Innovative Centerless Grinding System Enhances Production Efficiency for a U.S. Based Manufacturer of Hydraulic Elevators

With the integration of an Acme centerless grinding system, a valued customer and elevator manufacturer cut the production time of their longest tubing assembly from 5 1/2 hours to only 20 minutes – a time reduction of roughly 94%!

Prior to their automation solution, the company’s production process was slow and cumbersome. Using two old “hard wheel” centerless grinders (manufactured in the 1950s), a single-head, standalone machine required multiple passes, with manual adjustments between each pass. The roller conveyors that fed tubes in and out of the grinders required manual adjustment, plus an operator to load individual tubes onto the entrance roller.

These grinders called for multiple passes, forcing the operator to repeat the labor-intensive process as often as needed to meet the stock removal or surface finish requirement. A highly inefficient and cumbersome system at best! The customer needed a solution to make this production process more efficient.

Enter Acme Manufacturing

After careful analysis of the old production process and the desired results, Acme manufactured a new, programmable model #1210/4 to handle a complete part range.

The four-head, single-pass system drastically enhanced the efficiency of the production process. Acme’s largest centerless grinder, it’s capable of heavy stock removal, holding tight tolerances, producing low surface finishes and changeover time of less than five minutes.

It was the perfect solution

Acme was on-site through the entire installation process of the turn-key grinding system, which included:

* The Acme #1210/4 centerless grinder

* Programmable entrance/exit roller conveyors

* Machine safety enclosure

* A dual roll rare-earth magnetic coolant filtration system

* A mist collection system

Acme technicians remained on-site for two additional weeks after the installation process, conducting startup/run-off diagnostics, machine acceptance, and training sessions.

The results were astounding. A sizing and finishing process that used to take the elevator manufacturer a full 5 1/2 hours to complete, now took only 20 minutes with the new Acme system. The customer was able to transition from three shifts per day, to just one shift per day. Not only did the production efficiency increase, but so did employee safety.

Acme’s centerless grinding solutions can greatly enhance productivity, accommodate a volume increase, and improve O.D. finishing characteristics of cylindrical products, all while making production safer, more efficient and eliminating a manufacturing bottleneck.