Despite the ever-increasing demands of today’s manufacturing market, sustainable machining practices are well within reach. It’s largely a matter of making the right choices, especially when it comes to methods of material sourcing, preparation, and machining. In today’s article, we delve into the role that precision grinding and high quality materials play in building a more sustainable manufacturing landscape worldwide.
To fully understand precision grinding’s importance in sustainable manufacturing, we must first address the shortcomings that are common among more traditional machining methods. Subtractive manufacturing will always have certain disadvantages in sustainability; but no process is perfect. These are just a few of the sustainability challenges specific to subtractive manufacturing methods like CNC machining:
The first and most obvious challenge of machining comes in the form of material waste and scrap. Material waste is difficult to avoid; even when chips from metal machining processes are gathered and recycled, a 100% recovery rate of all waste is never guaranteed. In addition to chips, parts that must be scrapped due to machining errors or poor material quality further contribute to waste. While scrap metal can be recycled, it presents issues in that the piece must be melted down, recast, and prepped for machining again, which requires additional energy consumption.
All tools break. In CNC machining with mills and lathes, cutting tool inserts are frequently replaced as they wear. Many cutting tool inserts have multiple edges that can be used- take a triangular cutting insert as an example- but once all sides have been dulled, or once the insert has been compromised, it is out of commission. While there are some cutting tool recycling programs available today, it is much more common for cutting tools to be discarded upon failure or once they have reached a certain point of wear.
Especially in high speed machining operations or when working with conductive materials like aluminum, cutting fluids are used to regulate the temperature of the workpiece. These fluids can present many hazards to the environment if they are not discarded properly. They can also negatively impact the health of machine operators if proper safety protocols are not followed.
Struggling with sustainability? Contact Boston Centerless today to find out if centerless grinding is the right choice for your business.
Centerless grinding is one subtractive manufacturing method that stands out from the rest in sustainability. Unlike mills and lathes, a centerless grinding machine does not use high speed spindles equipped with cutting tool inserts. Rather, this method employs a grinding wheel and a regulating wheel (sometimes called a control wheel) that rotate at two different speeds to form a round or cylindrical rod of material that is balanced between the wheels. With no spindle or cutting tool inserts, centerless grinding also eliminates the need for cutting fluids.
Most manufacturers are interested in keeping scrap rates to a minimum due to the associated financial costs, but that material waste can negatively impact sustainability initiatives as well. CNC centerless grinding helps reduce part defects and scrap rates by consistently shaping material to excellent roundness with adherence to tight tolerances. This quality material streamlines the machining process from the moment it is loaded, allowing for more parts to be successfully created.
Beyond reducing scrap rates, centerless grinding can also boost sustainability by reducing energy consumption. While traditional CNC lathes require workpiece setup and multiple cuts to shape a rod to the desired size, centerless technology performs the same function without the need for part loading, unloading, or cutting tool setup. Even better, it produces superior results with great consistency in diameter, roundness, and straightness throughout– which makes a critical difference in both individual parts and final products alike.
Materials that are shaped to precise dimensions can help extend final product life. By ensuring an optimal fit, centerless ground components can offer superior performance in their intended application for longer than materials shaped using other methods. The AccuRod® family of materials offered exclusively by Boston Centerless is carefully and efficiently crafted using centerless grinding to enhance machinability and extend product life.
While precision grinding is one major contributor to sustainable manufacturing, sustainability truly starts with the material itself. Material sourcing is often regarded as a means to balance costs with quality, but sourcing carefully can also help support sustainability initiatives in a couple of ways.
The first of these lies in minimizing the energy consumption required to get the material to its destination. This can be done by selecting suppliers and distributors who are a short distance away when available. For example, at Boston Centerless we have taken it upon ourselves to expand our presence to better serve a variety of locations across the globe while still remaining true to our sustainability initiatives. We have multiple locations across the United States and have expanded our reach to Costa Rica.
Sourcing your precision bar stock from a material supplier near you can help reduce the amount of energy spent on shipping, which in turn reduces associated GHG emissions. Another way that careful material sourcing contributes to sustainability is how the quality of the material impacts the quality of the final product. Take titanium, for example. To be considered ‘commercially pure’, the material must contain 99% Titanium. Depending on the source, that last 1% of material could be anything. If sourced from a reputable supplier, the titanium will not be contaminated with anything that may diminish the material’s properties and the final product will perform as anticipated; but from a more seedy supplier, you may not know until it’s too late. When a material doesn’t machine as anticipated, it can lead to additional energy costs in the form of rework or waste material in the form of scrap. If it does make its way into a final product, one that is made with poor quality material simply will not last as long as its high-quality counterpart.
From preparing precision material to managing bar stock, Boston Centerless is dedicated to supporting your sustainability goals every step of the way.
With all this in mind, centerless grinding can be a key player in supporting manufacturing sustainability initiatives. At Boston Centerless, we go the extra mile in assisting with supply chain management, material testing, and more to ensure the best material for your business. If you’re ready to take a step toward sustainability, contact Boston Centerless today to learn more about how we can help.