Investigations at the Cranfield University’s School Of Industrial and Manufacturing Science have demonstrated that HEDG (High Efficiency Deep Grinding technology) can be more competitive than traditional grinding.
The three-year investigation culminated in a series of tests on a Cinetic Landis LT2 used to cylindrically plunge grind automotive crankshafts with metal removal rates up 1000 cubic mm/mm.s. No thermal damage to sidewalls was recorded.
One of the key requirements on automotive crankshafts is that the pins and mains both require journal diameters and web sidewalls to be ground. The pins require wide short path grinds, typically using high spindle power levels, while the mains need narrow and longer path grinds, which are not normally limited by the available spindle power, but by issues of thermal damage. The major ramification of this is that the webs or sidewalls of the crankshaft are suitable for the application of HEDG technology.
The application of the increased removal rates - 1000 cubic mm/mm.s for sidewall and 200 cubic mm/mm.s for diameters on the crankshafts, offers the potential to save cycle time in full production for both steel crankshafts and cast iron crankshafts.
The study at Cranfield was a collaborative project sponsored by EPSRC between the University, Holroyd, Cinetic Landis Grinding Ltd, St. Gobain, Liverpool JMU, Castrol, Stesstech, and Element 6.
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