Meister Abrasives Expands Manufacturing in U.S.
Their new CNC system will reduce lead times for large grinding wheels by up to 40 percent.
Posted: February 15, 2016
Meister Abrasives USA, Inc. (North Kingstown, RI) has taken delivery of an advanced CNC manufacturing system capable of producing large vit CBN and diamond abrasive wheels up to 1,225 mm (approximately 4 ft) diameter. The huge, highly automated system, which weighs more than ten tons, makes it possible for Meister to manufacture large diameter external wheels in the U.S. using equipment, materials and a manufacturing process identical to those used by the parent corporation in Switzerland.
Bruce Northrup, the vice president and general manager of Meister Abrasives USA said, “Our new CNC manufacturing system is currently being installed and commissioned and we anticipate being in full production with it by the end of the year. By making these products at our Rhode Island facility we will be able to reduce lead times for external grinding wheels larger than 500 mm diameter by up to 40 percent. Customers will be able to count on getting large external grinding wheels in six to eight weeks, rather than nine to ten weeks.”
Northrup said that the company was originally established in 1988 to fulfill a substantial order for large diameter CBN wheels from a defense manufacturer. That program was short-lived but it gave them an opportunity to introduce customers to high-quality and innovative abrasive wheel technologies that are helping manufacturers to improve performance and reduce costs in a wide variety of high-precision grinding applications.Today, large-diameter external grinding wheels represent about 20 percent of their total sales. Northrup believes that percentage will grow as short lead times now make it reasonable for manufacturers to consider their advanced big wheel abrasive technologies for such applications as fuel injector needles, cam and crank, and OD grinding of transmission components.
Large pellet wheels for lapping and fine grinding are another area where customers may be enticed to resurface large wheelbases, weighing several thousand pounds, with their quality pellets. In the past shipping these bases to Switzerland was prohibitive from both a cost and lead-time perspective.
Northrup said that with this installation in place, they will be able to manufacture their entire line of superabrasive wheels (with the exception of a few specialty products) from virtually identical manufacturing operations in the U.S. and Europe. This will allow the company to balance its production scheduling to better serve customers throughout the world.
Meister Abrasives is an international manufacturer of cutting-edge industrial abrasive products, offering superabrasive grinding wheels, dressing tools, ancillary equipment and technical support to provide customers with optimized solutions for high-precision grinding applications
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