Grinding & Finishing

By S K Mondal

Abrasive Machining Processes

Process
Grinding Creep feed grinding Abrasive machining Abrasive water jet Machining Honing Lapping

Features
Uses wheels, accurate sizing, finishing, low MRR; can be done at high speeds . Uses wheels with long cutting arc, very slow feed rate and large depth of cut High MRR, to obtain desired shapes and approximate sizes Water jets with velocities up to 1000 m/sec carry abrasive particles (silica and garnet) "Stones" containing fine abrasives; primarily a hole - finishing process Fine particles embedded in soft metal or cloth; primarily a surface-finishing process

Video

Grinding
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 hardness, and chemical stability and wear resistance. The grits are held together by a suitable bonding material to give shape of an abrasive tool. Grinding can be compared with milling with an infinite number of cutting edge.

Fig- cutting action of abrasive grains

Why is high velocity desired in grinding?

It is desired to off set the adverse effect of very high negative rake angle of the working grit, to reduce the force per grit as well as the overall grinding force.

Advantages of Grinding
Dimensional accuracy

Good surface finish

Good form and locational accuracy

Applicable to both hardened and unhardened material

Applications of Grinding
Surface finishing

Slitting and parting

Descaling, deburring

Stock removal (abrasive milling)

Finishing of flat as well as cylindrical surface

Grinding of tools and cutters and resharpening of the

same

Video

Grinding
If each abrasive grain is viewed as a cutting tool then in

grinding operation.

High
Rake angle can be positive, zero, or negative ranging from

+45o to -60o, dull, rounded grits has large negative rake angle Cutting speed is very high Very high specific energy of cutting

Low
Low shear angle Low feed rate Low depth of cut

Interaction of the grit with the workpiece

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

Fig- Grits engage shearing, ploughing and rubbing

How is chip accommodation volume is related to material removal rate?

Volume of chip accommodation space ahead of each grit must be greater than the chip volume produced by each grit to facilitate easy evacuation of the chip from the

grinding wheel.

Specific energy consumption in grinding

G Ratio
The grinding ratio or G ratio is defined as thee cubic mm

of stock removed divided by the cubic mm of wheel lost.

In conventional grinding, the G ratio is in the range 20: 1 to 80: 1. The G ratio is a measure of grinding production and reflects the amount of work a wheel can do during its

useful life.
As the wheel losses material, it must be reset or

repositioned to maintain workpiece size.

GATE -2011 (PI)

Grinding ratio is defined as
(a) (b) (c) (d) volume of wheel wear volume of work material removed volume of work material removed volume of wheel wear cutting speed feed longitudinal feed transverse feed

Parameters for specify a grinding wheel

1) The type of grit material 2) The grit size 3) The bond strength of the wheel, commonly known as wheel hardness 4) The structure of the wheel denoting the porosity i.e. the amount of inter grit spacing 5) The 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.

Abrasive Material
Aluminium oxide

Comments and Uses

Softer and tougher than silicon carbide; use on steel, iron, brass Used for brass, bronze, aluminum, stainless steel and cast iron For grinding hard, tough tool steels, stainless steel, cobalt and nickel based superalloys, and hard coatings Used to grind nonferrous materials, tungsten carbide and ceramics

Silicon carbide

cBN (cubic boron nitride)

Diamond

IES 2009
2 marks

Why is aluminium oxide preferred to silicon carbide in grinding steel?

Al2O3 is tougher than SiC. Therefore it is

preferred to grind material having high tensile strength like steel. Moreover, Al2O3 shows higher chemical inertness than SiC towards steel leading to much improved wear resistance during grinding.

Grit size
The grain size affects material removal rate and the surface quality of workpiece in grinding. Large grit- big grinding capacity, rough workpiece surface Fine grit- small grinding capacity, smooth workpiece surface

Grade
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. A soft wheel should be chosen for grinding hard material. A hard wheel should be chosen for grinding soft material.

Structure / concentration
The structure should be open for grinding wheels engaged in high material removal to provide chip accommodation space. The space between the grits also serves as pocket for holding grinding fluid. Dense structured wheels are used for longer wheel life, for holding precision forms and profiles.

