Centerless Grinding

Centreless Grinding by West Midland Grinding

Established three decades ago, West Midland Grinding are specialists in centreless grinding, providing an unbeatable performance at hugely competitive prices. We have a wide variety of clients, including those in aerospace, precision engineering and the medical and automotive industries.

What is centreless grinding?

Centreless grinding is the name for a machining process in which material is removed from components or goods by means of abrasive cutting or grinding. It differs from centred grinding in that there is no spindle used to hold in place the material on which the work is being carried out. Instead, it is secured between a pair of rotary grinding wheels that rotate at pre-set speeds that determine the speed at which excess material is removed. Centreless grinding is generally much quicker than other grinding processes.

How does it work?

A combination of the cutting pressure and capability of the grinding wheel and the gravity acting on the work ensure that the work maintains contact with the regulating wheel and the rest blade. The regulating wheel (or control wheel) is normally made from a rubber bonded material that offers a frictional surface that is constantly advancing. This makes sure there is a steady, continual rotation of the work which is at exactly the same surface speed (or peripheral velocity) as the regulating wheel.

There are five main elements in the centreless grinding process:

  • An abrasive grinding wheel
  • A regulating wheel or control wheel
  • A work rest blade
  • The work that needs to be ground, which can be a component or piece of material
  • Suitable guides that support the work as it enters and exits the wheels or as the grinding takes place

The arrangement of these elements can be different, depending on what type of centreless grinding is being enacted, but the principles of the process remain the same.

Different types of centreless grinding

There are many different kinds of centreless grinding that West Midland Grinding can offer. These include:

  • Through feed centreless grinding
  • In feed centreless grinding
  • Plunge grind centreless grinding
  • Precision centreless bar grinding
  • Multiple-diameter centreless form grinding
  • Taper grinding

Who needs centreless grinding?

West Midland Grinding provide centreless grinding services for a wide range of companies in a wide range of industries. These include:

  • Automotive
  • Aerospace
  • Medical
  • Defence
  • Motor sport
  • Sub-sea oil and gas
  • Research and development
  • Agriculture
  • White goods
  • Power generation

Having such a wide client base means that the millions of parts that we grind every year end up in some pretty extreme places. Components and bars that we grind can be used anywhere from at the bottom of the sea to way out in space. They can equally find themselves in a nuclear reactor as on a Formula 1 race track anywhere in the world. We also provide work for hundreds of precision and general engineering and manufacturing companies all across the UK.

Whatever your business and whatever you need, contact us today to see how we can help you with all of your centreless grinding requirements.