Development Opportunity
Abrasive grain alignment control, which had been considered difficult for many years
Electroplated wheels have a characteristic of good sharpness due to the large protrusion of abrasive grains. However, an increase in the number of working abrasive grains and clogging due to wear during machining can cause reduced sharpness and shape defects. Investigation of conventional electroplated wheels also revealed the fact that only a portion of the total number of adhered abrasive grains was working.
From this, it was somewhat easy to predict that if fewer abrasive grains could be efficiently lined up, it would lead to improved sharpness and reduced clogging. However, to improve this, it was essential to develop a new technology that was radically different from the existing manufacturing process, and this had been considered difficult for many years. Although not an urgent problem, it was a problem that Asahi Dia cannot afford to neglect as it constantly strives for better manufacturing.
Conventional electroplated wheel
Abrasive grain array specifications
effort
The innovation was triggered by
technology that has been rejected in the past.
It is easy to arrange abrasive grains on a simple tool shape, but it was difficult to arrange abrasive grains of different sizes for each specification on various shapes of small-quantity, high-mix products such as electroplated wheels. As a result of a wide-ranging search for new technology ideas as a solution, the technology that was finally adopted was one that had been rejected once before. The technological innovation had given us the prospect to deploy the technology. Although we struggled with detailed trial and error because it was a new technology, we were able to complete a satisfactory prototype at an early stage.
However, when it came time for mass production, a problem arose in which abrasive grains fell out during the manufacturing process. We spent many days identifying the cause of the problem and trying out solutions one by one to verify them. As a result, we were able to solve the problem by abandoning conventional technology and adopting a radically different manufacturing process.
effort
Unexpected longevity
The performance of the "AG Wheel" with the new technology was truly innovative. For example, one product showed outstanding sharpness with less than half the grinding resistance of a conventional electroplated wheel, even with the same machining accuracy. This is expected to reduce grinding burning and support high-efficiency machining.
The AG Wheel is also effective in smoothly discharging chips generated during machining and preventing clogging. Because the AG Wheel is designed with an emphasis on sharpness, it has fewer abrasive grains than conventional products, and there was concern that its wear resistance would be low. Nevertheless, when the AG Wheel was introduced at one customer's site, the wheel actually tripled its service life because it reduced machining defects caused by clogging. Both the customer and the development team could not hide their surprise at this fact.
Outstanding sharpness
Compared to conventional electroplated wheels, even with the same surface roughness
Grinding resistance is about 1/2 that of a conventional electroplated wheel, boasting outstanding sharpness and suppressing grinding burns.
High chip evacuation
Prevents tool clogging and maintains good form accuracy
Development Results
New technology full of possibilities to meet the needs of many customers
One of our current challenges is to increase productivity of AG Wheels, since they take a long time to manufacture due to the use of special processes. Currently, AG wheels are mainly used for automotive parts and hydraulic parts of construction machinery, but we are considering expanding sales to other industries. At the same time, we are also considering the possibility of expanding to larger sizes.
To begin with, the AG Wheel is characterized by its ability to control the number and arrangement of abrasive grains. In other words, we can provide optimal specifications for each customer. AG Wheels will continue to evolve in order to meet the needs of more and more customers.
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