This blog post will compare two popular grinding services offered at CHE Precision Inc., a machine shop based in Newbury Park, CA.
Within each type of grinding service, we are going to evaluate the following:
- History
- Application(s)
- Tolerances
- And more!
Ensure you stick around to the end to determine which grinding service is right for you and your application.
Rotary Surface Grinding (Blanchard Grinding)
Blanchard grinding is a process in which stock is removed from one side of a large piece of material. This form of grinding was developed in the early 1900s and is also known as Rotary Surface Grinding. It is typically used for objects with large surface areas due to its ability to efficiently complete this task. At CHE Precision Inc., Scott runs a variety of parts on the Blanchard to tolerances of +/- .0005”. We use the Blanchard for grinding ductile valve seats, aluminum plates, connecting rods, fixtures, castings, 3D printing plates, and much more!
Precision Grinding
Precision grinding is used for applications requiring superior finish, flatness, and parallelism. These parts commonly have smaller surfaces to be ground and require tolerances of +/-.0001” and exceptional surface finishes. Various types of precision grinding include surface, cylindrical, centerless, creep feed, tool and cutter, internal, and form grinding. At CHE Precision Inc., we grind our own components such as valve seats and trunnions. Our valve seats are OD ground using a centerless grinding machine set up for through-feed grinding to achieve exact outer diameter size and precise surface finish. We have another centerless grinder set up for end-feed grinding of our trunnions to achieve the tight tolerances required.
Conclusion
Both grinding processes remove material from parts; however, precision grinding will achieve more exact finishes, dimensions, flatness, and parallelism. If your application is a 30” x 30” square of material in which you need both sides to be flat and smooth, Blanchard grinding is the way to go. For applications in which six sides need to be ground, our Blanchard can do up to 18” x 18” pieces of material! If you have an application where your component is smaller and needs more exact dimensions and specifications, you will want to go with precision grinding. While our valve seats are Blanchard and precision ground, both processes achieve unique outcomes to fulfill our customer’s tolerances and requirements.
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