Curt Reed and Precision Grinding Solutions Revisited
In January of 2011, we ran a Meister Toolbox interview with Curt Reed, President of Precision Grinding Solutions (Wallingford, CT), about how his company is using Meister superabrasive wheels to obtain a competitive advantage in some very demanding aerospace, defense, and automotive fuel injection applications. We are pleased to report that PGS has been very successful in these efforts. It has just moved into an 11,000 sq. ft. facility in Hamden, CT— four times larger than its previous space — and completed installation of a state of the art Studer S41 Universal Cylindrical Grinder.
PGS’ new facility in Hamden CT
The latest Studer system has a longer table and higher centerline to accommodate larger parts. It is exceptionally accurate. In its temperature controlled space, held to within 0.5° F, laser calibration results showed no more that 0.6 microns deviations along the entire 1800 mm length of the system’s Z-axis.
PGS partnered with Studer to equip its S41 grinder with custom features that will allow the company to attack some unique applications. For example, the system is capable of cylindrical form grinding and gear grinding of parts on the same platform in a single setup. In another advanced application the equipment will be used for grinding an invisible form in a critical asymmetrical hydraulic helicopter component. “The 2 micron tolerance we must hold pretty much approaches the limits of what grinding is capable of today,” Reed said.
Tooled-up. Clockwise (hDD dresser, cDD form dresser, CBN ID profile wheel, Diamond external wheel)
In this application, PGS will be using Meister vitrified CBN wheels and hDD diamond dresser technology to assure ultra-close tolerances. Reed said, “To achieve high precision profile tolerances for out-of-round surfaces we must be able to manipulate the process by dressing the wheel to ring out that last micron of precision. The correlation between the dressing and the wheel performance and accuracy of the equipment is crucial. Not everybody’s product can get you there.”
Reed said “We are taking our company in the direction of high value added grinding of difficult parts for aerospace and other industries that need advanced capabilities. So we will keep investing in CNC grinding systems and manpower developments to insure that we have capabilities that meet and exceed those of our OEM customers. Meister is a great partner, being able to supply anything from a spare wheel that comes out of their stock cabinet to specially engineered products that that are made specifically for dedicated processes. “
