Customer wants to increase output for steel taps used to drill threaded holes as used in the machining and tooling industry.  In addition to speeding up the throughput time, achieving the exact tolerances is critical for the component to create the proper threads.

To establish a process whereby pre-sintered carbide drill blanks processed in a hot isostatic press (HIP) can be pre-sized to produce straight rod stock for long blanks. The existing method of manufacture involves sintering the carbide rods in a hot isostatic press then grinding them to size in a hard state before the fluting operation is performed. This procedure requires multiple thrufeed grinding operations which is labor intensive and accelerates wear and tear to the grinding machine and tooling since the hard carbide usually has a non-uniform lumpy surface; furthermore several thrufeed passes are need post-sintering to size the carbide to its final diameter and to achieve the uniform diameter required.

Challenge: Customer wants to decrease cycle time by taking this from a one-sided traditional surface grinding application requiring two operations to a single double end grinding application.

Challenge: The customer wants to decrease cycle time while maintaining tight concentricity specifications for roughing a tungsten carbide pin.

Challenge: Satisfying the high volume finishing requirements for the complex form geometry on a hard carbide pin application. This compliments the PG-9DOD Carbide Pin Roughing Operation.

Challenge: To grind a variety of tooling punches to extreme precision, while accommodating small lot sizes with short changeover times. 

Challenge: To grind burnishing and expander rolls used in manufacturing tubes for a multitude of applications ranging from oil and gas tubes to automotive. Due to the shape of the parts which includes several tapers, the material removal is dramatic requiring several operations. Additionally the rolls are custom shapes so changeover between part types requires reshaping the grinding wheel. 

Challenge: Quality, cost control and lead time issues of outsourcing the pre-sizing of titanium and steel bars