Lecture # 17

Dr. N. VENKAIAH
Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department
NIT Warangal 506 004

Disclaimer
The content presented here is not entirely my own. Some portions are taken from
different sources with great regard. This content is solely for class room teaching and
not for any commercial use.

"A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished

when he quits."

- President Richard Nixon

 Grinding Machines are also regarded as machine
tools.

 A distinguishing feature of grinding machines is the rotating

abrasive wheel (tool).

 Grinding machine is employed to obtain high accuracy

along with very high surface finish on the workpiece.
Grinding wheel
 Grinding wheel consists of hard abrasive grains called grits,
which perform the cutting, held in the weak bonding matrix.
 A grinding wheel is commonly identified by the type of the abrasive
material used.

 The conventional wheels include aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and silicon

carbide (SiC) wheels

 Diamond and cBN (cubic boron nitride) wheels fall under the category
of superabrasive wheel.
 Grinding is the most common form
of abrasive machining.

It is a material cutting process

which engages an abrasive tool
whose cutting elements are grains
of abrasive material known as grit.

These grits are characterized by

sharp cutting points, high hot
Fig. illustrates the cutting action of abrasive grits hardness, chemical stability and
of disc type grinding wheel similar to cutting wear resistance.
action of teeth of the cutter in slab milling.
The grits are held together by a
suitable bonding material to give
shape of an abrasive tool.
 Dimensional accuracy

 Good surface finish

 Good form and locational accuracy

 Applicable to both hardened and unhardened material

 Surface finishing

 Slitting and parting

 Descaling, deburring

 Stock removal (abrasive milling)

 Finishing of flat as well as cylindrical surfaces

 Grinding of tools and cutters and re-sharpening of the

same
 Fig. Variation in rake angle with grits of different shape

Grits do not have definite geometry unlike a cutting tool.

Grit rake angle may vary from +45o to -60o or more.

Grit with favorable However, grits having large negative rake angle
geometry can produce or rounded cutting edge do not form chips but
chip in shear mode. may rub or make a grove by ploughing leading to
lateral flow of the w/p material.

Fig. Grits engage in shearing, ploughing and rubbing

A negative rake angle always leads to
higher cutting force

At low grinding velocity this difference in

grinding force is more pronounced.

The difference is narrowed at a higher

grinding velocity and the grinding force
became virtually independent of the rake
angle.

This is one of the reasons for grinding at a

very high velocity in order to minimize the
influence of negative rake angle.
 The requirement of chip accommodation space
in a grinding wheel is analogous to the chip
space required ahead of each tooth of a
broaching tool.

 Uncut layer of length, L after deformation has

to be accommodated freely in the chip gullet
to avoid breakage of the tooth.

 Similarly, during grinding the volume of chip Fig. Chip formation and
produced by each grit must be accommodated accommodation during broaching
in the space available ahead of it.

 Absence of adequate chip storage space can

lead to wheel loading, thus terminating the use
of the wheel much before its expectedly long
service life.
A grinding wheel requires two types of specification
(a) Geometrical specification
(b) Compositional specification

Geometrical Specification
 This is decided by the type of grinding machine and the grinding operation to be
performed on the workpiece.

 This specification mainly includes wheel diameter, width and depth of rim
and the bore diameter.

 The wheel diameter, for example can be as high as 400 mm in high efficiency
grinding or as small as less than 1 mm in internal grinding.

 Similarly, width of the wheel may be less than an mm in dicing and slicing
applications.
Geometrical Specification …

Fig. Standard wheel configuration for

conventional grinding wheels

Fig. Standard wheel configuration for

super-abrasive wheel
Compositional Specifications
Specification of a grinding wheel ordinarily means compositional specification.

1) Type of grit material

2) Grit size

3) Bond strength of the wheel, commonly known as wheel hardness

4) Structure of the wheel denoting the porosity i.e. the amount of inter grit
spacing

5) Type of bond material

6) Other than these parameters, the wheel manufacturer may add their own
identification code prefixing or suffixing (or both) the standard code.
Marking System for Conventional Grinding Wheel
The standard marking system for a conventional abrasive wheel is as follows:

51 A 60 K 5 V 05

 The number ‘51’ is manufacturer’s identification number indicating exact

kind of abrasive used.

 The letter ‘A’ denotes that the type of abrasive is aluminium oxide. In case
of silicon carbide the letter ‘C’ is used.

 The number ‘60’ specifies the average grit size in inch mesh. For a very
large size grit this number may be as small as 6, where as for a very fine grit
the designated number may be as high as 600.
Marking System for Conventional Grinding Wheel…
51 A 60 K 5 V 05

 The letter ‘K’ denotes the hardness of the wheel, which means the amount
of force required to pull out a single bonded abrasive grit by bond
fracture. The letter symbol can range from ‘A’ to ‘Z’, ‘A’ denoting the softest
grade and ‘Z’ denoting the hardest one.