Why is coarse grain and open structured wheel is preferred for stock removal grinding?
Coarse grit allows large grit protrusion and open structure provides large inter grit chip space. Thus in combination those two provide large space for chip

accommodation during stock removal grinding and risk of wheel loading is minimized.

Bonding Materials for Grinding wheels

Type of Bond Attributes

Vitrified bonds Composed of clays and other ceramic substances, porous, strong, rigid, and unaffected by oils, water, or temperature. Brittle and can not be used for high wheel speed. Resinoid, or Plastic bond, replaced shellac and phenolic rubber wheels, not with alkaline resins grinding fluid. Shellac bond For flexible cut off wheels, replaced by resin bond.

Bonding Materials for Grinding wheels

Type of Bond Rubber bond Oxychloride bond Metal bond Attributes For use in thin wheels, replaced by resin bond. Limited use. Extensively used with super abrasive wheels, high toughness, high accuracy, large stock removal. Used for small wheel, form wheel and thin super abrasive wheels, for abrasive milling and ultra high speed grinding. Replace by electroplated bond

Electroplated bond

Glazing
With continuous use a grinding wheel becomes dull with the sharp abrasive grains becoming rounded. This condition of a dull grinding wheel with worn out grains is termed as glazing.

Loading
Some grinding chips get lodged into the spaces between the grits resulting in a condition known as loaded wheel. Loading is generally caused during the grinding of soft and ductile materials. A loaded grinding wheel cannot cut properly and need dressing.

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 workpiece material. In dressing attempts are made to splinter the abrasive grains to make them sharp and free cutting and also to remove any residue left by material being ground. Dressing therefore produces micro-geometry.

Truing
Truing is the act of regenerating the required geometry on the grinding wheel. Truing is also required on a new conventional wheel to ensure concentricity with specific mounting system. Truing and dressing are commonly combined into one operation for conventional abrasive grinding wheels, but are usually two distinctly separate operation for super abrasive wheel.

Balancing Grinding Wheels

Because of the high rotation speeds involved, grinding

wheels must never be used unless they are in good balance. Grinding wheel must be balanced Statically and Dynamically. A slight imbalance will produce vibrations that will cause waviness in the work surface. It may cause a wheel to break, with the probability of serious damage and injury.

Creep feed grinding

This machine enables single pass grinding of a surface with a larger down feed but slower table speed than that adopted for multi-pass conventional surface grinding. In creep-feed grinding, the entire depth of cut is completed in one pass only using very small in-feed rates.

State the basic advantage of a creep feed grinder over a conventional surface
Productivity is enhanced and life of the grinding wheel is extended.

IES 2011 Conventional

What is creep feed grinding? Discuss its salient features, advantages, and application. [10 marks]

Cylindrical Grinding
Center-type cylindrical grinding is commonly used far producing external cylindrical surfaces. The grinding wheel revolves at an ordinary cutting speed, and the workpiece rotates on centers at a much slower speed. Grinding machines are available in which the workpiece is held in a chuck for grinding both external and internal cylindrical surfaces.

Centerless Grinding
Centerless grinding makes it possible to grind both external and internal cylindrical surfaces without requiring the workpiece to be mounted between centers or in a chuck. This eliminates the requirement of center holes in some workpieces and the necessity for mounting the workpiece, thereby reducing the cycle time. Two wheels are used. The larger one operates at regular

grinding speeds and does the actual grinding. The smaller wheel is the regulating wheel. It is mounted at an angle to the plane of the grinding wheel.

Centerless Grinding
The regulating wheel controls the rotation and longitudinal motion of the workpiece and usually is a plastic- or rubber-bonded wheel with a fairly wide face. The workpiece is held against the work-rest blade by the cutting forces exerted by the grinding wheel and rotates at approximately the same surface speed as that of the regulating wheel.

Centerless Grinding

Video

Centerless Grinding
The axial feed is calculated by the equation F = dN sin where F = feed (mm/min) d = diameter of the regulating wheel (mm) N = revolutions per minute of the regulating wheel

= angle of inclination of the regulating wheel

Centreless internal Grinding

This machine is used for grinding cylindrical and tapered holes in cylindrical parts (e.g. cylindrical liners, various bushings etc). The workpiece is rotated between supporting roll, pressure roll and regulating wheel and is ground by the grinding wheel.

