Centerless Grinding

Centerless grinding is an OD grinding process. It differs from other cylindrical processes in that the workpiece is not mechanically constrained. On traditional OD machines, the work is held between centers or chucked and rotated against the faster spinning grinding wheel by an external motor usually located in a workhead.

We can grind parts from .100 to 4.500 inch Diameter by 18 inches long, Infeed, thru feed and profile.

Unlike center-type or chucker-type grinding, parts made using a centerless process do not require center holes, drivers or workhead fixtures. Instead, the workpiece is supported on its own outer diameter by a workblade located between a high speed grinding wheel and a slower speed regulating wheel with a smaller diameter.

Why Centerless Grinding?

In cylindrical grinding, understanding the process is relatively straightforward. A workpiece, supported by centers or a chuck, is rotated against the grinding wheel, which is fed in a prescribed distance radially (plunge grinding) or traversed axially across the workpiece to create the desired OD dimension.

On the centerless grinder there are no centers, so it would appear that there is no means to control the workpiece size or roundness. However, quite the opposite is true.

Centerless grinding will achieve roundness, surface finish and dimensional tolerances that are among the best available in metalworking. Moreover, the process is able to improve the roundness of out-of-round workpiece blanks.