 The number ‘5’ denotes the structure or porosity of the wheel. This number
can assume any value between 1 and 20, ‘1’ indicating high porosity and ‘20’
indicating low porosity.

 The letter code ‘V’ means that the bond material used is vitrified. The codes
for other bond materials used in conventional abrasive wheels are B
(resinoid), BF (resinoid reinforced), E(shellac), O(oxychloride), R(rubber), RF
(rubber reinforced), S(silicate)

 The number ‘05’ is a wheel manufacturer’s identifier.

Marking System for Super-abrasive Grinding Wheel
R D 120 N 100 M 4

 The letter ‘R’ is manufacture’s code indicating the exact type of superabrasive
used.

 The letter ‘D’ denotes that the type of abrasive is diamond. In case of cBN the
letter ‘B’ is used.

 The number ‘120’ specifies the average grain size in inch mesh. However, a
two number designation (e.g. 120/140) is utilized for controlling the size of
superabrasive grit.

 Like conventional abrasive wheel, the letter ‘N’ denotes the hardness of the
wheel. However, resin and metal bonded wheels are produced with almost no
porosity and effective grade of the wheel is obtained by modifying the bond
formulation.
Marking System for Super-abrasive Grinding Wheel ...
R D 120 N 100 M 4

 The number ‘100’ is known as concentration (structure) number indicating the

amount of abrasive contained in the wheel. The number ‘100’ corresponds to an
abrasive content of 4.4 carats/cm3. For diamond grit, ‘100’ concentration is 25%
by volume. For cBN the corresponding volumetric concentration is 24%.

 The letter ‘M’ denotes that the type of bond is metallic. The other types of
bonds used in superabrasive wheels are resin, vitrified or metal bond, which
make a composite structure with the grit material. However, another type of
superabrasive wheel with both diamond and cBN is also manufactured where
a single layer of superabrasive grits are bonded on a metal perform by a
galvanic metal layer or a brazed metal layer.
 Lecture # 18

“Mind management is the essence of life management”

~ Anonymous
Selection of grinding wheel means selection of composition of the grinding
wheel and this depends upon

 Physical and chemical characteristics of the work material

 Grinding conditions

 Type of grinding (stock removal grinding or form finish grinding)

Type of abrasives

Aluminium oxide

• Aluminium oxide may have variation in properties arising out of

differences in chemical composition and structure associated with
the manufacturing process.
• Pure Al2O3 grit with defect structure like voids leads to unusually
sharp free cutting action with low strength and is advantageous in
fine tool grinding operation, and heat sensitive operations on
hard, ferrous materials.
• Regular or brown aluminium oxide (doped with TiO 2) possesses
lower hardness and higher toughness than the white Al2O3 and is
recommended heavy duty grinding to semi finishing.
• Al2O3 alloyed with chromium oxide (<3%) is pink in colour.
• Aluminium oxide …

• Monocrystalline Al2O3 grits make a balance between hardness and

toughness and are efficient in medium pressure heat sensitive
operation on ferrous materials.

• Microcrystalline Al2O3 grits of enhanced toughness are practically

suitable for stock removal grinding. Al2O3 alloyed with zirconia also
makes extremely tough grit mostly suitably for high pressure, high
material removal grinding on ferrous material and are not
recommended for precision grinding. Microcrystalline sintered
Al2O3 grit is the latest development particularly known for its
toughness and self sharpening characteristics.
Silicon carbide
 Silicon carbide is harder than alumina but less tough. Silicon carbide is
also inferior to Al2O3 because of its chemical reactivity with iron and steel.

 Black carbide containing at least 95% SiC is less hard but tougher
than green SiC and is efficient for grinding soft nonferrous
materials.

 Green silicon carbide contains at least 97% SiC. It is harder than

black variety and is used for grinding cemented carbide.
Diamond

 Diamond grit is best suited for grinding cemented carbides, glass,

sapphire, stone, granite, marble, concrete, oxide, non-oxide ceramic,
fibre reinforced plastics, ferrite, graphite.

 Natural diamond grit is characterized by its random shape, very sharp

cutting edge and free cutting action and is exclusively used in metallic,
electroplated and brazed bond.

 Monocrystalline diamond grits are known for their strength and designed
for particularly demanding application. These are also used in metallic,
galvanic and brazed bond.

 Polycrystalline diamond grits are more friable than monocrystalline one and
found to be most suitable for grinding of cemented carbide with low
pressure. These grits are used in resin bond.
cBN (cubic boron nitride)

 Diamond though hardest is not suitable for grinding ferrous materials

because of its reactivity. In contrast, cBN the second hardest material,
because of its chemical stability is the abrasive material of choice for
efficient grinding of HSS, alloy steels, HSTR alloys.

