Winterthur has introduced a nationwide wheel regrinding service to enable manufacturers to improve productivity and profitability.

The Winterthur wheel regrinding service is operated by the company's own engineers out of a dedicated area in its existing factory in Sheffield.

All types and makes of wheels can be reground; including EDM (metal bonded) and diamond/CBN (resin bonded) wheel dressing, up to a diameter of 500mm.

Any profile can be dressed because EDM electrodes are produced on site, including Flat and Harris and Pencil Edge wheels.

Wheel turnaround is typically 48 hours.

Prior to dispatch back to the customer, wheels are inspected in the company's own dedicated inspection facility.

In addition, wheels can be modified to suit a specific application or - if necessary - adapted to allow production to continue while a dedicated wheel is awaiting delivery.

Chris Harford, managing director of Wintethur, said: 'Grinding wheels are a significant on-cost in the grinding process.

'By grinding back to as-new specification wheel life can be extended by as much as eight times.

'This is a massive saving, substantially lowering overhead and reducing piece part cost.

'It is also a major contribution to cycle times because operators can continue at full speed without fear of generating scrap.' Winterthur introduced the regrinding service because it was finding a considerable number of companies using a wheel only until the profile was worn.