silicon wafers and was the coolest thing you ever saw. It also produced really nice finishes but who cares ? Just looking at that thing made a little deer jump around in your chest.

 

[Garwood]

I think a mini Blanchard pattern would be cool finish.

I'm running some 16.5" long skinny 59RC toolsteel parts as I type this. When they spark out they are mirrors.

Just my limited experience, but for tight tolerance stuff you need to pass the parts through the center 30% of the wheel. You can grind whatever will fit in the machine, but if you want it flat within a couple tenths you need to pass the entire part through the area inside the segments because the segments are not flat as they break down.

And IMO, there's no such thing as a mini Blanchard. My No. 18 is a mini Blanchard. 18" OD segments means I can hold a couple tenths on a part up to about 15" diameter or about 20" long.

Blanchard can rip material right down. You can take an 1/8" off and hold +/- .001" easy on a small or large part in a couple minutes.

If you want to hold tenths you can do it, but it takes the same care to do it on a surface grinder. Maybe a bit more.

The only small rotary surface grinders I've seen are punch grinders. When you bought an Amada or Strippit punch in the 80's you got a punch grinder with it. Everyone threw out that useless thing and grinds their punches on a surface grinder.

 

[EmGo]

And IMO, there's no such thing as a mini Blanchard.

Oh but there was. I have no idea how many they made but there was a desktop Blanchard, just like the big ones but maybe 18" long by the same height ? It was intended for grinding silicon wafers, I was told. They had it at a show in Santa Clara, back when computers were actually made in the US. That thing was beyond cool.

 

[memphisjed]

I'm running some 16.5" long skinny 59RC toolsteel parts as I type this. When they spark out they are mirrors.

Just my limited experience, but for tight tolerance stuff you need to pass the parts through the center 30% of the wheel. You can grind whatever will fit in the machine, but if you want it flat within a couple tenths you need to pass the entire part through the area inside the segments because the segments are not flat as they break down.

And IMO, there's no such thing as a mini Blanchard. My No. 18 is a mini Blanchard.

I am thinking size of pattern. The magnetic pole diagram reflection is really neat. The pin wheel reflection pattern is nice too/ not as cool as the interlaced ellipse one.

 

[Overland]

We used to use Blanchards in the auto industry back in the 70's in the UK on conrods.
Op 1 was the sides of the forging, one side at a time, sometimes with faces offset between each end.
Very fast, accurate and beautiful surface finish.
Bob.