 Presently cBN grits are available as monocrystalline type with medium

strength and blocky monocrystals with much higher strength. Medium
strength crystals are more friable and used in resin bond for those
applications where grinding force is not so high. High strength crystals are
used with vitrified, electroplated or brazed bond where large grinding force
is expected.

 Microcrystalline cBN is known for its highest toughness and auto

sharpening character and found to be the best candidate for abrasive
milling. It can be used in all types of bond.
Grit Size

• The grain size affects material removal rate and the surface quality of
workpiece in grinding.

• Large grit -> high grinding capacity, rough workpiece surface

• Fine grit -> low grinding capacity, smooth workpiece surface

Grade: Hardness of the wheel

o The worn out grit must pull out from the bond and make room for fresh
sharp grit in order to avoid excessive rise of grinding force and
temperature. Therefore, a soft grade should be chosen for grinding hard
material.

o On the other hand, during grinding of low strength soft material grit does
not wear out so quickly. Therefore, the grit can be held with strong bond so
that premature grit dislodgement can be avoided.
Structure/Concentration

 The structure should be open for grinding wheels engaged in high material
removal to provide chip accommodation space.

 On the other hand dense structured wheels are used for longer wheel life,
for holding precision forms and profiles.

 The space between the grits also serves as pocket for holding grinding
fluid.
Bond

Vitrified bond

 Suitable for high stock removal even at dry condition.

 It can also be safely used in wet grinding.

 It can not be used where mechanical impact or thermal variations are

likely to occur.

 This bond is also not recommended for very high speed grinding because
of possible breakage of the bond under centrifugal force.
Bond …

Resin bond

Conventional abrasive resin bonded wheels are widely used for heavy duty
grinding because of their ability to withstand shock load.

This bond is also known for its vibration absorbing characteristics and finds its
use with diamond and cBN in grinding of cemented carbide and steel
respectively.

Resin bond is not recommended with alkaline grinding fluid for a possible
chemical attack leading to bond weakening.

Fibreglass reinforced resin bond is used with cut off wheels which
requires added strength under high speed operation.
Bond …

Shellac bond

Once this bond was used for flexible cut off wheels.

At present use of shellac bond is limited to grinding wheels engaged in fine

finish of rolls.

Oxychloride bond

It is less common type bond, but still can be used in disc grinding operation.

It is used under dry condition.

Bond …

Rubber bond

Its principal use is in thin wheels for wet cut-off operation.

Rubber bond was once popular for finish grinding on bearings and cutting
tools.

Metal bond

Metal bond is extensively used with superabrasive wheels.

Extremely high toughness of metal bonded wheels makes these very effective
in those applications where form accuracy as well as large stock removal is
desired.
Bond …

Electroplated bond

This bond allows large (30-40%) crystal exposure above the bond without
need of any truing or dressing.

This bond is specially used for making small diameter wheel, form wheel
and thin superabrasive wheels.

Presently it is the only bond for making wheels for abrasive milling and ultra
high speed grinding.
Bond …

Brazed bond

This is relatively a recent development, allows crystal exposure as high 60-

80%.

Grit spacing can be precisely controlled.

This bond is particularly suitable for very high material removal either with
diamond or cBN wheel.

The bond strength is much greater than that provided by electroplated bond.

This bond is expected to replace electroplated bond in many applications.

Truing

Accuracy of the finished part is directly related to effective wheel macro-

geometry.

Truing is the act of regenerating the required geometry on the grinding wheel

Truing produces the macro-geometry of the grinding wheel.

Truing is also required on a new conventional wheel to ensure concentricity

with specific mounting system.
Fig. Application of single point diamond truing tool
Dressing
Dressing is the conditioning of the wheel surface
which ensures that grit cutting edges are exposed
from the bond and thus able to penetrate into the Diamond Dressing Tool
workpiece material.

To splinter the abrasive grains to make them

sharp and free cutting

To remove any residue left by material being

ground.

Dressing therefore produces micro-geometry.

Truing and dressing are commonly combined into

one operation for conventional abrasive grinding
wheels,

But are usually two distinctly separate operations

for superabrasive wheel.
Dressing of superabrasive wheel

Dressing of the superabrasive wheel is commonly done with soft

conventional abrasive vitrified stick, which relieves the bond without
affecting the superabrasive grits.

However, modern technique like electrochemical dressing has been

successfully used in metal bonded superabrasive wheel. The wheel acts like
an anode while a cathode plate is placed in front of the wheel working surface
to allow electrochemical dissolution.

Electro discharge dressing is another alternative route for dressing metal

bonded superabrasive wheel. In this case a dielectric medium is used in place
of an electrolyte.