Quality Means Getting the Right CNC Centerless Grinder

While Hank Matousek Sr. was perfectly content in his position as quality control manager at a bearing manufacturer during the late 1960s and early 1970s, he had no idea that his employer’s growing financial woes and a pending layoff would become his surprise catalysts to found Grind All Inc. (Brunswick, OH). Not surprising, though, was that Matousek’s background as a quality leader would lead him to place value and excellence above all in his new enterprise. From his one-man shop, with one used grinder in a central Ohio basement, to today’s 45-machine, 52-employee job shop, the Matousek family still places quality above all else. Hank’s “Do it right and make your product better” creed has been the cornerstone of company operations since he founded the firm in 1972. “Do the best you can and people will come back. Do jobs better than anyone,” says company president Henry Matousek Jr., quoting his father.

That’s why, while other manufacturers are tossing around “quality” buzzwords, Grind All is busy applying real time and resources toward meeting their ongoing quality goals. As a result of that focus, the company has had ISO 9001:2008 certification since 2011. Over the course of nearly 45 years, their customer base has grown to include many parts suppliers in the aerospace and defense industries. That’s why obtaining an additional certification to AS 9100C was the logical move for this quality-obsessed shop. That certification, issued by SAI Global (New South Wales, Australia), is the highest of global standards for quality assurance in the aircraft, space and defense (AS&D) industries. The AS 9100C certification, along with their  ISO 9001:2008 certification and ITAR registration, would make Grind All uniquely qualified to offer a complete range of services to even the most quality-conscious customers.

Obtaining AS 9100C certification is no easy task for any company, not even one like Grind All. Critical factors in this certification are the processes, characteristics, parts and software that have a significant effect on product realization and on the use of the product. As the job shop began the certification process by evaluating their inventory of production centerless grinders, OD grinders, ID grinders, surface grinders, honing machines and flat lapping machines, it became clear that their antiquated Cincinnati 220-8 centerless infeed grinder would not make the cut. Although this machine tool had been successfully rebuilt over the years and was working, it did not provide the reliability and precision required by AS 9100C regulations.

They saw two options: either invest a significant amount of money to patch up the 220-8 or find an outside source for centerless grinding work. Neither option was acceptable. As the Cincinnati centerless became even more unreliable, Henry began to research other alternatives, and turned for advice from several suppliers, including Total Grinding Solutions (TGS; Warren, MI), a worldwide manufacturer of innovative centerless grinders with an affordable price that focus on machine reliability to minimize downtime, lengthen machine life and reduce the cost of ownership.

The founders of TGS, company president Dan Geddes and partner Joe Giacalone, are the brains behind the development of these robust, high precision centerless grinders that have the latest state-of-the-art features but sell at a very moderate cost. “We applied our hands-on grinding experience with our in-depth knowledge of grinders and set out to design a quality centerless grinder that could handle even the highest volume production runs with extreme accuracy and consistency,” notes Giacalone. “We were looking to produce a more economical, higher precision-based system. We know what works and we were determined to ‘build a better mousetrap’,” adds Geddes. After several iterations, the TGS-CL-6020 CNC centerless grinder was launched at an open house in August 2014 at their Warren location. That’s where Matousek and his team saw the machine for the first time.

While Matousek appreciated the grinder’s modern design, he was especially pleased to learn that the tooling from his ailing Cincinnati 220-8 centerless could cross over to the TGS-CL-6020, meaning he wouldn’t have to spend precious resources on pricey tooling. As Grind All compared offerings from TGS and several other suppliers, the TGS CL-6020 CNC centerless grinding machine stood out for several reasons:

• Its flexibility would accommodate shop requirements that the machine be able to run a variety of parts and, most likely, two or three different parts and materials per day.
• The controls on the machine had to be user friendly to minimize training time and shorten the learning curve.
• Although being a very successful job shop, Grind All did not have an unlimited budget, and price was a consideration. Luckily for them, the TGS-CL-6020 had been priced to meet the needs of the middle market, where the only previous options were low-cost basic machine tools or expensive high-end machines.

After a series of test grinds, analyses and consultations, management selected the TGS-CL-6020 to replace their old Cincinnati. To further accommodate the job shop’s needs, TGS modified the machine controls to mimic what was already in place on the shop floor. With their new TGS machine, Grind All met their AS 9100C criteria. “The machine’s FANUC controls have always been great. It’s nice to be able to call TGS or FANUC for assistance, rather than being tied in to some company’s proprietary software,” explains Matousek. “This CNC centerless grinder is everything we would want in a machine. Once it got going, it has proven itself as a solid machine tool that will carry us into the future and will be around for a long time.”

Grind All Inc., 1113 Industrial Parkway North, Brunswick, OH 44212, 330-220-1600, www.grindall.com.

Total Grinding Solutions, 13265 East 8 Mile Road, Warren, MI 48089, 586-541-5300, sales@total grindingsolutions.com, www.totalgrindingsolutions.com.