ASHMAL HASHMI

GRINDING PROCESS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

Grinding is an abrasive machining process that uses a grinding wheel as the cutting tool.
A wide variety of machines are used for grinding:

 Hand-cranked knife-sharpening stones (grindstones)

 Handheld power tools such as angle grinders and die grinders
 Various kinds of expensive industrial machine tools called grinding machines
 Bench grinders
Grinding practice is a large and diverse area of manufacturing and toolmaking. It can produce very
fine finishes and very accurate dimensions; yet in mass production contexts it can also rough out
large volumes of metal quite rapidly. It is usually better suited to the machining of very hard materials
than is "regular" machining (that is, cutting larger chips with cutting tools such as tool bits or milling
cutters), and until recent decades it was the only practical way to machine such materials as
hardened steels. Compared to "regular" machining, it is usually better suited to taking very shallow
cuts, such as reducing a shaft’s diameter by half a thousandth of an inch or 12.7 μm.
Grinding is a subset of cutting, as grinding is a true metal-cutting process. Each grain of abrasive
functions as a microscopic single-point cutting edge (although of high negative rake angle), and
shears a tiny chip that is analogous to what would conventionally be called a "cut" chip (turning,
milling, drilling, tapping, etc.)[citation needed]. However, among people who work in the machining fields, the
term cutting is often understood to refer to the macroscopic cutting operations, and grinding is often
mentally categorized as a "separate" process. This is why the terms are usually used separately in
shop-floor practice.
Lapping and sanding are subsets of grinding.

Surface grinding[edit]
Surface grinding'uses a rotating abrasive wheel to remove material, creating a flat surface. The
tolerances that are normally achieved with grinding are ±2×10−4 inches (5.1 μm) for grinding a flat
material and ±3×10−4 inches (7.6 μm) for a parallel surface.[1]
The surface grinder is composed of an abrasive wheel, a workholding device known as a chuck,
either electromagnetic or vacuum, and a reciprocating table.
Grinding is commonly used on cast iron and various types of steel. These materials lend themselves
to grinding because they can be held by the magnetic chuck commonly used on grinding machines
and do not melt into the wheel, clogging it and preventing it from cutting. Materials that are less
commonly ground are aluminum, stainless steel, brass, and plastics. These all tend to clog the
cutting wheel more than steel and cast iron, but with special techniques it is possible to grind them.

Cylindrical grinding[edit]
Cylindrical grinding (also called center-type grinding) is used to grind the cylindrical surfaces and
shoulders of the workpiece. The workpiece is mounted on centers and rotated by a device known as
a drive dog or center driver. The abrasive wheel and the workpiece are rotated by separate motors
and at different speeds. The table can be adjusted to produce tapers. The wheel head can be
swiveled. The five types of cylindrical grinding are: outside diameter (OD) grinding, inside diameter
(ID) grinding, plunge grinding, creep feed grinding, and centerless grinding.[2]
A cylindrical grinder has a grinding (abrasive) wheel, two centers that hold the workpiece, and a
chuck, grinding dog, or other mechanism to drive the work. Most cylindrical grinding machines
include a swivel to allow the forming of tapered pieces. The wheel and workpiece move parallel to
one another in both the radial and longitudinal directions. The abrasive wheel can have many
shapes. Standard disk-shaped wheels can be used to create a tapered or straight workpiece
geometry, while formed wheels are used to create a shaped workpiece. The process using a formed
wheel creates less vibration than using a regular disk-shaped wheel.[3]
Tolerances for cylindrical grinding are held within ±0.0005 inches (13 μm) for diameter and ±0.0001
inches (2.5 μm) for roundness. Precision work can reach tolerances as high as ±0.00005 inches
(1.3 μm) for diameter and ±0.00001 inches (0.25 μm) for roundness. Surface finishes can range from
2 microinches (51 nm) to 125 microinches (3.2 μm), with typical finishes ranging from 8 to 32
microinches (0.20 to 0.81 μm).

