How Staverton is leading Diamond Roller Dresser Manufacturing
The manufacturing facility at Staverton is the world's leading production and service site for Norton Winter diamond roller dressers.
Saint-Gobain Abrasives, the parent company of Norton Winter, operates the manufacturing site at Staverton for diamond roller dresser production, a testament to their manufacturing prowess since 2002. The history of diamond roller manufacturing dates back to 1893 when Louis Meyer Van Moppes founded a diamond merchant business in London. Over the years, it has grown and evolved through mergers and acquisitions, culminating in Saint-Gobain acquiring the company in 1997 and relocating the plant to Staverton in 2002.
We specialise in producing premium-quality diamond superabrasives for many industries, including Aerospace, Automotive manufacturing, Bearing, Gas turbine and Tooling sectors. Our expertise ranges from 3D design to the complete production of custom roller dressers for many different applications. Thousands of roller dressers are produced yearly thanks to our highly skilled engineers, technicians and machinists. The Staverton site houses production facilities, a warehouse, a laboratory, a design department and an administration office.
What Do We Produce at Staverton?
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Reverse-Plated Roller Dressers
Staverton's factory produces Infiltrated and Reverse-Plated diamond roller dressers designed specifically for our customers' applications.
The Reverse Plated dresser benefits from the electroplated nickel technology. There is submicron accuracy on complex shapes and profiles. Reverse Plated roller dressers usually have a random diamond distribution and can use reinforcement stones where necessary. It's a more cost-effective solution for complex diamond roller dressers compared to the Infiltrated version. In some cases, the roller dressers can be reconditioned to extend the life of the dresser while avoiding the production of non-conforming parts.
Manufacturing Steps:
1. A bespoke precision mould is produced2. A layer of nickel is electroplated onto a hollow cylindrical mould's internal surface to hold a diamond layer firmly in place.
3. A steel body is bonded in place, and the mould is removed, exposing the diamond surface.
As all the diamond cutting points lie directly on the mould surface, the profile form is already accurate. This produces the most accurate type of diamond dresser available.
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Infiltrated Roller Dressers
The Infiltrated diamond roller dresser uses hard metal powders instead of nickel electroplating and can have random or hand-set diamond distribution. They can use natural or synthetic diamond grit and include CVD reinforcing stones where necessary. The Infiltrated roller dresser is more wear-resistant and can have a longer lifetime. They are more cost-effective for simple forms and ideal for large stock removal operations when used with a suitably selected diamond distribution. In some cases, they can also be reconditioned to extend the life of the dresser while avoiding the production of non-conforming parts.
Manufacturing Steps:
1. A bespoke precision mould is created
2. Diamond is set to the internal mould wall.
3. A blend of hard metal powders is then packed inside the mould cavity, together with a steel core.
4. Liquid metal is created during the furnacing/infiltration process, consolidating it around the diamond layer.
5. The metal matrix is very hard-wearing, creating the most durable truer type.
CNC diamond roller dressers are a form of Infiltrated dressers that use the same manufacturing method. CNC diamond roller dressers can use CVD diamond logs and/or natural/synthetic diamond grit. Combined with our special and resistant bond, this provides accuracy and a longer lifetime in various industries, including Bearing & Gears (worms, bevel and profile grinding), Automotive Manufacturing, Tools and Aerospace.
What Additional Services Does the Staverton Plant Offer?
Staverton also offers complete diamond roller solutions and value-added services by sourcing diamond roller spindles, repairing diamond roller spindles, and supplying the diamond rollers pre-mounted to a new spindle, repaired spindle, or the customer's spindle. This ensures the best runout tolerances are achieved, increasing the diamond roller's lifetime and ensuring no profile errors due to runout problems.
In some cases, we can relap the diamond layer of the diamond roller dressers if profile shape and conditions allow. We can inspect the diamond layer profile for signs of wear and profile geometry. This service extends lifetime, guarantees profile form, and avoids extra costs associated with non-conformance. In addition, we can also rework or reshape bonded abrasive wheels (both resin and vitrified).
What is the Typical Order Journey?
A product's typical journey will begin with the customer service team.
- They receive a customer's enquiry with specific requirements, such as dimensions and specifications.
- They discuss the details with the engineer in charge of the quotation, who then returns the details to customer service for a quotation to be created and issued.
- Once validated by the customer, the designer team creates the required roller dresser design, which can be sent to the customer for validation before manufacture.
- Next, production planning occurs, and then the order is sent to manufacturing.
- The final step is metrology, where the diamond roller dresser is inspected, and inspection reports are created. Each diamond roller will be delivered with a copy of the inspection report and the test piece/protocol of the profile shape.
- The diamond roller dresser is then shipped to the customer.
Click here to find out more about the diamond roller dresser production capabilities at the Staverton plant.
