How to process drive shaft with cylindrical grinding machine?

Drive shafts typically have a stepped structure, consisting of multiple journals of varying diameters and stepped end faces. Materials typically include 45 steel, 40Cr, etc., and require tempering or quenching, achieving a hardness of 20-30HRC or 50-60HRC.

Shanghai ANTISHICNC Company has received an M1332 external cylindrical grinding machine from a customer in Kazakhstan and is preparing to ship it. Last month, the customer submitted their requirements for machining an automotive drive shaft. The shaft has a diameter of 89mm, a wall thickness of 3.5mm, a maximum length of 1m, and weighs 35kg. Made of case-hardened steel, the machining requirements are as follows:

Machining accuracy: Coaxiality of each journal ≤ 0.01mm, roundness ≤ 0.005mm, and perpendicularity of the stepped end face to the axis ≤ 0.02mm/100mm;

Surface roughness: Journal surface Ra 1.6-3.2μm.

Based on the customer’s requirements, our engineers recommended an M1332-1m manual cylindrical grinding machine, The M1332 features a solid cast iron bed (HT300) that has been aged to eliminate internal stresses. The guideways are hardened (hardness 50-55HRC) and precision-ground to ensure the straightness of the worktable’s axial travel (≤ 0.01mm/1000mm). This highly rigid structure reduces vibration during grinding, especially for step-type drive shafts, which often require varying grinding loads, thereby preventing surface fluctuations caused by vibration on the journal. The M1332 cylindrical grinding machine is manually operated and adapts to customer drive shaft grinding requirements and small- to medium-volume production. Its low equipment and maintenance costs make it an ideal choice for processing medium-precision drive shafts in traditional machining.

In addition, the M1332 comes standard with an adjustable steady rest. The support blocks are made of wear-resistant cast iron, allowing for fine-tuning of support height and tension via bolts. This effectively suppresses workpiece deflection caused by weight and reduces the occurrence of undersized journal diameters during grinding. Furthermore, the M1332-1m manual cylindrical grinding machine can consistently achieve a journal roundness of 0.005mm, eliminating centrifugal vibration during drive shaft rotation. The M1332’s purchase cost is only one-third to one-quarter that of comparable CNC cylindrical grinding machines, and its low energy consumption (main motor power approximately 4kW) makes it suitable for the budgets of small and medium-sized machinery shops and repair shops.

The matching model of Shanghai ANTISHICNC Company is as follows:

We’ve already started shipping our cylindrical grinding machines, and we look forward to seeing you put them to use. If you have similar needs, please contact Shanghai ANTS at contact@antsmachine.com. We offer not only cylindrical grinding machines, internal grinding machines, and universal grinding machines, but also a variety of other grinding machines, such as surface grinding machines, five-axis grinding machines, thread grinding machines, and vertical grinding machines. Our technical team will be able to tailor the most suitable technical solution to your needs.

Keywords: grinding machine, cylindrical grinding machine, manual cylindrical grinding machine, drive shaft grinding