Outside Diameter Grinding Advantages

Advantages of OD Grinding

Outside diameter (OD) grinding is a highly effective and often-used process for metalworking jobs — and for many reasons. If a project you’re working on requires strict precision and near-perfect part roundness, you can achieve this easily with an OD grinder. Learn more about this grinding technique, including common OD grinding applications and the main benefits of OD grinding.

What Is OD Grinding?

OD grinding is a subset of cylindrical grinding that finishes a part’s outside diameter. Cylindrical grinding is a process typically used at the end of a project that forms a finished surface on a cylindrical part’s interior, exterior or both. With cylindrical grinding, the object and grinding wheel continually rotate with respect to each other.

During OD grinding, the part being finished spins on a central rotational axis. OD grinding uses two end pieces to hold the part steady, with it rotating around its true center axis. The grinding wheel also rotates, often while traveling the length of the component.

Both the part and wheel move in the same direction, but when they make contact, the direction is reversed, and they begin moving opposite to each other. This technique lessens the chance of a jam, helps both objects travel smoothly and prevents the grinding wheel from making any significant cuts within the material being ground.

Various components of an OD grinder can be offset during the process to ensure different results, such as:

• The grinding wheel: Offsetting the grinding wheel lets you grind certain angles onto a part.
• The headstock: If you’re looking to create a more pronounced taper on a part, offsetting the grinder’s headstock will help you achieve this.
• The upper table: Offsetting the upper table facilitates extremely accurate and gradual taper grinding, where one end of the part becomes smaller than the other end.

What Is an OD Grinder Used For?

OD grinders are used for finishing the exteriors of objects like crankshafts, bearings, axles and hydraulic and transmission components. OD grinding is a go-to choice when metalworking jobs require close attention to detail, accuracy and precision. You can perform numerous grinding jobs using an OD grinder. Here are the three most common uses:

• Transverse cylindrical grinding: Transverse grinding adds transverse motion across the part being finished, which is relative to the grinding wheel and moves perpendicular to the plane of wheel rotation. This type is essentially the opposite of plunge grinding, described below.
• Plunge grinding: During plunge grinding, the wheel continuously makes contact with one section of the part instead of traveling up and down its length.
• Form grinding: The wheel is the same shape as the finished part with this type of grinding, allowing you to grind non-standard forms.

Benefits and Advantages of OD Grinding

While OD grinding has numerous benefits, one significant advantage is that you can find an object’s true center using this process, which allows you to create a perfectly circular shape. This ability is especially crucial for industries and applications that call for precise parts.

OD grinding can also remove existing geometric issues on a part and bring it back to the level of accuracy and roundness you need. This feature makes it an excellent option for addressing metal component defects so you can spend less time creating entirely new parts.

OD grinders come in several configurations to best match your project needs. For example, you could use a computer-numerical control (CNC) model or a manual machine. Manual grinders are often better for accomplishing custom material cuts, while automated models let you complete more work with less labor.

You can easily complete large, complex projects with a suitable grinding machine and metalworking partner to take care of the process. At Hard Chrome Specialists, our cylindrical grinding machine can take on projects as big as 25 inches in diameter and 159 inches long. Our machine can also handle a weight capacity of up to 8,000 pounds. With these capabilities, you can be confident your projects will turn out just as intended, whether small or large.

What Industries Is OD Grinding Used For?

Precise engineering and adherence to strict measurements are essential aspects of many different industries and their machine production processes. Here are some common industries and applications that use OD grinding to meet these standards:

• Aerospace: Aerospace components must withstand extreme environments, including significant vibration, very high and low temperatures and high altitudes. They also have small tolerances and must have precise finishes. OD grinding is the preferred way to produce elements like turbine shafts and rings, tensile specimens, valves and spools that meet these requirements. Precision grinding ensures components used in aerospace engineering meet the required specifications for temperature stability, safety, flexibility and rigidity.
• Machine tooling: Manufacturers use OD grinders to make parts like pistons, roller bearings, spindles and ball screws. OD grinding is also used to create components such as drill points, ring gages, profile inserts and reamers for the machine tooling and die and mold sectors.
• Automotive: Within the automotive industry, manufacturers use OD grinding to shape parts like brake cylinders and pistons, gear shafts, connecting rods and steering pistons. The precise finishes they can achieve with this method offer a perfect fit for mated automotive components like gears. Part concentricity is crucial for many vehicle elements, and OD grinders are ideal for accomplishing the required concentricity level.
• Defense: Like the aerospace sector, components used for the military and defense industries must meet precise specifications and hold up to rigorous use and harsh settings. Some elements that benefit from OD grinding are missile shells, gun tripods and bolt carrier groups.
• Energy: Machines in the energy industry — such as wind turbines and hydroelectric parts — require micron-level precision to generate power and get it safely to users. OD grinding can help create perfect parts such as rotor shafts, compressor parts and motor components.

Contact Hard Chrome Specialists Today for OD Grinding Services

When you’re looking for expert OD cylindrical grinding services for parts of all sizes, trust Hard Chrome Specialists to handle your project. We are a family-owned and -operated business specializing in hard chrome plating, electroless nickel plating and cylindrical grinding solutions. Our in-house metalworking capabilities enable us to offer quick turnaround times, and we are ISO 9001:2015 certified to ensure the highest quality results on every job.

Contact us today to begin your next OD grinding project and get the precision, fast response times and quality workmanship you need.