In grinding, as with all manufacturing operations, achieving optimal solutions requires carefully balancing all of the factors involved. But all too often, manufacturers focus on nailing down a perfect process without considering the entire production environment. In reality, getting excellent surface finishes goes hand in hand with practices that extend grinding machine life, and here are five ways to accomplish it:

1. Prevent Problems With Preventive Solutions – The first step in any thorough optimization process will include standardizing preventive maintenance practices. A grinding process is only as good as the machine it’s running on, and if the machine breaks down, so does your shop’s productivity. By preventing problems before they start with regular machine maintenance, you don’t only achieve the best possible results with every grind, but you avoid unexpected downtime that will throw all your optimization efforts out the window.

2. Respect Your Tools – Precision manufacturing requires precision tools, and grinding wheels are no different. Undressed and unconditioned wheels can easily scrap parts or dramatically increase the time it takes to reach the required surface finish. Regular wheel maintenance also helps prevent damage to the spindle, thus protecting your grinding machine investment. Ideally, your dressing and conditioning solution can handle both processes in the machine itself, a time-saving feature that boosts productivity significantly.

3. Invest in Coolant Technology – It isn’t enough to simply add coolant to a process when you’re searching for ways to improve productivity. Coolant also requires maintenance, but for the best surface finishes and machine longevity, it pays to invest in a system that has effective filtration, a simple change that can create serious productivity gains. You may also want to consider a coolant chiller for the reasons in tip four.

4. Find That Just-right Temperature – Temperature is a critical part of the manufacturing process, and the highest productivity requires precise control of temperature throughout the entire production environment. For the highest accuracy and performance, coolant should be chilled to the manufacturer’s recommended temperature and the machining environment itself should be controlled to maintain a similar temperature. Ideally, the coolant and surrounding air are ±1° C.

5. Write Everything Down – It’s all well and good to solve a problem once, but if the solution isn’t written down anywhere, it’s only a matter of time before you’ll have to solve it again. Good record-keeping practices ensure that once you’ve arrived at a process that produces the ideal surface finish, you’ll be able to recreate it over and over again – and by having a solid routine, you can minimize unexpected variables and maintain best practices to minimize risks to the grinding machine itself.