INTRODUCTION

Grinding
Grinding is a metal cutting operation performed by means of a rotating
abrasive wheel that acts as a tool.
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.
Grinding is used to finish work pieces that must show high surface quality
(e.g., low surface roughness) and high accuracy of shape and dimension. As
the accuracy in dimensions in grinding is on the order of 0.000025 mm, in
most applications it tends to be a finishing operation and removes
comparatively little metal, about 0.25 to 0.50 mm depth. However, there
are some roughing applications in which grinding removes high volumes of
metal quite rapidly. Thus, grinding is a diverse field.
Advantages:
Suitable for finishing operations, since it removes very little material.
Can be used to machine materials which are too hard for other
machining methods that use cutting tool.
Close tolerances and dimension accuracy can be obtained.
Types of Grinding
There are many forms of grinding, but the four major industrial grinding
processes are:
Cylindrical grinding
In cylindrical grinding, the work piece rotates about a fixed axis and the
surfaces machined are concentric to that axis of rotation. Cylindrical
grinding produces an external surface that may be straight, tapered, or
contoured.
Internal grinding
Internal grinding is used to grind the internal diameter of the work piece.
Tapered holes can be ground with the use of internal grinders that can
swivel on the horizontal.

 Centre-less grinding
Centerless grinding is when the work piece is supported by a blade instead
of by centres or chucks. Two wheels are used. The larger one is used to
grind the surface of the work piece and the smaller wheel is used to
regulate the axial movement of the work piece. Types of centerless grinding
include through-feed grinding, in-feed/plunge grinding, and internal
centerless grinding.
Surface grinding
Surface grinding produces flat, angular, or contoured surfaces by feeding
work in a horizontal plane beneath a rotating grinding wheel. Work is most
often magnetically attached to the table, and may be ground by either a
traversing or rotating movement of the table.