PowerPoint to accompany

Technology of Machine Tools

6th Edition

Krar • Gill • Smid

Universal Cutter and

Tool Grinder
Unit 84

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Permission required for reproduction or display.
 84-2

Objectives
• Identify and state the purposes of the main
parts of a cutter and tool grinder
• Grind clearance angles on helical and
staggered tooth cutters
• Grind a form-relieved cutter
• Set up the grinder for cylindrical and
internal grinding
 84-3

Universal Cutter and

Tool Grinder
• Designed primarily for grinding of cutting
tools such as milling cutters, reamers, and
taps
• Permits variety of other grinding operation
with addition of various attachments
– Internal, cylindrical, taper, and surface grinding
– Single-point grinding
– Cutting-off operations
 84-4

Parts of the Universal Cutter

and Tool Grinder
• Base
– Heavy, cast-iron, boxlike construction
– Top of base machined to provide ways for
saddle
• Saddle
– Mounted on ways of base
– Moved in and out by crossfeed handwheels
– Upper part has machined and hardened ways at
right angles to ways on top of base
 84-5

• Wheelhead
– Mounted on column at back of base
– Raised or lowered by wheelhead handwheels
– May be swiveled through 360º
– Spindle mounted in antifriction bearings
• Tapered and threaded at both ends to receive
grinding wheel collets
• Speed varied by stepped pulleys to suit size of wheel
 84-6

• Table
– Two units: upper and lower table
• Lower table mounted on upper ways of saddle
– Rests and moves on antifriction bearings
• Upper table fastened to lower table and may be
swiveled for grinding tapers
– Unit may be moved longitudinally by three table
traverse knobs
• Also traversed slowly by means of slow table
traverse crank
• Locked in place laterally and longitudinally
• Stop dogs
– Mounted in T-slot on front of table
– Control length of table traverse
 84-7

Accessories and Attachments

• Right- and left-hand tailstocks
– Mounted in T-slot of upper table and support
work for certain grinding operations
– May be placed at any point along table
• Centering gage
– Used to align quickly tailstock center with
center of wheelhead spindle
– Used to align cutter tooth on center
 84-8

• Universal workhead
– Mounted on left side of table
– Used for supporting end mills and face mills for
grinding; cylindrical grinding when equipped
with pulley and motor;
– May have chuck mounted to hold work for
internal grinding and cutting-off operations
• Adjustable tooth rest
– Supports cutter tooth; fastened to wheelhead or
table
– Another form: universal micrometer flicker
type has micrometer adjustment for small
vertical movements
 84-9

• Plain tooth rest blades

– Used for grinding straight-tooth milling
cutters
• Rounded tooth rest blades
– Used for sharpening shell end mills,
small end mills, taps, and reamers
• Inverted V-tooth rest blades
– Used for grinding periphery of staggered-
tooth cutters
 84-10

• Hook, or L-shaped, tooth rest blades

– Used for sharpening slitting saws,
straight-tooth plain milling cutters with
closely spaced teeth, and end mills
• Offset tooth rest blades
– Universal type suitable for most
applications
• Coarse-pitch helical milling cutters and large
face mills with inserted blades
 84-11

• Cutter grinding mandrels and arbors

– Used when grinding milling cutters to
they are held in same manner as they are
held for milling

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Permission required for reproduction or display.
 84-12

• Plain milling and side facing cutters

– Held on standard milling machine arbor, should
be held on grinding mandrel or cutter grinding
arbor
• Grinding mandrel
– Should be used to hold cutter
– Straight length is a sliding fit into cutter and
slightly tapered end will hold cutter securely for
grinding
 84-13

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Permission required for reproduction or display.
 84-14

Milling Cutter Nomenclature

• Primary clearance
– Clearance ground on land adjacent to tooth face
– Angle formed between slope of land and line
tangent to periphery
– Prevents land behind cutting edge from rubbing
on work
• Secondary clearance
– Ground behind primary clearance
– Gives additional clearance to cutter behind face
 84-15

• Cutting edge
– Formed by intersection of face of tooth with land
– Angle formed by face of tooth and primary clearance
called angle of keenness
– Cutting edges may be on one or both sides as well as
periphery
– Straight teeth;cutting edge engages along full width of
tooth at same moment
– Helical teeth; length of cutting edge contacting work
varies with helix angle
– Produce shearing action reducing vibration and chatter
 84-16

• Helix angle (shear angle)

– Angle formed by angle of teeth and center line
of cutter
– Measured with protractor or by bluing edge of
cutter teeth and rolling cutter against
straightedge over sheet of paper
• Marks left by teeth easily measured in relation to axis
of cutter
• Land
– Narrow surface behind cutting edge on primary
clearance produced when secondary clearance
ground on cutter
– On face mills, land called face edge
 84-17

• Tooth angle
– Included angle between face of tooth and land
caused by grinding primary clearance
– Angle should be large as possible to provide
maximum strength at cutting edge and better
dissipation of heat generated during cutting
• Tooth face
– Surface on which metal being cut forms chip
– Flat as in straight-tooth plain milling cutters and
inserted face-tooth mills
– Curved as in helical milling cutters
 84-18

Cutter Clearance Angles

• General rule followed by large machine tool
manufacturer for grinding cutter clearance
angles:
– High-speed steel cutters
• 5º primary clearance plus additional 5º for secondary
clearance
– Carbide cutters used on machine steel ground
• 4º primary clearance plus additional 4º for secondary
clearance
 84-19

Table 84.1 from text: 

Clearance angles for high-speed steel cutters

Material to Primary Secondary

Be Machined Clearance Angle Clearance Angle
High-carbon and alloy steels 3° to 5° 6° to 10°
Machine steel 3° to 5° 6° to 10°
Cast iron Guide Only 4° to 7° 7° to 12°
Medium and hard bronze 4° to 7° 7° to 12°
Brass and soft bronze 10° to 12° 13° to 17°
Aluminum, magnesium, and plastics 10° to 12° 13° to 17°
 84-20

Table 84.2 from Text: 

Primary clearance angles for
cemented-carbide cutters

Periphery
Type of Cutter Steel Cast Iron Aluminum
Face or side 4° to 5° 7° 10°
Slotting 5° to 6° 7° 10°
Sawing Small
5° toportion
6° of 7° 10°
complete table
 84-21

Methods of Grinding
Clearance on Cutters
• Three methods of grinding
– Clearance
– Hollow
– Circle
• Type of cutter being ground will determine
method used
 84-22

Clearance Grinding
• Produces flat surface on the land
• Four in. flaring-cup wheel used and is offset
slightly to permit long cutters to clear opposite
side of wheel
• Tooth rest set between center and top of wheel
(never below center)
– Higher tooth rest placed, less clearance
• Tooth rest may be attached to table or wheelhead
(depends on type of cutter)
 84-23

Hollow Grinding
• Land produced is concave
• Six inch diameter dish or cutoff wheel
– Cutoff wheel produces better finish
• Better to grind diagonally opposite teeth in
rotation and take light cuts
• Wheel and cutter centers must be aligned
• Clearance obtained by raising or lowering
wheel
 84-24

Circle Grinding
• Provides only minute amount of clearance and
used mainly for reamers
– Reamer mounted between centers and rotated backward
so heel of tooth contacts wheel first
– As tooth rotates against wheel, pressure of wheel causes
cutter to spring back slightly
• Set on center
• Secondary clearance must be by clearance or
hollow grinding
• Also used to obtain concentricity of milling cutters
prior to clearance or hollow grinding
 84-25

Methods of Checking Cutter

Clearance Angles
• Three methods of determining tooth
clearance on milling cutter
– Dial indicator
– Brown & Sharpe cutter clearance gage
– Starrett cutter clearance gage
 84-26

To Check Cutter Clearance

with a Dial Indicator
• Clearance determined by movement of
indicator needle from front to back of cutter
land
• Basic rule used to determine clearance:
– Land of 1/16-in width, 1º clearance equivalent
to .001 in. on dial indicator
• Cutter diameter does not affect
measurement
 84-27

To Check Cutter Clearance with a

Brown & Sharpe Clearance Gage
• Inside surfaces of hardened arms (90º)
placed on top of two teeth of cutter
– Cutter revolved to bring face of tooth into
contact with angle ground on end of hardened
center blade
– Clearance angle of tooth should
correspond with angle marked
on end of blade
– Two gage blades furnished

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Permission required for reproduction or display.
 84-28

Checking Cutter Clearance with a

Starrett Cutter Clearance Gage
• Used to check clearance on all types of inch
cutters from 2 to 30 in. in diameter
providing teeth are evenly spaced
– Also small cutters and end mills from ½ to 2 in
• Gage consists of frame graduated from 0º to
30º, fixed foot, and beam
• Blade used to check angle of land on tooth
– Indicated on protractor on top of frame
 84-29

Cutter Grinding
Operations and Setups
• Important milling cutters ground properly
and to correct clearance angles
– Will not cut efficiently and life shortened
• Important to sharpen cutters when show wear
• Cutters should be sharpened when wear
land .006 in. for cutters up to ½ in. diameter,
and .020 in. for cutters over ½ in. diameter
 84-30

Common Signs of Cutter Wear

• Surface finish on workpiece gets poorer
• Unusual noise and smoking while cutting
• Large burr appears on edge of workpiece
• Accuracy of cut changes
• Chips being produced turn blue
• Wear land on teeth is visible
 84-31

Procedure to Grind a Plain

Helical Milling Cutter
Primary Clearance
1. Mount parallel-ground test bar between
tailstock centers and check alignment with
indicator
2. Remove test bar
3. Mount 4-in. flaring-cup wheel (A60-L 5-
V BE) on grinding head spindle so wheel
rotates in counterclockwise direction
 84-32

4. Adjust machine so wheel revolves at

proper speed
5. True face of wheel and dress cutting edge
so it is no more than 1/16in wide
6. Swivel wheelhead to 89º so wheel will
touch cutter on left side of wheel only
7. Using centering gage, adjust wheelhead
spindle to height of tailstock centers; Lock
wheelhead spindle
 84-33

8. Mount cutter on mandrel and place

temporarily between footstock centers on
machine table
9. Set up tooth rest, on which offset tooth rest
blade has been mounted, on wheelhead
housing
• Adjust top of tooth rest to approximately
center height
10. Move table until cutter near tooth rest
11. Adjust tooth rest between two teeth at
approximate helix angle of cutter teeth
 84-34

12. Chalk or blue top of tooth rest blade

13. Move cutter over tooth rest blade and
rotate it until tooth rests on top of blade
14. While holding tooth face against rest,
traverse table back and forth to mark point
where tooth bears on tooth rest blade
15. Remove mandrel and cutter from between
centers
 84-35

16. Using centering gage, adjust tooth rest so

center of marked bearing point on tooth
rest is at center height and in center of
grinding surface of wheel
17. Place dog on end of grinding mandrel and
mount work between tailstock centers
18. Adjust cutter tooth onto top of tooth rest
blade
19. Set cutter clearance setting dial to zero and
lock and adjust dog into pin of cutter
clearance gage
 84-36

20. Set wheelhead graduated collar to zero

21. Loosen wheelhead lock and the cutter
clearance setting dial lock
22. Holding cutter tooth on tooth rest blade,
carefully lower wheelhead until required
clearance is shown on cutter clearance dial
• Flaring-cup wheel: distance calculated either
1. Distance = .0087 x clearance angle x cutter dia
2. Distance = sine of clearance angle x cutter dia /2
• If hollow-ground
1. Distance = .0087 x clearance angle x wheel dia
 84-37

Table 84.3 from Text:  Vertical wheelhead

adjustment for cutter clearance angles
Cutter Clearance Angle and Distance
Diameter 4° 5° 6°
(in.) in. mm in. mm in. mm
1/2 .017 0.45 .022 0.55 .026 0.65
3/4 .026 0.65 .033 0.85 .040 1
1 .035 Small
0.9 portion
.044 of 1.1 .053 1.35
1 1/4 complete
.044 1.1 .055table1.4 .066 1.65
1 1/2 .053 1.35 .066 1.65 .079 2
1 3/4 .061 1.55 .076 1.95 .092 2.35
 84-38

23. Remove dog from end of mandrel and

unlock table
24. Adjust table stops so wheel clears cutter
sufficiently at each end to permit indexing
for next tooth
25. Start grinding wheel
26. Carefully feed cutter in until just touches
wheel
27. At rear of machine, turn table traverse
knob with left hand; right hand holds arbor
firmly to keep cutter tooth on tooth rest
 84-39

28. Grind one tooth for full length and return

to starting position
29. Traverse table until cutter clear of tooth
rest and rotate cutter until diagonally
opposite tooth comes in line with tooth rest
blade
30. Grind this tooth without changing infeed
setting
31. Check for taper by measuring both ends of
cutter with micrometer
 84-40

32. Remove any taper, if necessary, by

loosening holding nuts on upper table and
adjusting table
33. Grind remaining teeth
34. Finish-grind all teeth by using a .0005 in.
depth of cut
35. If land over 1/16 in. for larger cutters,
grind secondary clearance
 84-41

Procedure to Grind the Secondary Clearance

of a Plain Helical Milling Cutter

1. Reset dog on mandrel as for grinding primary

clearance
2. Loosen clearance dial setscrew
3. Hold cutter tooth against tooth rest and lower
wheelhead until secondary clearance shown on
setting dial
4. Lock dial, remove dog, and proceed to grind in
same manner as for primary clearance
5. Grind secondary clearance until land is required
width
 84-42

Procedure to Grind a Staggered

Tooth Cutter
1. Carry out steps 1-7 for grinding primary
clearance on plain helical milling center
2. Mount staggered-tooth cutter tooth rest
blade in holder and mount unit on
wheelhead
3. Place high point of inverted V exactly in
center of width of grinding wheel cutting
face and at center height
 84-43

4. Place centering gage on table and adjust

wheelhead eight until highest point of
tooth rest blade is at center height
5. Mount cutter between centers with dog
loosely on mandrel and adjust table until
one cutter tooth rests on blade and lock
table in position
6. Set cutter clearance dial to zero and tighten
dog on mandrel
7. Loosen cutter clearance dial lock and
wheelhead lock
 84-44

8. Lightly holding cutter tooth onto tooth rest

blade, lower wheelhead until required
clearance shows on clearance setting dial
9. Remove clearance setting dog and unlock
table
10. Set stop dogs so wheel clears both sides of
cutter enough to allow indexing for next
tooth
11. Start grinding wheel
 84-45

12. Adjust saddle until cutter just touches

grinding wheel
13. Grind one tooth and move cutter clear of
tooth rest
14. Rotate next tooth, which is offset in
opposite direction, onto tooth rest and
grind it on the return stroke
15. After grinding two teeth, check them to
see if same height. If not, adjust. Repeat
process until teeth are within .0003 in.
 84-46

Secondary Clearance
• Need to provide adequate chip clearance
when milling deep slots
– Secondary clearance of 20º to 25º recommended
on staggered-tooth cutters
– Suggested enough be ground to reduce width of
land to approximately 1/32 in.
• Permit regrinding of primary clearance at least once
without need for grinding secondary clearance
 84-47

Procedure to Grind the Secondary

Clearance on a Staggered-Tooth Cutter
1. Remove tooth rest from wheelhead and
mount it on table between tailstocks
• Universal micrometer flicker-type tooth rest
and straight blade should be used to permit
cutter to be rotated
2. Place centering gage on table and bring
center of one tooth to center height
• Mark tooth with layout dye or chalk
 84-48

3. Locate dog on clearance setting dial pin

and tighten it on mandrel
4. Rotate cutter to desired amount of
clearance using clearance setting dial
5. Adjust tooth rest under, or on side of
marked tooth
6. Swivel table to right or left to grind
straight land
7. Grind secondary clearance on this tooth
until land is 1/32 in. wide
 84-49

8. Grind all remaining teeth having the same

slope or helix
9. Swivel table in opposite direction and
follow steps 6, 7, and 8 to set up and grind
remaining teeth
 84-50

Procedure to Grind Side

Clearance
• Side of teeth of any milling cutter should
not be ground unless absolutely necessary
1. Mount cutter on stub arbor in workhead
2. Mount flaring-cup wheel
3. Tilt workhead to desired primary clearance
angle
• Generally 2º to 4º
• Secondary clearance is about 12º
 84-51

4. Place centering gage on wheelhead and

adjust one tooth of cutter until it is on
center and level
• Clamp workhead spindle
5. Mount tooth rest on workhead using
flicker-type rest and plain blade
6. Raise or lower wheelhead so grinding
wheel contacts only tooth resting on blade
7. Grind primary clearance on all teeth
8. Tilt workhead to required angle for
secondary clearance and grind all teeth
 84-52

Grinding a
Form-Relieved Cutter
• Ground on face of teeth rather than on
periphery
• Form of cutter will be changed when it is
sharpened
• On the first time, grind backs of teeth before
grinding cutting face
– Ensures all teeth same thickness
– Necessary since locating pawl on grinding
fixture bears against back of tooth when ground
 84-53

Procedure to Grind a Form-

Relieved Cutter
1. Swing wheelhead so spindle is 90º to table
travel
2. Mount dish wheel and proper wheel guard
3. Mount gear cutter sharpening attachment
on table to left of grinding wheel
4. Place gear cutter on stud of attachment so
back of each tooth may be ground
 84-54

5. Place centering gage on wheelhead and

adjust wheelhead until center of tooth face
is on center
6. Move table in until back edge of tooth is
near grinding wheel
• Rotate cutter until back of tooth is parallel with
face of wheel
7. Engage edge of pawl on face of tooth and
clamp pawl in place
8. Grind back of this tooth
 84-55

9. Move table to left so that cutter is clear of

grinding wheel
10. Index cutter so that pawl will bear against
next tooth
11. Grind backs of all teeth
12. Reverse cutter on stud and adjust pawl
against back of tooth, after face of tooth
has been brought to bear against centering
gage fastened to attachment
• Swing centering gage out of way
 84-56

13. Adjust saddle to bring face of one tooth in

line with grinding wheel.
• Thereafter, adjust saddle only to compensate
for wheel wear
14. Loosen one setscrew and tighten other to
rotate cutter against grinding wheel
15. Grind one tooth, traverse table, and index
for next tooth
16. Grind all tooth faces
 84-57

Procedure to Grind Work

Parallel Between Centers
• With motorized workhead, cutter and tool
grinder may be used for cylindrical and
plunge grinding
• Work ground between centers or held in
chuck
1. Mount motorized workhead on left end of
table
 84-58

2. Examine centers of machine and work to

see that they are in good condition
3. Using centering gage on wheelhead,
adjust wheelhead to tailstock center height
4. Mount a 6 in. straight grinding wheel on
wheelhead spindle so that wheel rotates
downward at front of wheel
5. Mount a parallel hardened and ground test
bar between centers
 84-59

6. Using dial indicator, align centers for

height and then align side of bar parallel
with table travel
• Remove bar and indicator
7. Mount work between centers
8. Set stop dogs so that wheel overlaps work
by one-third width of wheelface at each
end
9. Start grinding wheel and workhead
• Workpiece should revolve in opposite
direction to that of grinding wheel
 84-60

10. Bring revolving work up until it touches

grinding wheel
11. Traverse table slowly and clean up
workpiece
• Work travels approximately one-quarter width
of wheel for each revolution of work
12. Measure each end of workpiece for size
and taper
13. After work parallel, set crossfeed
graduated collar to zero
 84-61

14. Feed work into grinding wheel

approximately .001 in. per pass until work
within .001 in. of finished size
• Use .0002 in. cuts for finishing
15. Feed in work until graduated collar
indicates it is proper size
16. Traverse table several time to permit
wheel to spark out
• Same procedure followed for taper
grinding, except table must be swung to
half angle of taper
 84-62

Procedure for Internal Grinding

1. Mount test bar in workhead spindle and
align it both vertically and horizontally
• When grinding tapered hole, workhead
spindle must be aligned vertically and then
swung to half included angle of taper
2. Mount internal grinding attachment on
workhead
3. Center grinding wheel spindle using
centering gage
 84-63

4. Mount proper grinding wheel on spindle

5. Mount chuck on motorized workhead
6. Mount work in chuck
7. Set rotation of workhead in opposite
direction to that of grinding spindle
8. Start grinding wheel and workpiece
9. Carefully bring wheel into hole of
workpiece
10. Set table travel so that only one-third of
wheel overlaps hole at each end
 84-64

11. Clean up inside of hole and check for size,

parallelism, and bell-mouthing
12. Set crossfeed graduated collar to zero and
determine amount of material to be
removed
13. Feed grinding wheel in about .0005 in. per
pass
14. When work is close to finished size, let
wheel spark out to improve finish and
remove spring from spindle
15. Finish-grind hole to size