By Dennis Brown, Technical Sales Manager - Weiler Abrasives
Dennis Brown specializes in gear grinding applications and works with manufacturers to improve grinding quality, cycle time and wheel performance.
Atlanta Gear Works reduced gear grinding cycle time from 24 hours to 18 hours. The six-hour reduction increased potential throughput by more than 30% while cutting grinding interruptions by 50%.
What you'll learn
Why grinding wheel availability is critical during emergency gearbox repairs
How application analysis and operator feedback helped shape the grinding solution
How Atlanta Gear Works reduced gear grinding cycle time by 25%
Why the shorter cycle resulted in more than 30% greater potential throughput
What other gear manufacturers can learn from the application
| Custom Weiler gear grinding wheel installed in the Atlanta Gear Works grinding machine. |
When an industrial gearbox fails, the cost is rarely limited to the gearbox itself. In industries such as pulp and paper, an unexpected failure can interrupt an entire production process and place significant pressure on the repair provider to return the equipment to service quickly.
Atlanta Gear Works specializes in designing, manufacturing, repairing and rebuilding critical gear boxes. Its team frequently supports paper mills and other industrial operations where a failed gearbox must be evaluated, repaired and returned to service as quickly as possible.
That urgency places demanding requirements on every stage of the repair process, including gear grinding. Atlanta Gear Works needed a grinding wheel that could consistently hold the required profile, support efficient material removal and be available when an emergency repair entered the shop.
The Gear Technology feature The Edge of Efficiency explains how Atlanta Gear Works worked with Weiler Abrasives to develop a custom grinding wheel solution that improved performance while reducing the supply delays associated with custom wheels.
Large paper machines depend on gearboxes and variable-speed drives to maintain precise speed relationships throughout the production line. Even a small mismatch can contribute to breaks, wrinkles or uneven stretching in the paper web. When a critical gearbox fails, the repair team must respond quickly while still meeting demanding dimensional and quality requirements.
For Atlanta Gear Works, that means being prepared for a wide range of repair work. During the same week, its team may address a damaged gearbox, complete a full rebuild and regrind an existing component. Each job can introduce different gear geometries, materials and grinding requirements.
The company’s previous grinding wheel arrangement presented two related challenges. Custom wheels could take more than 16 weeks to arrive, and wheel performance was not always consistent during critical jobs. Those limitations made it more difficult to plan work and respond quickly when an urgent repair entered the shop.
| Atlanta Gear Works uses profile grinding machines to produce or repair a variety of industrial gears. |
The solution began with an on-site review of Atlanta Gear Works’ grinding process. Rather than selecting a wheel based only on general specifications, the teams evaluated the application, machine conditions and performance requirements together.
Input from Atlanta Gear Works’ machine operators was especially important. Their experience allowed them to provide immediate feedback about how the wheel behaved during grinding and whether changes were needed.
The evaluation considered several factors beyond cutting speed:
The resulting wheel was customized for Atlanta Gear Works’ applications and delivered in an average of two weeks rather than the more than 16 weeks previously required.
Results at a Glance
25% shorter cycle time: Grinding time decreased from 24 hours to 18 hours per part.
More than 30% greater potential throughput: The shorter cycle allowed more parts to be completed within the same available production time.
50% fewer grinding interruptions: The new wheel eliminated the adjustments previously required during the process.
Improved wheel life: Atlanta Gear Works also experienced longer wheel life, although the improvement was not quantified during the evaluation.
The new gear grinding wheel reduced cycle time from 24 hours to 18 hours—a 25% reduction in the time required per part.
Viewed from a production-capacity perspective, that six-hour reduction allowed Atlanta Gear Works to achieve more than a 30% increase in potential throughput. Reducing the cycle from 24 hours to 18 hours means the same available production time can support approximately one-third more completed parts.
The wheel also produced 50% fewer grinding interruptions by eliminating the need for wheel adjustments. This helped operators maintain a more consistent process rather than stopping to correct wheel performance during the job.
Atlanta Gear Works also experienced improved wheel life. Because the company operates as a job shop with changing applications and production demands, the total wheel-life improvement was not formally measured during the initial evaluation.
“A shorter cycle does not automatically describe the full value of a grinding wheel supplier change,” Brown said. “In this application, throughput improved because each part required less grinding time and operators experienced fewer interruptions during the process.”
| In-house profiling allows stock wheel blanks to be prepared for specific gear grinding applications. |
Grinding wheel performance was only one part of the challenge. A custom wheel cannot help shorten an emergency repair if it takes months to arrive.
Through the Precision Express program, Weiler combines an inventory of wheel blanks with in-house profiling capabilities. This allows wheels to be prepared for specific gear grinding applications without waiting for a completely new wheel to move through a traditional manufacturing cycle.
For Atlanta Gear Works, the approach reduced average delivery time from more than 16 weeks to two weeks. That improved availability helped the company prepare for urgent repairs while reducing its reliance on maintaining finished-wheel inventory.
Manufacturers facing similar availability concerns can explore additional strategies in the article How to Avoid Gear Grinding Wheel Supply Problems.
The Atlanta Gear Works example demonstrates why grinding wheel selection should extend beyond product specifications or purchase price.
A wheel that shortens the grinding cycle, reduces adjustments and maintains the required form can create more production capacity without requiring an additional machine. Cycle time, interruptions, wheel life and part quality should be evaluated together.
Operators see how the wheel performs under actual grinding conditions. Their feedback can identify changes in cutting behavior, heat generation, swarf, profile retention and required adjustments that may not be evident from wheel specifications alone.
The right wheel only delivers value when it is available for the job. Access to wheel stock, in-house profiling and application support can help gear manufacturers and repair shops respond more effectively to schedule changes and urgent work.
For additional background on the application, grinding wheel technology and collaboration behind the results, read The Edge of Efficiency in Gear Technology.
For a visual overview of the challenge, solution and measurable production results, explore the Atlanta Gear Works gear grinding case study.
Reducing cycle time allows more parts to be completed during the same amount of available production time. In this application, decreasing the cycle from 24 hours to 18 hours reduced time per part by 25% and increased potential throughput by approximately one-third.
Form holding is the grinding wheel’s ability to maintain the required profile during use. Better form holding can reduce adjustments and dressing, support consistent gear geometry and help prevent variations from one part to the next.
Emergency gearbox repairs cannot move into grinding if the correct wheel is unavailable. Maintaining wheel stock and using in-house profiling capabilities can shorten the time required to obtain a custom wheel and help repair providers respond more quickly to urgent work.