It’s a common misconception that the grinding wheel does all the work. In reality, the grinding wheel is the "muscle," but the centreless control wheels (or regulating wheels) are the "brakes." Without the control wheel, the grinding wheel would simply spin the workpiece out of the machine at dangerous speeds.

The control wheel is usually rubber-bonded, and its job is to grip the workpiece and dictate its rotation speed and feed rate. Over time, these wheels can become glazed or "hard," losing that vital friction. When a client orders a new set of centreless control wheels, they are essentially restoring the "brain" of their machine. We provide these in various grades because the grip needs to be just right—too much and the part marks; too little and the part slips, ruining the roundness. It’s this delicate balance of friction that allows for the high-precision through-feed grinding that the industry relies on.