FAQs

Below you will find some of the questions more frequently asked by customers. Browse through and see if any of them answer a question you may have. If not, you can always call or send an e-mail to sales@dixmetals.com.

Q: What is Blanchard grinding?
A: Blanchard grinding, also referred to as rotary-disc grinding, is utilized when the part is too large for double-disc grinding or when a substantial amount of material has to be removed one surface at a time.

Q: What is double disc grinding?
A: Double-disc grinders use two opposed abrasive disc wheels, mounted on horizontal spindles, to efficiently remove stock and meet tolerance requirements on two opposite and parallel sides of a material blank. The thinner and the larger the metal blank, the greater need for double-disc grinding.

Q: What is twin milling?
A: Duplex Mills utilize two opposed shell mills, mounted on horizontal spindles, to efficiently remove stock to meet exacting geometric and dimensional tolerances. The process of choice for applications requiring exacting flat, square and parallel tolerances on six sides.

Q: I can face mill my raw stock myself, why do I need DIX Metals?
A: DIX Metals has designed and implemented process-specific equipment suited for efficient processing of precision blanks. This eliminates the need for customers to perform any pre-machining on raw materials. DIX Metals is a full-service materials distributor with extensive processing capabilities.

Q: My operation is on the east coast, isn’t the freight cost expensive?
A: DIX Metals has many customers on the east coast. Due to the amount of freight volume, substantial discounts are provided by freight partners. These discounts are passed on to the customer.

DIX Metals is a full-service stainless steel distributor and services provider. In addition to offering 6061 aluminum plate and other materials, our services include precision material removal processes and cutting such as Blanchard grinding, double-disc grinding, duplex milling, waterjet cutting and others — all dedicated to the preparation of precision, made-to-order metal blanks.