Noboru Watanabe says his grinding machines regularly keep tolerances to 0.3 microns. That claim, he said, instilled skepticism in machine tool makers and, Watanabe said, one of the biggest challenges his 23-year-old company faced was to convince its customers that his claims were real. Today, Taiyo Koki is known as…

Taiyo Koki’s main factory in Nagaoka is very much aboveground and quite obviously a new building— it was completed just over 3 years ago. The company builds all of its grinding machines here, including its distinctive line of vertical grinders. Yet visibility is an issue. Neither the company’s identity nor…

Heat treatment via grinding DMG / Mori Seiki and Tyrolit are developing Grind Hardening to heat treat parts via grinding with special wheels. DMG / Mori Seiki is working to commercialize the technology and reviewing applications for beta-testing sites. Parts manufacturers have identified the elimination of heat treatment as the single greatest opportunity for…