The Grind Never Stops

Grinding wheels are vital in the manufacturing world—they’re how machinists polish rough edges and achieve consistent chamfers. The size and abrasiveness of these wheels very depending on what materials they’re made of. This will directly correlate with what gears/parts the wheels are used for.

Here at James Engineering, we have an extensive stock of various grinding wheels and sell them at competitive prices. Let’s get into the 3 main wheels we sell and why you need to know the difference between them.

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1. The Woven Fiberglass Wheel

This is your typical grinding wheel made from a homogenous blend of aluminum oxide and powdered resin. The tops and bottoms of these wheels are pressed with fiberglass, which acts as a strengthening agent and ensures the wheels don’t break while spinning.

Pros: They’re quick, and they’re aggressive, meaning their time efficient and great for cutting.

Cons: They can sometimes be a little too aggressive. These wheels can cut too deeply and have an extreme tendency to bounce, as they have no dampening factor.

2. The Woven Cloth Wheel

This wheel is comprised of cotton, liquid resin, and aluminum oxide. You might be thinking, cotton, really? But it really works! Strips of cotton cloth are layered between layers of resin, and these many layers keep the wheel’s structure from falling apart.

Pros: These wheels are great for chamfering due to the fact they don’t bounce nearly as much as fiberglass wheels do since the cotton acts as a dampening agent. The fact that they’re softer, and don’t have as much bounce, means the parts/gears they’re working on can be spun at faster rates, achieving a quicker and smoother chamfer.

Cons: They’re a bit too soft for cutting. Believe it or not, cotton isn’t very sharp.

3. The Woven Carbon Fiber Wheel

This is the most unique wheel sold at James Engineering. In fact, it’s so unique and rare that we are the only ones to carry it! These wheels are made of carbon fiber and resin, and nothing more. There’s no abrasive added to them, but the carbon itself acts as a very mild abrasive.

Pros: They’re perfect for those with very niche needs. They create extremely subtle chamfers and have beautiful surfacing abilities. They’re also great to use at trade shows because they won’t tear apart gears or non-gears during demonstration.

Cons: They’re very, very gentle, so they can’t do very much. Since they have no abrasive added to them, they make cutting and grinding a drawn-out process—essentially, they’re mostly for people who need very petite chamfers.

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Whatever your grinding needs consist of, James Engineering will help you find the most perfectly-fitting wheel. We’ll even send you a sample or two!

 If you’re interested to know even more about the different kind of grinding wheels we sell, check out https://www.james-engineering.com/grinding-wheels.

Champion of Gear Chamfers

Getting a perfect gear chamfer is not easy. In many cases, many people aren’t even aware that it could be done better; they probably don’t even know why they aren’t seeing better results.

There are many variables that affect the outcome of a chamfer: grinding wheel speed, grinding wheel pressure, grinding wheel angle, rotary table speed, etc. Keeping all these components in mind can be a headache! Who knew such a process could be so complicated?

Well, James Engineering has a couple of tips that will help you achieve the cleanest chamfer possible:

·      Make sure the grinding wheel engages the part gently. If it’s too quick in engaging, you might notice a small cloud of dust burst up from the point of contact, gouging the part in a way that is noticeable to the eye. This small cloud will contain 3 to 4 times more material removed in that single instant than what you’d see after chamfering the entire part!

·      Be sure that the grinding wheel produces an even spark pattern. Any interruption in that pattern is a loss in efficiency, and can be caused when the wheel lifts and bounces back down onto the part. Whether that bounce is subtle or extreme, it will still cause a decrease in wheel life and leave you with an inconsistent chamfer.

·      To eliminate heavy chamfer marks, or what we call striations, use a wheel that has natural shock-absorption, such as the wheel we sell at James Engineering. Most companies use rigid cutoff wheels made of fiberglass reinforcing material, bonded with a dense (and usually black) open-cutting resin. But we at James Engineering suggest using a reinforced open-cutting, resin-bonded wheel with shock-absorbing properties, which also happen to be a lighter color and won’t break when forced to flex slightly. The best way to see the difference between the two kind of wheels, other than overall performance, is to bounce the cutting edge of the wheel off your desk. The competing wheel will bounce instantly, while ours will absorb some of the impact’s shock and not bounce as wildly—it’ll even sound quieter!

If you implement these three tips, chamfering becomes a whole different animal. You’ll be able to hear the difference between a good and bad chamfer; the good will sound smooth, while the bad will sound choppy. You’ll be left with a chamfer so clean, so perfect, you won’t be able to help but call it the champion of all gear chamfers. If you have any questions, or would like to receive a wheel sample, please feel free to contact us at Sales@James-Engineering.com.

Rough, uneven chamfers.

Smooth, even chamfers achieved by the MAX System, the ultimate gear chamfering machine