Material removal by action of hard, abrasive
particles usually in the form of a bonded wheel
Generally used as finishing operations after part
geometry has been established by conventional
machining
Grinding is most important abrasive process
Other abrasive processes:
◦ honing, lapping, superfinishing, polishing, and buffing
Definition of an abrasive
◦ A small, non-metallic hard particle having
sharp edges and an irregular shape.
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Evidence of grinding dates back to 2000 BC
when ancient Egyptian used to grind large
stones for pyramid construction.
Large water or wind driven grinding wheels
used to make flour (in a gristmill) since the
middle ages in Europe.
The first modern bonded grinding wheel were
made in the 1800’s in India to grind gem
stones.
Can be used on all types of materials
Some can produce extremely fine surface
finishes, to 0.025 µm (1 µ-in)
Some can hold dimensions to extremely close
tolerances
Grinding operations generally involve
bonded abrasive discs.
Fine grinding, honing and polishing will
sometimes involve non-bonded abrasives
(loose).
◦ Examples: optical grinding (optical lenses, mirrors)
and cylinder bores of combustion engines.
Abrasive material
Grain size
Bonding material
Wheel grade
Wheel structure
1. High hardness
2. Wear resistance
3. Toughness
4. Friability - capacity to fracture when cutting
edge dulls, so a new sharp edge is exposed.
Materials with poor friability become loaded with the
stock material, cut poorly and generate heat.
Aluminum oxide (Al2O3)
◦ Most common abrasive
◦ Used to grind steel and other
ferrous high-strength alloys
Silicon carbide (SiC)
◦ Harder than Al2O3 but not as
tough
◦ Used on aluminum, brass,
stainless steel, some cast irons
and certain ceramics
Cubic boron nitride (cBN)
◦ Very hard, very expensive
◦ Used for hard materials such as
hardened tool steels and aerospace
alloys
Diamond
◦ Even harder, very expensive
◦ Natural and synthetic
◦ Not suitable for grinding steels
◦ Used on hard, abrasive materials
such as ceramics, cemented carbides
and glass
1. Cutting - grit projects far enough into
surface to form a chip - material is removed
2. Plowing - grit projects into work, but not far
enough to cut - instead, surface is
deformed and energy is consumed, but no
material is removed
3. Rubbing - grit contacts surface but only
rubbing friction occurs, thus consuming
energy, but no material is removed
(a) cutting (b) plowing (c) rubbing
Small grit sizes produce better finishes
Larger grit sizes permit larger material
removal rates
Harder work materials require smaller grain
sizes to cut effectively
Softer materials require larger grit sizes
Grit size is measured using a screen mesh
procedure
◦ Smaller grit sizes indicated by larger numbers in
the screen mesh procedure and vice versa
◦ Grain sizes in grinding wheels typically range
between 8 (very coarse) and 250 (very fine)
Must withstand centrifugal forces and high
temperatures
Must resist shattering during shock loading
of wheel
Must hold abrasive grains rigidly in place
for cutting yet allow worn grains to be
dislodged to expose new sharp grains
1. Vitrified – baked clay and ceramic. General purpose
wheels.
2. Silicate – sodium silicate. Minimizes heat generation.
3. Rubber – most flexible. Good for cutoff wheels.
4. Resinoid – thermosets. Good strength for cutoff
wheels.
5. Shellac – not rigid. Good for surface finish.
6. Metallic – bronze bond for diamond or cBN matrix.
Refers to the relative spacing of
abrasive grains in wheel
In addition to abrasive grains
and bond material, grinding
wheels contain air gaps or
pores
Volumetric proportions of
grains, bond material and pores
can be expressed as:
Pg + Pb + Pp = 1.0
Measured on a scale that ranges between
"open" and "dense."
◦ Open structure means Pp is relatively large and
Pg is relatively small - recommended when
clearance for chips must be provided
◦ Dense structure means Pp is relatively small and
Pg is larger - recommended to obtain better
surface finish and dimensional control
Indicates bond strength in retaining abrasive
grits during cutting
Depends on amount of bonding material in
wheel structure (Pb)
Measured on a scale ranging between soft
and hard
◦ Soft wheels lose grains readily - used for low
material removal rates and hard work materials
◦ Hard wheels retain grains - used for high stock
removal rates and soft work materials
Standard grinding wheel shapes: (a) straight, (b) recessed
two sides, (c) metal wheel frame with abrasive bonded to
outside circumference, (d) abrasive cut- off wheel.
Standard grinding wheel marking system
used to designate abrasive type, grit size,
grade, structure, and bond material
Material removal process in which
abrasive particles rotate at very
high surface speeds
Grinding wheel usually
disk-shaped and precisely
balanced for high rotational
speeds
Bonding material holds particles
in place and establishes shape
and structure of wheel
Usually a bonded wheel of abrasive material
is used to grind material off of the workpiece.
Slow but exact process to create a very high
quality surface finish.
(a) horizontal spindle with reciprocating
worktable,
(b) horizontal spindle with rotating
worktable,
(c) vertical spindle with reciprocating
worktable,
(d) vertical spindle with rotating worktable.
Similar to using a lathe, a rotating tool
(grinding wheel) is held to a rotating
workpiece.
(a) External (b) Internal
The feed direction in grinding can be:
Traverse Feed Plunge Feed
Tool post grinders are often mounted on
lathes to perform additional work:
In centerless grinding, the stock material’s
own centre is found. Allows for more
“precision” grinding. (ie. The work is not
held to the machines “center”.)
