Superfinishing Durability with Northern Machining, Inc.
For Superfinishing applications with high-mix and low to medium volume, an attachment could prove highly effective.
These robust, low-cost, multi-purpose machines have small space requirements and smooth-running properties. Northern Machining, Inc., a Norfolk, NY based machine shop, found themselves needing a solution for stringent Ra and Rz requirements of a compressor shaft when they came across Supfina’s 110 Superfinishing attachment. “I looked into what type of work this project would take, and that’s when I got in contact with Supfina”, said Ted Ashley, Owner of NMI.
Ashley found that the process itself was able to achieve a finish unlike any other. “It’s the quality of the finish,” said Ashley. “We’ve tried times to do jobs without the superfinishing attachment, but it’s needed that process, as the grinding process was leaving inclusions in the material, and Superfinishing was the only way to remove those inclusions.”
Not to mention, NMI has been running the same Supfina attachment for projects with strict Ra/Rz requirements since 2009. “For the twelve years we’ve had [the Supfina 110], there hasn’t been any issues with the machine,” said Ashley. “It’s been incredibly durable and the pneumatics still work really well.” Ashley has even received offers on the machine. “I’ve had people show up here and try and buy [the attachment] from me, so I’ve had to send them over to Supfina to get their own.”
But the attachment’s durability is no secret. “The Supfina 110 stone attachment is the machine which built the company,” said Joe O’Hearn, Senior Process Engineer at Supfina. “Patented and designed in the 1950’s, the design has stayed essentially the same. The rugged, mass-balanced construction is designed to provide consistent results for demanding applications such as calendar and press rolls, tungsten carbide and hard chrome coatings, or something as simple as a seal surface on a Ø1 transmission shaft. A cross hatch pattern with Ra < 4 [µin] can be done in 1-2 steps on many common steels. Mirror finishes of Ra < 1 [µin] can be achieved in multiple steps with the correct abrasives and tooling.”
The relationship between NMI and Supfina went well beyond the sale of the machine. Jeff Laba, Lead Machinist at NMI, frequently operates the Superfinishing attachment and praised Supfina’s customer support. “Since receiving the machine, I’ve called [Supfina] and received a few tips that got me started, tips that I still use to this day.”
See more about Supfina’s extensive portfolio of attachments, which include over a dozen options of tape and stone superfinishing for a number of different types of workpiece materials and sizes at LeanSystems.
About Northern Machining Inc.: NMI is a machine shop, a manufacturing company located in Norfolk, New York. NMI serves industries such as: Medical Devices, Aerospace, Industrial Printing, and Automotive, among others. NMI specializes in CNC turning, CNC milling, superfinishing, welding and fabrication, grinding, inspecting, Multi-Tasking Machining, contract manufacturing and engineering. See more about their services at http://www.northernmachininginc.com/
About Supfina: Founded over 100 years ago, Supfina is an industrial precision manufacturing solutions firm. Supfina is renowned in their ability to create customized systems for superfinishing, fine grinding, flat finishing, and double-disk grinding, including comprehensive automation solutions.
The customization of Supfina’s component manufacturing systems are limitless, ensuring a desired solution to any specification. This flexibility allows for quick adaptability to changing workpieces or surface parameters due to rapidly changing customer needs and market demands.
