Modern automotive sector has made a lot of progress in the last few decades. Boosted the ever increasing pressure from regulators and customers to deliver vehicles that are more powerful, more fuel efficient and yet perform like a super powered thrill machine.

Automotive sector has had to adopt a number of advanced engineering technologies like precision grinding as well as sinker EDM. To achieve parts that are built to extremely tight tolerances yet are able to withstand extreme temperatures and most challenging operating conditions. 

What is Precision Grinding?

Grinding has been the core way to remove materials from a block so as to give it a desired shape, size and dimension. Precision grinding is a highly accurate and highly refined process. Essentially it is still the use of abrasive particles to remove small amounts of material from a workpiece.

But it is done with so much care and calculation so as to be able to achieve extremely precise dimensions and surface finishes. The need for extremely tight tolerances and high-quality surfaces in various industries, including the modern automotive sector has led to its acceptance as a mainstream technology, replacing older, more crude methods.

Cylindrical grinding, surface grinding, and centerless grinding are some of the common methods in which precision grinding is done by different companies to make parts for the automotive sector. When coupled with non traditional tech like sinker EDM, it allows automakers to make very fine and highly reliable auto components. .

Application of Precision Grinding in the Modern Automotive Sector

  • Engine of the vehicle is perhaps the single most important part of a car and also the one which requires most of the precision engineered parts. The engine of any vehicle is not just a single system but a complex system of systems, almost all of which require high degree of precision engineering. Since it has the largest role to play in the trifecta of modern vehicle operational considered - burn as less fuel as possible. Burn it as cleanly and as efficiently as possible and extract as much power out of it as possible. This can only be done if all parts are built to very tight tolerances and high degree of reliability, 

  • Transmission of the vehicle is a system which works with the engine and regulates how the power generated by the engine is delivered to the wheels. While earlier vehicles used manual transmission systems, the North American market has always favored different kinds of automatic transmission ranging from the old reliable torque convertor boxes to the quirky Continuous Variable Transmission commonly used in Japanese economy boxes to the modern Dual Clutch Transmission which is very complex but performs better than almost all other systems. All these require special parts which can be engineered by advanced tech like Sinker EDM 

  • Braking system of the vehicle is also one system which needs to be precision engineered. Considering the fact that most modern vehicles are very powerful, are designed to be very aerodynamic and are also somewhat lightweight, the need for a very capable braking system has emerged. Add to this, the fact that regulators require braking systems to be very highly reliable and be able to operate at best capacity even in most unfavorable condition and the braking system in a modern vehicle needs to be made using advanced tech like precision grinding. 

  • Steering system of the vehicle also needs to be very reliable and accurate. Plus with the advent of modern electric and hydraulic power steering systems, The steering system of the vehicle has to be very accurate, especially for large vehicles where every nudge at the steering wheel can result in inches of movement for the wheels. Hence the need of modern manufacturing tech to ensure vehicle stability and control at all times.