External centerless grinding
Depths of cut 1000 to 10,000 times greater
than in conventional surface grinding
◦ Feed rates reduced by about the same proportion
Material removal rate and productivity are
increased in creep feed grinding because the
wheel is continuously cutting
◦ In conventional surface grinding, wheel is
engaged in cutting for only a portion of the
stroke length
Creep Feed Grinding
(a) conventional surface grinding (b) creep feed grinding.
In grinding belts, the abrasive materials
are bonded to belts instead of large
wheels.
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Bench & Tool grinders are used sharpen (or
re-sharpen) tools by hand.
Honing
By using a
Superfinishing
finer and finer
Lapping grain, a
Polishing smoother
Buffing surface finish
can be
achieved
Best
Abrasive process performed by a set of bonded
abrasive sticks using a combination of
rotational and oscillatory motions
Common application is to finish the bores of
internal combustion engines or gun barrels
Grit sizes range between 30 and 600
Surface finishes of 0.12 µm (5 µ-in) or better
Creates a characteristic cross-hatched
surface that retains lubrication
(a) the honing tool used for internal bore surface, and (b)
cross-hatched surface pattern created by the action of the
honing tool.
In honing a set of abrasive sticks is used to
remove machining marks.
VIDEO – Harley Davidson (HD) honing
Similarities with honing:
◦ Uses bonded abrasive stick pressed against surface
to remove ~ 1um layer
◦ Reciprocating motion with abrasive stick
Differences with honing:
◦ Shorter strokes
◦ Higher frequencies
◦ Lower pressures between tool and surface
◦ Smaller grit sizes
Superfinishing on an external cylindrical surface.
Similar to honing, but a high frequency, short stroke is used.
Uses fluid suspension of very small abrasive
particles between workpiece and lap (tool)
Lapping compound – aluminum oxide, emery,
SiC, diamond
Typical grit sizes between 300 to 600
Applications: optical lenses, metallic bearing
surfaces, gages
Hubble space telescope is a famous lapped
instrument.
Error in flatness of the primary mirror was
2.2 microns. Shape off spec by 10 nm!
Used to improve
the visual
appearance of the
workpiece.
An abrasive is
suspended in a
compound or wax
and applied with a
www.pushcorp.com
cloth/leather/felt.
CLASS NOTES
Size effect - small chip size energy to
remove each unit volume of material is very
high
◦ Roughly 10 times higher for grinding compared
to conventional machining
Individual grains have extremely negative
rake angles, resulting in low shear plane
angles and high shear strains
Not all grits are engaged in actual cutting
Wear is plotted as a function of volume of material removed,
rather than as a function of time.
(1) Initial wear; (2) Steady state; (3) Failure
Indicates slope of the wheel wear curve
VW
GR =
Vg
where
GR = grinding ratio
Vw = volume of work material removed
Vg = corresponding volume of grinding
wheel worn
Grinding is characterized by high temperatures
and high friction.
Most of energy remains in the ground surface,
resulting in high work surface temperatures
Surface Damage:
1. Surface burns and cracks
2. Metallurgical damage immediately beneath the
surface
3. Softening of the work surface if heat treated
4. Residual stresses in the work surface
Decrease infeed (depth of cut) d
Reduce wheel speed v
Reduce number of active grits per square inch
on the grinding wheel C
Increase work speed vw
Use a grinding fluid
1. Grain fracture - when a portion of the grain
breaks off, but the rest remains bonded in
the wheel
◦ Edges of the fractured area become new cutting
edges
◦ Tendency to fracture is called friability
2. Attritious wear - dulling of individual grains,
resulting in flat spots and rounded edges
◦ Analogous to tool wear in conventional cutting
tool
◦ Caused by similar mechanisms including
friction, diffusion and chemical reactions
3. Bond fracture - the individual grains are
pulled out of the bonding material
◦ Depends on wheel grade
◦ Usually occurs because grain has become dull
due to attritious wear and resulting cutting
force becomes excessive
1. Washing away
chips,
2. Keeping the wheel
from becoming
clogged,
3. Control of grinding
dust
4. Reduces operating
temperatures
INDEPENDENT STUDY
Dressing - accomplished by rotating disk,
abrasive stick, or another grinding wheel
against the wheel being dressed as it rotates
to:
◦ Break off dulled grits to expose new sharp grains
◦ Remove chips clogged in wheel
Required when wheel is in third region of wear
curve
Although dressing sharpens, it does not guarantee
the shape of the wheel
Due to poor friability, the grinding wheels
often get loaded with workpiece material.
Truing - use of a diamond-pointed tool fed slowly
and precisely across wheel as it rotates
Very light depth is taken (0.025 mm or less)
against the wheel
Not only sharpens wheel,
but restores cylindrical
shape and ensures
straightness across
outside perimeter
To optimize surface finish, select
◦ Small grit size and dense wheel structure
◦ Use higher wheel speeds (v) and lower work
speeds (vw)
◦ Smaller depths of cut (d) and larger wheel
diameters (D) will also help
To maximize material removal rate, select
◦ Large grit size
◦ More open wheel structure
◦ Vitrified bond
For steel and most cast irons, use
◦ Aluminum oxide as the abrasive
For most nonferrous metals, use
◦ Silicon carbide as the abrasive
For hardened tool steels and certain
aerospace alloys, use
◦ Cubic boron nitride as the abrasive
For hard abrasive materials (e.g., ceramics,
cemented carbides, and glass) use
◦ Diamond as the abrasive
For soft metals, use
◦ Large grit size and harder grade wheel
For hard metals, use
◦ Small grit size and softer grade wheel
