Both the machine shop conducting the grinding and the clients of that business stand to gain from the availability of in-house grinding. The in-house procedure not only helps a business save time and money but also helps the shop produce components of better quality.
Since the 1950s, Ripley Machine and Tool Inc., located in Ripley, New York, has been equipped with in-house grinding capabilities. Grinding for other area machine shops was a greater share of what the firm gave to its clients in 1994 when the company was acquired by the grandfather of the current president, Andy Reinwald. This is in contrast to what the company does now.
1 Providing A Service That Other Stores Use
Ripley Machine continues to grind components for around 12 area clients, even though grinding as a service to others may have been more popular in 1994. However, in addition to CNC milling and turning, the grinding mill specializes in these processes as well, and it just recently purchased its first Swiss-type turning center a little over a year ago. Ripley Machine has the capability of grinding material provided by the client, as well as using one of its certified suppliers to acquire and deliver the material.
2 Easier And More Practical Access To Bar Stock
This is because the shop can complete the operation for a lower cost than a mill would, and as a result, it charges customers a lower price. Additionally, rather than waiting for one to two weeks for bar stock to be ground and supplied from a mill, it normally only takes Ripley a few days to precisely grind stock in-house, eliminating the need to wait.
3 The Manufacturing Process On The Swiss-Type Machine
Having grinding done on-site also means having the opportunity to make better use of the grinders, allowing the ground bar stock to be delivered to customers more quickly. When purchasing ground bar stock from a mill, consumers often must wait for the whole order to be ground before the item can be dispatched.
4 Improving The Size, Tolerance, And Polish
The quality of the component that will come out of a Swiss-type machine will be identical to the quality of the bar fed into the machine. According to Reinwald, there are instances when stock material obtained from the mill will not fulfill certain specifications for the task performed on a Swiss machine, including standards about the finish and the size. As a result, manufacturing ground bars in the desired dimensions and with the desired level of quality may be the only way to please a client successfully.
5 Producing Surface Finishes
It is possible to grind the part after it has been machined to meet finish requirements if the surface finish of parts that have been machined on a lathe, Swiss, or even on one of Ripley’s mills does not meet the requirements or if the parts have been marred from workholding. According to Reinwald, the business may use one of its grinders to shave off anywhere from five-tenths to one-thousandth of an inch from the overall diameter of a component to get a good finish.