Bespoke Diamond Tooling for Composite Grinding
Industry: Wind Turbine Blade Manufacturing
Bespoke Diamond Tooling for Composite Grinding
The Task
One of our customers in the Wind Turbine Manufacturing industry approached us to find a bespoke tooling solution for grinding composite materials. The customer required large volumes of composite material to be removed from turbine blades during the repair and maintenance process.
The Current Method
The company’s current method consisted of two operators using hand-operated grinders working on each individual blade. 115mm diameter silicon carbide pads were used on these grinders to gradually remove the composite materials. Whilst this method was functional, the process took between 40-45 hours per operator, and each silicon pad only withstood 15-20 minutes of grinding before being discarded.
Bespoke Electroplated Diamond Grinding Disc
The Challenge
Our technical engineers were tasked with creating a bespoke electroplated diamond grinding tool that would improve efficiency both in production time and cost. With each blade requiring 80-90 hours of total labour, and approximately £540 in single-use tooling, the company were aiming to reduce these outputs and optimise their workflow.
Moreover, with the large quantities of discarded discs requiring disposal, our team were also asked to find a solution that would improve the environmental impact of the blade maintenance.
The Process
After receiving the brief, our technical team conducted a site visit to review the current methods used by the customer, and better understand the exact requirements for the new tooling. Based on their findings from this visit, the team ran in-house tests with DK Holdings Ltd manufactured bespoke electroplated grinding discs to establish their efficacy in grinding the composite materials. The preliminary results were encouraging, both from a cost and waste reduction perspective.
For further testing, the customer was sent some trial discs to ensure in-house results could be replicated. The discs were used with one of their production cells repeatedly over a set period of time, with results proving a 50% reduction in manpower needed, and tool performance remaining consistently high.
The Outcome
With a 50% reduction in manpower, meaning only one operator was now required to execute the repair, the company saw great improvements in their efficiency and productivity as well as reductions in labour costs per blade.
Additionally, with the DK Holdings Ltd Electroplated Grinding Discs showing no visible wear despite extensive use, the customer noted a significant reduction in their tooling costs.
By swapping from the single-use silicone carbide discs to DK tooling, the customer had already taken strides in improving their environmental impact. However, this was further benefited by the availability of the DK Holdings Strip and Replate Service to refurbish the discs once they showed signs of wear and tear. This could further reduce tooling costs by up to 40% and create even less tooling waste.
If you are looking for a bespoke Diamond Tooling solution to improve your process, our technical team is on hand to help: info@dk-holdings.co.uk
