The equipment for producing machine-ready blanks efficiently may not be purchased off-the-shelf, including specialized Blanchard grinders, double-disc grinders and duplex mills. The machines of your machine-ready blank supplier should be retrofitted with CNC controls to improve accuracy and ensure repeatability; and their processes in place should be certified by ISO 9001:2000.

Blanchard Grinding, technically referred to as rotary surface grinding, quickly removes stock from one side of a part that is too large to be double-disc ground. Using significantly greater horsepower than other grinding methods allows Blanchard grinding to remove large amounts of stock quickly and efficiently.

Ideal for large parts, such as rotary tables, mold plates, die sets and vacuum chambers, Blanchard grinding allows size versatility, eliminates mismatches and compared to flycutting speeds turnaround time on large parts. Moreover, Blanchard grinding is faster and less expensive than surface grinding.

Double-Disc Grinding is a highly efficient grinding method that uses two opposing abrasive wheels to simultaneously grind two sides of a blank at the same time. In one operation, equal amounts of material are removed from both sides.

By automating double-disc grinding (high volume grinding) operations, cost-effective thickness sizing of typical mold components and smaller parts such as fine blanked, stamped, die cast, and sintered metal parts can be provided. Automation significantly reduces the production costs of large quantity runs.

Another benefit includes reducing internal stress in many materials. Simultaneously removing equal amounts of stock from two sides of a blank reduces residual stress. Less residual stress improves part stability during secondary operations and final machining.

Duplex Milling is the most cost-effective way to produce high quality, square-corner blanks. Blanks ready for duplex milling are clamped in place with two sides exposed for milling. Then, opposing cutters run the length of the material, removing equal amounts of material from each side. Milling two sides of the blank simultaneously reduces costs dramatically.

Furthermore, multiple blanks can be stacked and duplex milled, producing additional cost reductions and reducing turnaround time. Duplex-milled machine-ready blanks allow manufacturers to maintain high quality machining standards without wasting time and money squaring-up blanks in-house.