1/23/2015

MECH 360
Principles of Manufacturing
Lecture 10: Abrasive machining and finishing operations

February 5th, 2015

Outline
2

Grinding
Related abrasive and finishing operations

1/23/2015

Abrasive Machining
3

Material removal by action of hard, abrasive particles

usually in the form of a bonded wheel

Typical abrasive grains

Abrasive Machining
4

Abrasive machining:
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

1/23/2015

Abrasive Machining
5

Why Abrasive Processes are Important

Can be used on all types of materials

Some can produce extremely fine surface finishes, to
0.025 m (1 -in)
Some can hold dimensions to extremely close tolerances

Grinding

Material removal process in which abrasive particles are

contained in a bonded grinding wheel that operates at very
high surface speeds

Grinding wheel is usually disk-shaped and precisely balanced

for high rotational speeds

Grinding
6

Different types of grinding operations

1/23/2015

Grinding
7

The Grinding Wheel

Consists of abrasive particles and bonding material

Abrasive particles accomplish cutting
Bonding material holds particles in place and establishes shape
and structure of wheel

Attritious wear -- the dulling of the cutting edges of a sharp

grain caused by rubbing

Grinding
8

The Grinding Wheel

Superabrasive wheels

Conventional grinding wheels

1/23/2015

Grinding
9

Grinding Wheel Parameters

Abrasive material
Grain size
Bonding material
Wheel grade
Wheel structure

Abrasive Material Properties

High hardness harder than conventional cutting tool material

Wear resistance
Toughness
Friability - capacity to fracture when cutting edge dulls, so a
new sharp edge is exposed

Grinding
10

Traditional Abrasive Materials

Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) - most common abrasive

Used to grind steel and other 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

1/23/2015

Grinding
11

Newer Abrasive Materials

Cubic boron nitride (CBN)

very hard, very expensive
Suitable for steels
Used for hard materials such
as hardened tool steels and
aerospace alloys

Abrasive material

Knoop hardness

Aluminum oxide

2100

Silicon carbide

2500

Cubic boron nitride

5000

Diamond (synthetic)

7000

Diamond Even harder, very expensive

Occur naturally and also made synthetically
Not suitable for grinding steels
Used on hard, abrasive materials such as ceramics, cemented
carbides, and glass

Grinding
12

Grain size

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

Measurement of Grain Size

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)

1/23/2015

Grinding
13

Measurement of Grain Size

Grinding
14

Bonding Material Properties

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

Bonding Materials
Vitrified bond
Resinoid
Thermoplastic
Rubber
Metal
Reinforced one or more layers of fiberglass mats

1/23/2015

Grinding
15

Wheel Structure

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
Open structure Pg small,
Pp large
Dense structure Pg large,
Pp small

Grinding
16

Wheel grade
Indicates bond strength in retaining abrasive grains
during cutting
Depends on amount of bonding material in wheel structure (Pb)
Measured on a scale from soft to 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 marking system used to designate

abrasive type, grit size, grade, structure, and bond material

Example: A-46-H-6-V

1/23/2015

Grinding
17

Wheel grade

Grinding is a chip-removal process that uses an individual

abrasive grain as the cutting tool
Grain force is proportional to the process variables:
v
Grain Force
V

Grinding
18

Grinding process

Material Removal Rate in grinding

MRR dwv

Specific Energy

1.
2.
3.

Energy dissipated in producing a grinding chip consists

of energy required from:
Chip formation
Plowing
Friction

Specific Energy energy per unit volume of material ground

from the workpiece surface, u, Ws/mm3

1/23/2015

Grinding
19

EXAMPLE
Forces in Surface Grinding
A surface-grinding operation is being performed on lowcarbon steel with a wheel of diameter D=250 mm that is
rotating at N=4000 rpm and a width of cut of w=25 mm.
For carbon steel wheel, the specific energy is 40 Ws/mm3.
The depth of cut is d=0.05 mm and the feed rate of the
workpiece, is 1.5 m/min. Calculate the cutting force.

Grinding
20

Solution
Forces in Surface Grinding
The material-removal rate (MRR) is

MRR dwv 0.05251500 1875 mm3 / min 1.875 *106 m3 / min

The power consumed is

Power u MRR 40

W s 1 min
mm3

1875
1250W

mm3 60s
min

Noting that 1 W = 1 Nm/s = 60 Nm/min

Power=1250W = 75000 Nm/min
Since power is Power FcV FcDN
75000 Fc 0.254000 Fc 23.8 N

10

1/23/2015

Grinding
21

Temperature

1.
2.
3.

Temperature rise in grinding is important as it can:

Adversely affect the surface properties
Cause residual stresses on the workpiece
Cause distortions due to thermal expansion and
contraction of the workpiece surface
Surface-temperature rise in grinding is
1/ 2

T D d
1/ 4

3/ 4

V

v

Temperature increases with increasing d, D, and V

Grinding
22

Wheel wear
Attritious Grain Wear

Similar to flank wear in cutting tools

Cutting edges become dull and develop a wear flat

Selection of abrasive is based on the reactivity of the

grain, workpiece hardness and toughness
Grain Fracture

The grain should fracture at a moderate rate

So that new sharp cutting edges are produced

continuously during grinding

11

1/23/2015

Grinding
23

Grinding Ratio
Grinding ratio is defined as

Volume of material removed

Volume of wheel wear

Higher the force, greater the tendency for the grains to

fracture
Higher the wheel wear, lower the grinding ratio

Grinding
24

Dressing, Truing, and Shaping of Grinding Wheels

Dressing Resharpening the wheel

Functions:

Break off dulled grits to expose new sharp grains

Remove chips clogged in wheel

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 true disk shape and insures
straightness across outside perimeter

Shaping Use of a diamond-pointed tool fed slowly and

precisely to shape the grinding wheel into the designed form

Used for forming the desired workpiece gometry

12

1/23/2015

Grinding
25

Surface grinding operations and machines

Surface grinder with

horizontal spindle and
reciprocating worktable
(most common grinder
type)

(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

Other finishing operations

26

Honing

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

Grit sizes range between 30 and 600

Surface finishes of 0.12 m (5 -in) or better

Creates a characteristic cross-hatched surface that retains lubrication

(a) Honing tool used for internal bore surface,

(b) cross-hatched pattern created by the
action of honing tool

13

1/23/2015

Other finishing operations

27

Lapping

Uses fluid suspension of very small abrasive particles between

workpiece and lap (tool)

Lapping compound - fluid with abrasives, general appearance of a chalky

paste

Typical grit sizes between 300 to 600

Applications: optical lenses, metallic bearing surfaces, gages

The lapping process

in lens-making

Other finishing operations

28

Superfinishing

Similar to honing - uses bonded abrasive stick pressed against

surface and reciprocating motion

Differences with honing:

Shorter strokes
Higher frequencies
Lower pressures between tool and surface
Smaller grit sizes

Superfinishing on an
external cylindrical
surface

14