GRINDING and Other Abrasive

Processes

Prof Zainul Huda

GRINDING and Other Abrasive Processes
 Grinding
– Grinding; Importance, Chip formation in grinding
– Grinding Wheel parameters and Marking Systems
– Mathematical Analysis of Grinding
– Classification of Grinding
• Surface Grinding and its Types
• Cylindrical Grinding
• Centre-less grinding
 Surface Finish
 Other Abrasive/Finishing Processes:
(honing, lapping, superfinishing, polishing, and
buffing)
 GRINDING
• Grinding involves 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.
 Importance of Grinding

 Can be used on all types of materials

 Fine grinding (polishing) can produce extremely
fine surface finishes, to 0.025 m.
 Can hold dimensions to extremely close
tolerances
Chip formation in Grinding

Schematic illustration of chip formation

by an abrasive grain. Note the negative
rake angle, the small shear plane angle,
and the wear flat on the grain
 Grinding Wheel and
Grinding Wheel Parameters
• A grinding wheel is a disk consisting of abrasive grains/particles
(cutting teeth) and bonding material.
• The grinding wheel is precisely balanced for high rotational speeds.

Grinding Wheel Parameters

a) Abrasive materials: Al2O3, SiC, CBN, diamond
b) Grit No.: 8 (very coarse grains) to 600 (very fine grains)
c) Wheel grade: A to Z (soft to hard).
d) Wheel structure: 1 to 15 (1= very dense and 15 = very open).
e) Bonding material: V, B, BF, S, R, RF, O and M
 (a) Abrasive Materials
Abrasive Material Properties
1) High hardness
2) Wear resistance
3) Toughness
4) Friability - capacity to fracture when cutting edge dulls, so a new sharp edge is exposed
Abrasive Materials
Conventional Abrasives
 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
Superabrasives
 Cubic boron nitride (CBN) – very hard, very expensive
• Suitable for steels
• Used for hard materials such as hardened tool steels and aerospace alloys
 Diamond – The hardest material, very very expensive
• Either natural or synthetic
• Used on hard, abrasive materials such as ceramics, cemented carbides, and glass
 (b) Grain Size (Grit #)

• Grit number determines the coarseness or fineness of the

grains in the grinding wheel.
• Grain size:
 Coarse grains have grit no: 8 to 24,
 Medium size grains have grit no. 30 to 60,
 Fine grains have grit no: 70 to 180,
 Very fine grains have grit no: 220 to 600.

The constituents of a grinding wheel

• Effect of Grit size on machining

 Fine grain size (higher grit no.) produce better surface finishes.
 Coarse grain size (lower grit no) permit larger material removal rates.
 Harder work materials require smaller grain sizes (higher grit no) to cut effectively.
 Softer materials require larger grain sizes (lower grit no) for effective cutting.
 (c) Wheel grade
• Wheel grade indicates the degree of strength of a bond that holds the
abrasive grains during the cutting.
 Depends on amount of bonding material in wheel structure.

 Wheel grade A to Z (soft to hard)

 Soft wheels lose grains readily - used for:
• low feed rates
• high speed and
• hard work materials
 Hard wheels retain grains - used for:
• high feed rates
• low speed and
• soft work materials
 (d) Wheel Structure
 The structure of the grinding wheel is the space relationship of the abrasive grains and
the bonding material to the voids (pores) that separate them.
 Volumetric proportions of grains (Vg), bond material(Vb), and pores (Vp) can be
expressed as: V g  V b  V p  1 .0

a) Wheel structure: 1 to 15 (1= very dense and 15 = very open).

 Open structure means Vp is relatively

Bond
large and Vg is relatively small (more material
pores and fewer grains per unit
volume).
Typical structure of a grinding wheel.
 Dense structure means Vp is relatively
small and Vg is larger
 (e) Bonding Material
Bonding Material Properties
 Must withstand centrifugal forces and high temperatures
 Must resist shattering during shock loading of wheel
 Must hold the abrasive grains rigidly in place to accomplish the cutting action while
allowing the worn grains to be dislodged to expose new sharp grains.

