Grinding Journal - Summer 2007 - (Page 9)

Summer 2007 Extreme levels of quality control As Eric puts it “There’s nothing here that isn’t at least important, if not critical, and that’s the way we have to behave. We have to give it our best.” So the lab documents every specimen from the moment it (or the part it comes from) arrives. What’s more, every specimen process has to be able to be duplicated precisely. Their collection of quality control certifications reads like alphabet soup. And their client list reads like a global “who’s who” of the aircraft, power generation and medical prosthetics industries. Eric continues: “People use us because their part has high value and they have big exposure. We’re like an insurance company…We reduce our clients’ risk.” “All the disadvantages of a production company without the advantages” Testing is relatively labor intensive, yet it also requires a high capital investment. That’s especially true at Dirats Laboratories, since they can machine an infinite range of specimen geometries in-house, in addition to their broad testing services. In fact, they greatly prefer to both prepare and test the specimen, because only then can they be fully confident in the validity of the test results. But unlike a manufacturing company, Dirats Laboratories Operator Slawek Urbanek does most of his machine programming off-line on a PC with StuderGrind software. That maximizes productive time on the machine and speeds change-over-time - a critical factor because the lot sizes are tiny. can’t produce parts for stock. If their machines are not producing specimens for immediate testing, they are idle. So Eric is ruefully accurate when he says they have “All the costs of manufacturing without the advantages.” But this is where Studer helps… Grinding handles tough materials with low stress Being able to prepare a wide variety of test specimens requires a variety of machine tools. Given the materials involved and the geometries required, grinding is a key technique. For example, testing the tensile strength of a refractory aerospace alloy calls for a test bar about three inches long with a ¼ In this case, Dirats Laboratories uses EDM to cut rough test bars from a larger material sample. The final prep before testing is done on a Studer S31. Grinding Journal

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Grinding Journal - Summer 2007

Contents My Thoughts Exactly When Lives Are at Stake Walter Consolidating Production The Art of Grinding: Knowing the Source of Grinding Errors and How to Fix Them The How and Why of Conventional Vitrified Grinding Wheel Selection Grinding Glass Flat Problem Solver

Grinding Journal - Summer 2007

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