There are many types of industrial grinders and CNC grinders available to metalworking operations of all sizes. See below for a selection of the most widely used types of metal grinding machines.
Bore grinding machines
Bore grinding machines are used to bore holes in metal, stone and wood. This type of machine is also offered by budget manufacturers and is designed for private use.
Professional bore grinding machines for industrial use are manufactured by FARMAN, FROEHLICH, KLINGEL, SCHANBACHER and SCHLUMBERGER.
Surface grinders are used when an extremely flat surface is needed. They work using a grinding disc that is consistently guided across a workpiece. These machines are key to the tool-building and mould construction industries and can be relied on to achieve the required dimensional accuracy.
Surface grinders are manufactured by ABA, BLOHM , ELB-SCHLIFF, JUNG and KUGELMÜLLER.
Guideway grinding machines
Guideway grinding machines, as the name suggests, are used to grind guideways and are deployed wherever very large cutting machines are being manufactured. Mechanical guideways need to be very precise and the guideway grinders on offer today can achieve tolerances of 1/1000 of a millimetre across seven metres of length.
Guideway grinding machines primarily operate using grinding stones. The abrasion caused by the stone is factored into the pressing force to ensure the results achieved are consistent.
Well-known manufacturers of guideway grinding machines include MEUSER MOL, SHW, SCHMALTZ, WALDRICH-COBURG and KRAFT.
Double-disc grinding machines
Double-disc grinding machines are highly efficient pieces of kit. They enable workpiece processing to be performed simultaneously on the front and back side per work cycle.
Popular manufacturers of double-disc grinding machines include: DISKUS, GIUSTINA, KOYO, BESLY, C+B MACHINERY and JUNKER.
Internal grinding machines
Internal (cylindrical) grinding machines are used to create consistent and accurate internal radii. They work using roll-shaped grinding bodies. The internal grinding machines available today feature computerised numerical control (CNC) and can thus achieve the strictest of tolerances.
Manufacturers of internal grinding machines include: DANOBAT, HANKOOK, TRIPET, JUNG and VOUMARD.
Jig grinders
Jig grinders feature CN controls and a very small grinding body. They are used to grind away at specific points on a workpiece as required by the respective production process. As such, jig grinders feature a very similar design to CNC mills.
Jig grinders are some of the most expensive and complex grinding machines available and are produced by HAUSER, DECKEL, MOORE, MIKROMAT und KELLENBERGER.
Knife grinding machines
Knife grinding machines are used to sharpen blades, knives and scissors, as well as to grind chisels.
Knife grinding machines are made by BERNADO, KNECHT, GOWEIL, TORMEK and SCHEPPACH.
Cylindrical grinders serve to grind profiles, pipes and round steels in a cylindrical manner. Tensioning cylindrical grinding machines use centre tips similar to the tail stocks of lathes. Centreless grinding machines, by contrast, can be used to indefinitely process profiles without any clamping process being required.
Major manufacturers of cylindrical grinders include STUDER, OMICRON, KARSTENS, SCHAUDT and HERMINGHAUSEN.
Bench grinders are standard grinding tools that are found in every workshop. A bench grinder can be used to sharpen, grind, plane, or deburr a workpiece by hand. They consist of a motor to which one or two grinding discs are attached. They are produced in single- and double-sided variants.
The best quality bench grinders can be acquired from ELEKTRA BECKUM, MAKITA, GREIF and REMA.
Stylus grinding machines
Stylus grinding machines are used to grind marking tools, such as styli. Their primary application, however, is to sharpen milling heads, which makes them very similar to bore grinding machines.
Popular manufacturers of stylus grinding machines include BERNARDO, DECKEL, HASBERG, KUHLMANN, PARPAS and SCRIPTA.
Crock grinding machines
A crock grinding machine is a device used to grind pots, or ‘crocks’ in the US vernacular. Its name comes from the way the tool is guided: the grinding disc is mounted in a pot-shaped guide. The drive, guiding mechanism and grinding head are attached to a pivoting arm. Crock grinding machines are ideal for grinding and changing dimensions on small workpieces and are operated by hand.
Manufacturers of crock grinding machines include: DELTA, EDEL, KUGELMÜLLER, UNICUM and NYBERG.
Roll grinding machines
A Roll grinding machines serve to precisely grind press rollers to the desired dimensions. They can be used to grind new, used and freshly turned rollers to achieve the required tolerance. Precision rollers can only be created using a roll grinding machine.
These machines are produced by HARKOV, HERKULES, KELLENBERGER, SCHAUDT, WALDRICH and ZIMMERMANN.
Tool-grinding machines
Tool-grinding machines are the predecessors of the jig grinder. They are used to manufacture and repair crimping tools and casting tools.
The most well-known manufacturers of this machine are: AGATHON, CLARKSON, DECKEL, EWAG, HAHN & KOLB, TRUMPF and WALTER.