Bond Types
 V: Vitrified Bond; Most common (Clay).
 B: Resinoid Bond; Synthetic resins
 BF: Resinoid reinforced bond; Synthetic resins
 S: Silicate bond
 R: Rubber bond; Flexible Bond
 RF: Rubber reinforced; Flexible Bond
 O: Oxychloride bond
 M: Metal bond; Electrically conductive wheels
Grinding Wheel Marking System –
Conventional Abrasives
Grinding Wheel Marking System –
Super-abrasives
3.0

(mm)

1.5
3.0
4.5
 Surface Finish
 Most grinding is performed to achieve good surface finish.

 Best surface finish is achieved by:

• Fine grain sizes (high grit No)
• Higher wheel speeds
• Denser wheel structure = more grits per wheel area

• Grinding wheel with fine grit size will result in surface roughness = 0.2 - 0.4 μ m

• Grinding wheell with medium grit size will result in surface roughness = 0.4 –
1.6 μ m
 Mathematical Analysis of Grinding
• The cutting conditions in grinding are characterized by:
 Very high speeds and
 Very small cut size, compared to other traditional machining operations.

v  DN
where
v = surface-speed of wheel, m/min,
N = spindle speed, rev/min, and
D = wheel diameter, m.

MRR  vw wd

where
vw = work speed past the wheel.
w = crossfeed = width of the grinding path
d = infeed = depth of cut.
Lc = √(D d)

where Lc is length of chip

 Grinding Example -1
In a surface grinding operation, wheel diameter
is 150 mm and infeed (depth of cut) is 0.07 mm.
The wheel speed is 1450 m/min and work speed
is 0.25 m/s. The cross-feed = 5 mm.
Determine:
(a) Spindle rpm
(b) The average length per chip,
(b) Metal removal rate
 Grain Actions in Grinding
Three types of grain actions occur in grinding:

a) Cutting - grit projects far enough into surface to form a chip - material is
removed
b) Plowing - grit projects into work, but not far enough to cut - instead, surface is
deformed and energy is consumed, but no material is removed
c) Rubbing - grit contacts surface but only rubbing friction occurs, thus
consuming energy, but no material is removed
 Temperature in Grinding
 Grinding involves high temperatures and high friction that result in high work
surface temperatures.
 Damaging effects of heat include:
• Surface burns and cracks
• Metallurgical damage immediately beneath the surface
• Softening of the surfaces of workparts.
• Residual stresses in the work surface

How to Reduce Grinding Temperatures

1) Decrease infeed (depth of cut) d
2) Reduce wheel speed v
3) Reduce number of active grits per square inch on the grinding wheel
4) Increase work speed vw
5) Use a grinding fluid, which has the following functions:
• Reduce friction,
• Remove heat,
• Wash away chips, and
• Reduce workpiece temperature
 Mechanisms of Wheel Wear
1. Grain fracture (desirable) - a portion of the grain breaks off during cutting.
• Edges of the fractured area become new cutting edges
• Tendency to fracture is called friability
2. Attritious wear - in which the grains become dull during cutting, resulting in
flat spots and rounded edges
3. Bond fracture - in which the grains are pulled out of the bonding material
• Depends on wheel grade, among other factors
• Usually occurs because grain has become dull due to attritious wear, which
result in high cutting force.
 Grinding ratio (GR) and Wheel Wear Curve
VW
GR 
Vg

Three wear regions can be identified as:

Volume of wheel wear

(3)
(1) First region:
The grains are initially sharp, and wear is (2)

accelerated due to grain fracture. (1)

(2) Second region:
The wear rate is fairly constant (attritious wear).
Volume of work material removed
(3) Third region:
A wear curve of a grinding wheel.
The grains become dull resulting in fracture of
the bond material and pullout the grains.
 Dressing of Grinding Wheel
• When the wheel is in the third region of the wear curve, it must be re-sharpened by a
procedure, called dressing.
• Functions of Dressing:
(a) To break off dulled grits to expose new sharp grains on the outside periphery of the
grinding wheel, and
(b) To remove chips clogged in wheel.
• Dressing Method
Dressing is accomplished by rotating disk, an abrasive stick, or another grinding wheel
operating at high speed, held against the wheel being dressed as it rotates.

