Form follows function

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Thinking ahead is key

That enabled the team to implement every possible optimisation within a reasonable timeframe and budget. The improvements are clear: as well as fitting in the smallest of spaces, the new nozzle can also be individually tailored to each customer application. Friedrich from Grindaix is delighted: “We make a huge number of different product variants. The 3D-manufacturing technique enables us to supply the perfect nozzle to virtually every single one of our customers.”

The new nozzle is efficient in many different respects. The flow of coolant has been optimised, reducing pressure losses by up to 20%. That means you need a lower pressure – and less energy – to achieve the specified coolant exit velocity. The curved channels and optimised jet trajectory take the lubricoolant to the precise place it is needed, delivering no more and no less than is required to carry out the process in an optimum manner without causing thermal damage to the part. This reliable and automated solution for delivering lubricoolant eliminates factors that may have previously caused holdups in the manufacturing process.

Despite his enthusiasm for 3D printing, Friedrich essentially sees this particular manufacturing method as just the icing on the cake. What really gives the nozzle its unique selling point is the clean engineering process that guarantees an accurate geometric design. “There’s a correlation between the pressure of the lubricoolant in the coolant line upstream from the Grindaix nozzle and the velocity with which it exits the nozzle. We calculate the exact figures for each custom-made nozzle shape. And there’s also a correlation between the velocity at which the water or oil exits the nozzle and the grinding speed,” says Friedrich.

“If you know the grinding speed, then you can achieve adaptive control of the pressure with the aid of the Grindaix nozzle flow rate diagram. That means we can tell our customers exactly what pressure they should use upstream from the nozzle to achieve a specific coolant exit velocity in the grinding process. We never used to be able to achieve such tremendous precision in nozzle applications for ID cylindrical grinding.”

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