CNC

Designed a manufacturing process to automatically grind the teeth of carbide tipped band saw blades into multi-faceted geometries. Years after this project was complete, it was found to be roughly twice as efficient as the older process. This is because the new process did all the grinds in one CNC machine, instead of the older four-machine production line.

It also required less maintenance and down-time. Quality improved because the CNC machine held the workpiece rigidly throughout all grinds, so every grind remained precise relative to the others. The machine used self-checking features to allow unattended operation.

Physical touch probes continuously located the workpiece and scanned the grinding wheel profile as it slowly wore down. The machine compensated automatically for wear or variation in work position, keeping the grinds accurate every time.