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Unknown milling-grinding tool

knez57

Plastic
Joined
May 13, 2016
Hello! I got specific request from my customer to make polishing on a stainless steel part, with special milling-polishing cutter with stone. Roughly, we would make rough + fine milling with standard cutter, with few finishing passes to make surface as prepolished as possible. Afterwards , we would use this unknown tool to make final fine polishing to requested Ra 0.1. My customer already made this manufacturing in past, then they abandoned production of those product, now they want to restart, but they do not have any additional data of the tool specification, only few pictures. One is attached here. Would anyone know where to search for this ? Many thanks + regards
 

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I'm guessing that's a Cratex bonded abrasive, or similar. Check with this company to see if they have anything that will work for you:


There's related products out there, including abrasive brushes (plastic filament loaded with different types of grit), check these guys out:


If you're not US based, hopefully your country has representatives for these or similar.
 
We used a wheel that we called an orange rouge wheel that was very hard and very small grit, you don't see them much nowadays.
Looks like that wheel arbor had a coolant fitting where coolant or oil would wash out grits.

Might check with these guys (I have never dealt with them) https://www.eaglesuperabrasives.com/abrasives/
Also, might call Radack wheel and tell them the material and finish specs needed.

I have a 6x1 x 1 1/4" type 5 38A220Gt Norton orang recess with 1 1/2 face
(yes originally it was an 8" dia surface grinder wheel)
 
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You said the tool was used for stone so you may wish to look for it from that angle. If so go for one for marble as those tools don't use any diamond for abrasives. That said I think you would be better off looking for one made to polish metal.
 
You said the tool was used for stone so you may wish to look for it from that angle. If so go for one for marble as those tools don't use any diamond for abrasives. That said I think you would be better off looking for one made to polish metal.

I think he was saying the tool in his picture has a "stone" in it, not that the pictured tool was for cutting stone.

Can the part not be traditionally ground, like with a surface grinder? Is the stainless alloy magnetic?
 
A surface grinder isn't go to give a polished finish, which is what this guy is looking for.

Also, he's in Slovenia, which may cause some issues with choice of tooling. I know there's a lot of Japanese companies that make "in machine" polishing tools, Knez, do you have access to imports from Japan?
 
I think he was saying the tool in his picture has a "stone" in it, not that the pictured tool was for cutting stone.

Can the part not be traditionally ground, like with a surface grinder? Is the stainless alloy magnetic?
Nope, that tool is not a stone if it worked in that holder. It is a resin bond with either aluminum oxide or silicon carbide abrasive mixed in. To get that tool to work in the Z axis is pretty tricky, you really need some "give" to keep the right amount of constant pressure. Brushes would be a lot better design for metal for that reason, but don't give a flat surface in stone.

If you can't get the right tool for metal where you are try looking for brushes for stone. The finish you are looking for will be difficult to achieve on the mill. It may look like what is used to polish stone but that is where the similarities end, if that is what you are thinking.
 
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Nope, that tool is not a stone if it worked in that holder. It is a resin bond with either aluminum oxide or silicon carbide abrasive mixed in. To get that tool to work in the Z axis is pretty tricky, you really need some "give" to keep the right amount of constant pressure. Brushes would be a lot better design for metal for that reason, but don't give a flat surface in stone.

If you can't get the right tool for metal where you are try looking for brushes for stone. The finish you are looking for will be difficult to achieve on the mill. It may look like what is used to polish stone but that is where the similarities end, if that is what you are thinking.
Admittedly grinding and polishing are out of my wheelhouse, not to mention it isn't clear exactly what's going on with that tool.

Any chance that tool is spring loaded? Or, any chance that coolant ring near the tool holder is actually for air/coolant pressure to push it down to give it that cushion/constant pressure?

We have a few superfinishing machines (2 stone, 2 tape) for small/medium chromed rods. 1-2 microinches is a typical finish. I couldn't imagine trying for .1um (4 microinches) in stainless??
 
I worked in a shop that made dovetail tools for screw machines.
For the carbide tipped, aluminum specific ones they used some kind of hardwood grinding wheel charged with diamond paste and ran it back-and-forth on the surface grinder.
Came out like a mirror.
 
A surface grinder isn't go to give a polished finish, which is what this guy is looking for.

Also, he's in Slovenia, which may cause some issues with choice of tooling. I know there's a lot of Japanese companies that make "in machine" polishing tools, Knez, do you have access to imports from Japan?
Yes we are member of European Union, so basically we have possibility to get any tool form Japan also.
 
Nope, that tool is not a stone if it worked in that holder. It is a resin bond with either aluminum oxide or silicon carbide abrasive mixed in. To get that tool to work in the Z axis is pretty tricky, you really need some "give" to keep the right amount of constant pressure. Brushes would be a lot better design for metal for that reason, but don't give a flat surface in stone.

If you can't get the right tool for metal where you are try looking for brushes for stone. The finish you are looking for will be difficult to achieve on the mill. It may look like what is used to polish stone but that is where the similarities end, if that is what you are thinking.
Yes those are exactly my concerns also. What worries me also is that from this kind of rotating grinding tool, there will surely be some lines bewteen finish passess, which are not allowed on final piece. I was also thinking of brushes, but there my biggest concern is the lack of Z axis depth control (if the height of the tool - center of spindle , is in Z axis).
 
Okay. So they sent you a picture of the tool they used. Do they actually have the tool in the picture, or did they lose/sell it?

Because if they have that tool, but you just don't know where to get replacements when it wears out, why not ask them to send you the tool and you can try it?

But, now I'm assuming they no longer have the tool and only the picture of their previous setup.

How about this instead?

 








 
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