Glebar Develops Advanced Automotive Manufacturing Process for Fuel Injection

Ideal for fast-track development and automated long-term production

Published: Tuesday, June 14, 2016 - 16:12

(Glebar: Ramsey, NJ) -- Glebar has developed a centerless grinding process on its GT 610 CNC for automotive manufacturers that expedites the development process of fuel injector nozzle valves, leading to reduced tooling costs, lower inventory levels and quicker integration of new technology for prototyping or proof of concept for a new component.

The Glebar GT 610 CNC Centerless Thrufeed/Infeed Grinder includes an integrated two-axis computer numerical controlled (CNC) work-wheel dresser capable of dressing an 8.625-in. (219-mm) wide grinding wheel. It will be exhibited at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago beginning Sept. 12, 2016, in booth No. N7317.

The centerless grinding development process for manufacturing a fuel-injector nozzle valve can be an arduous task, sometimes incorporating up to 20 critical dimensions, all of which need to be centerless ground. Glebar’s process increases the efficiency of the centerless grinding prototyping process by using a single-disk chemical vapor disposition dress roller as part of its grinding system with the full CNC work-wheel dressing.

“Glebar’s CNC dressing system, running on our GT 610 CNC machine platform, has submicron positional accuracy, which allows intricate forms to be dressed into the work wheel to generate critical dimensions required in the manufacture of the fuel injector nozzle,” says Sean Riess, senior applications engineer at Glebar. “By utilizing a single-disk roller, this allows the end user to generate a multitude of profiles using one roller rather than being required to purchase a reverse-plated roller for every different profile when generating a proof of concept. This leads to shorter lead times, and reduced inventory and initial tooling costs in development projects.”

As part of the Glebar solution for advancing the development processes for fuel-injection nozzle valves, the company offers its P4K noncontact measurement system as an essential setup and inspection tool. Adjustments are made from the P4K by feeding back radii, steps, diameters, and angle measurements to automatically adjust the wheel shape via the CNC dressing system. Glebar has filed for a patent on correcting the wheel shape. Using the off-line gauge eliminates trace measurement systems as well as optical comparators. All of the interface software is custom generated internally to feed back to the machine for infinite wheel shapes.

“Historically, project development lead times for ground components of finished ground fuel injector nozzle valves can take upwards of 16 weeks to complete,” says Riess. “This is due to the extremely long lead time of a reverse-plated dressing wheel which can be very accurate, but an expensive tooling cost when proving out a component concept. With Glebar’s single roller solution, the need for reverse-plated wheels is eliminated, resulting in tremendous cost savings.”

In today’s challenging manufacturing environment, machine tools are now, more than ever, required to be multifaceted and vertically integrated. There is constant pressure to incorporate the latest technology since it’s hard to absorb the cost of the limited processes of grinding one piece per cycle. While using a reverse-plated wheel in these components’ production environment is often ideal, using a single-disk chemical vapor disposition roller with CNC dressing can expedite a proof of concept and reduce development costs.

Glebar provides the capability to grind multiple parts per cycle with gauge feedback and complete feeding automation. With the versatility of being able to use single-disk rollers as well reverse-plated rollers, Glebar enables its customers to develop fast-track development projects as well as fully automated long-term production runs.

For more than 60 years, Glebar has been serving the needs of the medical, aerospace, automotive, and general manufacturing marketplaces. The company’s centerless grinding machines and customer applications are considered the industry standard and are used by leading manufacturers across the globe.

For more information about Glebar’s centerless grinders for automotive applications, contact Mark Bannayan, vice president of sales and marketing at (201) 644-2020 or by email at mbannayan@glebar.com.

About The Author

Glebar

Glebar Co. designs, configures, and manufactures its standard platform of modular machine systems to provide custom solutions focused on process improvement and margin enhancement, maximizing a customer's return on investment. Glebar serves companies in many markets, from medical and metals to automotive and aerospace. Its machines are all made in the United States to the highest quality standards. Glebar machines are known for their precision, longevity, flexibility, and efficiency. Glebar is ISO 9001-certified. Its customer service team and technicians support clients 24/7 and maintain inventory of critical parts available for next-day delivery in North America, Europe, and Asia.