Manufacturing process parameter adaptation for high precision fine grinded surface topographies: Customised approach within cutlery case study

摘要

The market environment for manufacturers of high precision mass products is extremely turbulent and challenging. On the one hand, international low cost competitors are a challenge from an economic perspective. On the other hand customers expect individual, customised solutions, which leads to the challenge of short innovation cycles. Both facts force manufacturers to be flexible with regard to customer requirements. Possible options for action are changes regarding the product design, functionality and subsequently the adjustment of the manufacturing process parameters. Using the example of fine grinded cutlery, where, in addition to the product design, sharpness, durability or the haptic perception, the surface topography of the blade in particular is an important purchasing criterion for the customer. This paper shows how to selectively influence the resulting grinding surface pattern in a mass production with respect to customer's requirements. The shown cutlery case study, based on test series, focuses on influencing grinding process parameters such as the grinding disc compound, feed rate, cutting speed, contact force and cutlery type. These parameters can be varied systematically/selective in order to get the cutlery surface topography, desired by the customer: The surface topography is specified by target values such as the measured gloss, roughness and colour. The goal is the determination of grinding parameter settings that enable manufacturing processes to consider target areas regarding product characteristics - like the geometry or the surface topography - and fulfil customer demands within a flexible mass production.