Current process:

Legacy equipment did not meet current CE standards. The brittle shafts break in the grinder's feeder increasing scrap rates.

Challenges:

Deliver an automated, turnkey process that can integrate with the customer's existing isostatic press to accuractely handle and grind the parts. The process had to ensure the ceramic shafts would not chip or break due to the brittle consistency of pre-sintered ceramics.

Challenge: To grind a ceramic insulator body for lean burn gas engines for use in cogeneration plants and containerized power generation units. Customer required four diameters as well multiple compound angles and radii to be ground concentric to the ID within .003”.

Challenge: To thrufeed grind ceramic pellets, which are used to manufacture radiopharmaceuticals (radiotracers) used in CT scans. The pellet count had to be tracked through the machine and the customer needed to measure a set frequency of parts that would be programmable. In addition to accounting for all the components, the machine had to separate the set number of parts processed for data collection.

Challenge: To accurately grind alumina spacers used in nuclear power plant control rods. The length of the components are extremely critical to the efficiency of the fuel rod. The components need to be processed at a high rate and length verified for all parts.