Retooling grinders extends machines’ lives and saves customers money

At Weldon Solutions, we aren’t just focused on selling new grinders – we’re also glad to refurbish older models to save our existing and new customers time, money and a headache or two.

When one of our longtime customers approached us about advising them on the purchase of a used Weldon grinder on the open market, we were glad to offer our expertise.

The Midas 320S shaft grinder the customer was looking to purchase was originally put into service in 2007 and ran through more than 1.5 million cycles at a tier 1 automotive supplier prior to decommissioning.

The customer already had six of these Weldon grinders processing parts in their North American facilities. To increase capacity at their plant in the southeastern U.S., they needed to add one more. However, due to time constraints, the customer could not wait the 36 weeks it typically takes to custom build a new grinder from the ground up.

Instead, they found a used grinder and called Weldon to advise them on the purchase. Ben Cornbower, Weldon’s Manager of Grinder Sales, traveled to a used equipment dealer to inspect the machine along with the customer’s team.

Together, they determined it was worth purchasing. The customer contracted with Weldon to do a complete reconditioning and retooling of the unit. Before the purchase, the grinder sat unused and unmaintained for several years, leaving many of its parts in disrepair.

Once it arrived at our newly expanded facility, engineers went to work. First, they thoroughly cleaned the machine. Then, they performed an even deeper inspection and made recommendations around replacing certain mechanical components, including the linear ways, axes and motion systems.

The grinding and workhead spindle also needed to be rebuilt after many years of deferred maintenance. Finally, it was fully retooled for the customer’s specific uses.

The customer saved roughly 16 weeks of waiting time, as Weldon had the grinder refurbished and ready for use in about 20 weeks.

However, the biggest savings came in cost: the retooling and reconditioning project cost was just 30 to 40 percent of a new machine. Plus, after being fully refurbished, this 320S shaft grinder will likely continue to perform for another 15 to 20 years.

While Weldon can perform this maintenance service for any of its grinder customers, it is highly specialized work.

“This kind of project really sets Weldon apart in terms of our expertise with these grinders and shows that we can significantly extend their longevity,” Cornbower said. “This customer already had several of Weldon’s machines in the field successfully grinding, and they were able to find the same model and come back to a very trusted brand which they have an existing relationship with.”

If your organization is in need of new grinders or grinder repair or maintenance, contact us today and we’ll gladly discuss your options.