State the disadvantages of centreless cylindrical grinding machine?

It does not grind concentrically with centres. Large diameter short workpiece are difficult to control in the process It may not improve workpiece perpendicularity.

Surface Grinding Machines

Surface grinding machines are used primarily to

grind flat surfaces. However formed, irregular surfaces can be produced on some types of surface grinders by use of a formed wheel. Four basic types of surface grinding machines are: 1. Horizontal spindle and reciprocating table 2. Vertical spindle and reciprocating table 3. Horizontal spindle and rotary table 4. Vertical spindle and rotary table

Video

Lapping
Lapping is basically an abrasive process in which loose abrasives function as cutting points finding momentary support from the laps. Material removal in lapping usually ranges from .003 to .03 mm but many reach 0.08 to 0.1mm in certain cases.

Video

Characteristics of lapping process

Use of loose abrasive between lap and the workpiece Usually lap and workpiece are not positively driven but are guided in contact with each other Relative motion between the lap and the work should change continuously so that path of the abrasive grains of the lap is not repeated on the workpiece. Cast iron is the mostly used lap material. However, soft steel, copper, brass, hardwood as well as hardened steel and glass are also used.

Abrasives of lapping
Al2O3 and SiC, grain size 5 ~100 m

Cr2O3, grain size 1 ~ 2 m

B4C3, grain size 5 - 60 m

Diamond, grain size 0.5 ~ 5 m

Vehicle materials for lapping

Machine oil

Rapeside oil
grease

Technical parameters affecting lapping processes are

unit pressure

the grain size of abrasive

concentration of abrasive in the vehicle

lapping speed

Honing
Honing is a finishing process, in which a tool called hone carries out a combined rotary and reciprocating motion while the workpiece does not perform any working motion. Most honing is done on internal cylindrical surface, such as automobile cylindrical walls. The honing stones are held against the workpiece with controlled light pressure. The honing head is not guided externally but,

instead, floats in the hole, being guided by the work surface.

Honing
It is desired that

1. Honing stones should not leave the work surface 2. Stroke length must cover the entire work length. 3. In honing rotary and oscillatory motions are combined to produce a cross hatched lay pattern.

The honing stones are given a complex motion so as to prevent every single grit from repeating its path over the work surface.

Honing

Fig. Honing tool

Fig. Lay pattern produced by combination of rotary and oscillatory motion

Video

The critical process parameters are

1. rotation speed

2. oscillation speed
3. length and position of the stroke

4. honing stick pressure

Buffing
Buffing is a polishing operation in which the workpiece is brought into contact with a revolving cloth wheel that has been charged with a fine abrasive, such as polishing rough. The wheels are made of disks of linen, cotton,

broadcloth, or canvas, and achieve the desired degree of firmness through the amount of stitching used to fasten the layers of cloth together. Negligible amount of material is removed in buffing while a very high luster is generated on the buffed surface. The dimensional accuracy of the parts is not affected by the buffing operation.

Video

Super Finishing

Fig. super finishing of end face of a cylindrical work piece in radial mode

In this both feeding and oscillation of the super finishing stone is given in the radial direction.

Super Finishing

Fig. super finishing operation in plunge mode

In this case the abrasive stone covers the section of the workpiece requiring super finish. The abrasive stone is slowly fed in radial direction while its oscillation is imparted in the axial direction. It reduce surface roughness and increase bearing load capacity.

State the specific application of a planetary internal grinder.

Planetary internal grinders find application for grinding holes in workpieces of irregular shape or large heavy workpieces.

Video

GATE - 1998
In machining using abrasive material, increasing abrasive grain size (a) Increases the material removal rate (b) Decreases the material removal rate (c) First decreases and then increases the material removal rate (d) First increases and then decreases the material removal rate

GATE - 2002
The hardness of a grinding wheel is determined by the (a) Hardness of abrasive grains (b) Ability of the bond to retain abrasives (c) