Abrasive Machining

General Manufacturing Processes Engr.-20.2710

Instructor - Sam Chiappone
 Abrasive Machining Processes
 Abrasive machining is one of the oldest forms of
metal removal. It is also one of the most
important. Abrasive machining can produce
surface finishes ranging from rough to extremely
fine.
 Abrasive machining is a process where chips are
formed by small cutting edges on abrasive
particles.

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Abrasive Machining Processes

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 Applications
 Manufactured products which are candidates for
abrasive machining include:
– Hard to machine metals such as super alloys or heat
treated tool steels
– Parts which have closes tolerances
» Size (+/- .0005)
» Parallelism
» Flatness
– Sheet type products such as:
» Plywood, thin stainless steels, and decorative plaque material
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 Process Characteristics
 Abrasive machining has two unique
characteristics:
– “Small” cutting edges cut simultaneously.
– The abrasives used are very hard and capable of
cutting materials in the range of Rc45 and above

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 Abrasives
 Abrasives can be natural or manmade.
– Natural include:
» Sand stone
» Emery
» Diamond
» Garnet
» Quartz

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 Abrasives
– Manmade (1891 time frame most commonly used
today)
» Silicon Carbide
» Aluminum Oxide
» Cubic Boron Nitride

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 Abrasive Grain Size
 Grains are separated by mechanical sieving
machines. The number of openings per linear inch
in the sieve(or screen) through which the particles
can pass determines the grain size.
– Typical classifications:
 Course, medium, and fine
 Silicon Carbides range from 2-240 in size
 Aluminum Oxides range from 4-240 in size
– 600 range are generally used in honing or lapping
operations

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Abrasive Grain Size

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 Forms
 Abrasive particles can be:
» A Free slurry
» Adhered to resin on a belt
» Close packed into wheels or stones held together by a bonding
agent.

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 Forms

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 The Grinding Process
 One process, which utilizes abrasive machining, is
the grinding process.
– A machining process where the abrasives used are
bonded together into a wheel. The grinding wheel is
the cutting tool in this process. In grinding, high
precision and tight tolerances are possible. Typical
tolerances associated with this process are +/- .0001.”
Product examples include bearings, machining fixtures,
shafts, and precision measurement gauges.

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 Chip Formation
 Chips in this process are formed by the same
mechanism of compression and shear as other
machining processes.
 As the grains or abrasives become dull, the cutting
forces increase. The increase in the cutting force
causes the grains to plow and rub rather than cut.
As the plowing and rubbing increases, the grains
fracture at the cutting edge to revile a new cutting
edge.
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Chip Formation

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 The Tool: Grinding Wheels
 The spacing of particles with respect to one
another is called the structure of the wheel. Wheel
structure can be open, medium, or dense.
– “Dense structure is used for hard materials, for high
speed grinding operations, and also for producing fine
finishes and tight tolerances.”
– “Open structure is used for high contact area, grinding
of tough materials, and high stock removal rates.”
» Hardness - resistance to penetration
» Toughness - ability of a metal to absorb energy without failure.

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The Tool: Grinding Wheels

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 Wheel Bonding Agents
 Vitrified - composed of clay and other ceramic
substances. Abrasive particles are mixed with
wheel material then pressed together and fired in a
kiln.
 Resiniod or phonolic - Plastic compound wheels
designed for a wide variety of applications. This
is a bit more flexible than other wheels.

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 Wheel Bonding Agents
 Silicate - This bond uses silicate of soda as the
bonding agent. Wheels are formed then baked at
500F for a day or longer. They are not as strong
as vitrified-bonded wheels. Because they are not
as strong, abrasive grains fracture more easily.
This results in lower operating temperatures which
can be a positive factor depending on the
application of the wheel.

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 Wheel Bonding Agents

 Shellac - Abrasives are mixed with shellac, heated

(330 F) and pressed or rolled into the desired
shape. These wheels are thin, elastic, and strong.
 Rubber - High speed wheels with a considerable
amount of flexibility. Typically these wheels will
operate at speeds of up to 16,000 ft/min.

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 Wheel Forms

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Wheel Classification

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 Grinding Wheel Operating
Procedures
 Truing - Restores the original geometry to the
grinding wheel. It also can be used to ensure the
wheel is running concentric with the spindle of the
grinding machine.
 Dressing - Exposes a new cutting surface on the
grinding wheel.
 Balancing - Typically performed on large and
diamond wheels this procedure ensures the wheel
is running true with the axis of rotation.
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Grinding Wheel Operating
Procedures

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 Cutting Fluid
 Cutting fluid is an important factor in the grinding
process.
 It assists in:
– Washing away chips,
– Keeping the wheel from becoming clogged,
– Reduces operating temperatures.

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 Grinding Machines
 Machine tools in this process are classified by the
type of surface they produce.
 Typical classifications include:
– Surface
– Cylindrical
» OD and ID

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 Grinding Machines

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Grinding Machines

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 Grinding Operations
 Operations include:
» Cutting off - Slicing or slotting
» Cylindrical between cntrs. - OD of cylindrical parts
» Cylindrical centerless - OD of cylindrical parts with a
regulating wheel
» Internal - Bores and large holes
» Snagging - Large amounts of material no surface finish
requirements
» Surface - Flat workpieces
» Tool grinding - Grinding cutting edges on tools
» Off-hand grinding - tool or work held by hand

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 Grinding Machines
 Grinding operation on all machines can be
accomplished in three ways:
– In-feed - moving the wheel into the work
– Cross feed - traversing the wheel across the work
– Plunge feed - wheel is forced in on the radius of the
work. This is similar to form turning on a lathe.

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