Youngstown Hard Chrome Plating and Grinding, Inc.

Youngstown Hard Chrome offers a unique set of grinding and polishing capabilities for oversized or exceptionally heavy industrial parts. We were hired by a steel industry customer in Ohio to surface finish a cylinder ram with overall part dimensions of 32” O.D. x 406” in length.

Problem:
This was a local customer that required a turnaround time of just one week. Our team had to quickly engineer a solution that was not only capable of handling large work pieces but could also provide the stability necessary to ensure consistent surface coverage across the cylinder ram’s entire geometry.

Solution:
We are one of the few service providers in the United States that are capable of performing grinding and polishing operations for parts of this magnitude. Due to its oversized dimensions, we had to use specialized tooling to complete the project. This included custom chucks, grinder hands, and thermally controlled coolant that could accommodate the cylinder ram’s large OD and weight. Once completed, our specialized handling equipment carefully maneuvered the cylinder ram over to our polishing station. We meticulously positioned the workpiece and smoothed out all of its surfaces, restoring tolerances to a tightness of +.001”. To ensure that we were within our customer’s quality standards, we employed in-process testing and visual inspections using micrometers, digital chrome thickness testers, and profilometers.

Results:
This work involved extensive team coordination between our polisher, grinder, engineer, and inspection personnel to see the project through under a tight deadline. As a result, we were able to avoid a potential production outage that our customer had faced. They were extremely impressed by our work, and we continue to provide our expertise and services for them on additional projects.

To learn more about the benefits of our grinding and polishing services for large industrial parts, please contact us today for a quotation.