Creep-feed grinding[edit]
Creep-feed grinding (CFG) was invented in Germany in the late 1950s by Edmund and Gerhard
Lang. Unlike normal grinding, which is used primarily to finish surfaces, CFG is used for high rates of
material removal, competing with milling and turning as a manufacturing process choice. Depths of
cut of up to 6 mm (0.25 inches) are used along with low workpiece speed. Surfaces with a softer-
grade resin bond are used to keep workpiece temperature low and an improved surface finish up to
1.6 µm Rmax
With CFG it takes 117 s to remove 1 in3 (16 cm3) of material, whereas precision grinding would take
more than 200 s to do the same. CFG has the disadvantage of a wheel that is constantly degrading,
requires high spindle power (51 hp or 38 kW), and is limited in the length of part it can machine.[4]
To address the problem of wheel sharpness, continuous-dress creep-feed grinding (CDCF) was
developed in the 1970s. It dresses the wheel constantly during machining, keeping it in a state of
specified sharpness. It takes only 17 s to remove 1 in3 (16 cm3) of material, a huge gain in
productivity. 38 hp (28 kW) spindle power is required, with a low to conventional spindle speeds. The
limit on part length was erased.
High-efficiency deep grinding (HEDG) uses plated superabrasive wheels, which never need
dressing and last longer than other wheels. This reduces capital equipment investment costs. HEDG
can be used on long part lengths and removes material at a rate of 1 in3 (16 cm3) in 83 s. It requires
high spindle power and high spindle speeds.[4]
Peel grinding, patented under the name of Quickpoint in 1985 by Erwin Junker Maschinenfabrik,
GmbH in Nordrach, Germany, uses a thin superabrasive grinding disk oriented almost parallel to a
cylindrical workpiece operates somewhat like a lathe turning tool.[4]
Ultra-high speed grinding (UHSG) can run at speeds higher than 40,000 fpm (200 m/s), taking
41 s to remove 1 in3 (16 cm3) of material, but is still in the R&D stage. It also requires high spindle
power and high spindle speeds.[4]
rm grinding is a specialized type of cylindrical grinding where the grinding wheel has the exact
shape of the final product. The grinding wheel does not traverse the workpiece.[5]
Internal grinding is used to grind the internal diameter of the workpiece. Tapered holes can be
ground with the use of internal grinders that can swivel on the horizontal.
Centerless grinding is when the workpiece is supported by a blade instead of by centers or chucks.
Two wheels are used. The larger one is used to grind the surface of the workpiece and the smaller
wheel is used to regulate the axial movement of the workpiece. Types of centerless grinding include
through-feed grinding, in-feed/plunge grinding, and internal centerless grinding.
Pre-grinding When a new tool has been built and has been heat-treated, it is pre-ground before
welding or hardfacing commences. This usually involves grinding the OD slightly higher than the
finish grind OD to ensure the correct finish size.
Electrochemical grinding is a type of grinding in which a positively charged workpiece in a
conductive fluid is eroded by a negatively charged grinding wheel. The pieces from the workpiece
are dissolved into the conductive fluid.

A schematic of ELID grinding

Electrolytic in-process dressing (ELID) grinding is one of the most accurate grinding methods. In
this ultra precision grinding technology the grinding wheel is dressed electrochemically and in-
process to maintain the accuracy of the grinding. An ELID cell consists of a metal bonded grinding
wheel, a cathode electrode, a pulsed DC power supply and electrolyte. The wheel is connected to
the positive terminal of the DC power supply through a carbon brush whereas the electrode is
connected to the negative pole of the power supply. Usually alkaline liquids are used as both
electrolytes and coolant for grinding. A nozzle is used to inject the electrolyte into the gap between
wheel and electrode. The gap is usually maintained to be approximately 0.1mm to 0.3 mm. During
the grinding operation one side of the wheel takes part in the grinding operation whereas the other
side of the wheel is being dressed by electrochemical reaction. The dissolution of the metallic bond
material is caused by the dressing which in turns results continuous protrusion of new sharp grits.[6]

Grinding wheel[edit]
Main article: Grinding wheel
A grinding wheel is an expendable wheel used for various grinding and abrasive machining
operations. It is generally made from a matrix of coarse abrasive particles pressed and bonded
together to form a solid, circular shape, various profiles and cross sections are available depending
on the intended usage for the wheel. Grinding wheels may also be made from a solid steel or
aluminium disc with particles bonded to the surface.

The workpiece[edit]
Workholding methods[edit]
The workpiece is manually clamped to a lathe dog, powered by the faceplate, that holds the piece in
between two centers and rotates the piece. The piece and the grinding wheel rotate in opposite
directions and small bits of the piece are removed as it passes along the grinding wheel. In some
instances special drive centers may be used to allow the edges to be ground. The workholding
method affects the production time as it changes set up times.

Workpiece materials[edit]
Typical workpiece materials include aluminum, brass, plastics, cast iron, mild steel, and stainless
steel. Aluminum, brass and plastics can have poor to fair machinability characteristics for cylindrical
grinding. Cast Iron and mild steel have very good characteristics for cylindrical grinding. Stainless
steel is very difficult to grind due to its toughness and ability to work harden, but can be worked with
the right grade of grinding wheels.

Workpiece geometry[edit]
The final shape of a workpiece is the mirror image of the grinding wheel, with cylindrical wheels
creating cylindrical pieces and formed wheels creating formed pieces. Typical sizes on workpieces
range from 0.75 in to 20 in (18 mm to 1 m) and 0.80 in to 75 in (2 cm to 4 m) in length, although
pieces from 0.25 in to 60 in (6 mm to 1.5 m) in diameter and 0.30 in to 100 in (8 mm to 2.5 m) in
length can be ground. Resulting shapes can be straight cylinders, straight-edged conical shapes, or
even crankshafts for engines that experience relatively low torque.

Effects on workpiece materials[edit]

Mechanical properties will change due to stresses put on the part during finishing. High grinding
temperatures may cause a thin martensitic layer to form on the part, which will lead to reduced
material strength from microcracks.
Physical property changes include the possible loss of magnetic properties on ferromagnetic
materials.
Chemical property changes include an increased susceptibility to corrosion because of high surface
stress.