Note that the diamond

dressing tool is normal to
the wheel surface at
point of contact
 Guidelines in Grinding Practice
 To optimize surface finish, select
• Fine grain size (higher grit No) and dense wheel structure
• Higher wheel speeds (v) and lower work speeds (vw)
• Smaller depths of cut (d) and larger wheel diameters (D)

 To maximize material removal rate, select

• Coarse grain size (lower grit No)
• Open wheel structure
 For steel and most cast irons, use aluminum oxide (Al2O3) as the abrasive
 For most nonferrous metals, use silicon carbide (SC) as the abrasive
 For hardened tool steels and certain aerospace alloys, use CBN as the abrasive
 For very hard materials (e.g., ceramics, cemented carbides) 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
 Classification of Grinding Operations

• Surface Grinding
– Horizontal spindle with reciprocating worktable
– Horizontal spindle with rotating worktable
– Vertical spindle with reciprocating worktable
– Vertical spindle with rotating worktable

• Cylindrical grinding
• Centre-less grinding
 Surface Grinding Operations
Four types of surface grinding:
(a) horizontal spindle with reciprocating worktable, (b) horizontal spindle with rotating worktable,
(c) vertical spindle with reciprocating worktable, and (d) vertical spindle with rotating worktable.
 Surface Grinding Machine

• Fig: Surface grinder with horizontal spindle and reciprocating worktable

(most common grinder type).
 Cylindrical Grinding

Two types of cylindrical grinding: (a) external, and (b) internal.

 Centre-less Grinding
Centerless grinding is a grinding operation in which cylindrical
workparts (e.g., rods) are fed between two rotating wheels:
(1) a high speed grinding wheel and
(2) a low speed regulating wheel which is tilted at a slight angle
to control the feed-through rate.
 Questions
1. Why are abrasive processes technologically and commercially important?
2. What are the five principal parameters of a grinding wheel?
3. What are some of the principal abrasive materials used in grinding wheels?
4. List five principal bonding materials used in grinding wheels.
5. What is wheel structure?
6. What is wheel grade?
7. Describe the specifications of grinding wheel labeled “51 A 36 L 5 V 23” and “D 120 R 100 B
69 1/8”
8. Grinding creates high temperatures. How is temperature harmful in grinding?
9. What are the three mechanisms of grinding wheel wear?
10. What is dressing, in reference to grinding wheels?
11. What abrasive material would one select for grinding a cemented carbide cutting tool?
12. What are the functions of a grinding fluid?
13. What is centerless grinding?
14. How does creep feed grinding differ from conventional grinding?
15. Show with the aid of labeled sketch a comparison between (a) conventional surface grinding
and (b) creep feed grinding.
16. Show with the aid of labeled sketch the principles of centerless grinding process.
17. Describe the different regions of wear curve for grinding wheel
18. Describe with the aid of sketch the different grain actions in grinding processes.
 Solution

D 120 R 100 B 69 1/8

 MCQ

1. Which one of the following abrasive materials has the highest hardness?
(a) aluminum oxide, (b) cubic boron nitride, or (c) silicon carbide.
Smaller grain size in a grinding wheel tends to do which one of the
2
following? (a) improve surface finish, (b) have no effect on surface finish,
or (c) degrade surface finish.
Which of the following would tend to give higher material removal rates?
(a) larger grain size, or (b) smaller grain size.
Which of the following will improve surface finish in grinding (more than
one)? (a) higher wheel speed, (b) larger infeed, (c) lower wheel speed, (d)
lower work speed.
Which of the following abrasive materials is most appropriate for grinding
steel and cast iron (one best answer)? (a) aluminum oxide, (b) cubic boron
nitride, (c) diamond, or (d) silicon carbide.
Which of the following abrasive materials is most appropriate for grinding
hardened tool steel (one best answer)? (a) cubic boron nitride, (b)
aluminum oxide,, (c) diamond, or (d) silicon carbide.
Which of the following abrasive materials is most appropriate for grinding
nonferrous metals (one best answer)? (a) silicon carbide. (b) aluminum
oxide, (c) cubic boron nitride, or (d) diamond.
Which of the following will help to reduce the incidence of heat damage to