Get the order right and the first part is close. Get it wrong and no amount of feeding fixes it.
Centerless setup is a sequence, not a set of independent adjustments. Changing blade height after setting size means starting again. This is the order that avoids that.
The part centre must sit above the line joining the two wheel centres. Too low and the part will grind lobed rather than round. Too high and it becomes unstable and can chatter or lift. Blade height is set from part diameter, and it is the first thing to fix because everything downstream depends on it.
Tilt controls the through feed rate. Swivel corrects taper along the part. On an FX-18S the tilt range is plus 6 to minus 3 degrees and the swivel range is plus 5 to minus 1 degree. Set tilt for the feed rate you want, then leave swivel for correcting taper once you have measured a part.
Dress the grinding wheel and the regulating wheel before the first part, using the dressing device on the machine so the form is true to the machine rather than to a stand. The dressing device on both FX machines is graduated at 0.01 mm per scale division.
Use the lower and upper slide feed to bring the part close, working in the coarser graduations. On the FX-18S the upper slide is 3.5 mm per turn at 0.05 mm per division and the lower slide is 9.0 mm per turn at 0.1 mm per division.
Once the part is close, stop using the main slides. Micro feed on both machines is graduated at 0.001 mm per scale division over 0.1 mm per turn. Every further correction is made here, which is what keeps the setup recoverable.
Measure parts after the first dress, then at intervals, until you know how many parts pass before size moves beyond your correction comfort. That number becomes the dress interval, and it is the single most useful thing to write on the setup sheet.
Built for small parts, where high volume and tight size control meet.
The larger centerless machine in the range, covering 0.5 to 60 mm diameter.
Blade height is the usual cause. If the part centre sits too close to the line between wheel centres, the geometry produces lobing rather than roundness.
With the regulating wheel swivel adjustment, then re check size, because correcting taper moves size slightly.
Micro feed on both FX machines is graduated at 0.001 mm per scale division.
Before. Dressing after size is set moves the size, so you would be starting again.
Send the part, the problem or the photograph. A specific question gets a specific answer, usually the same working day.
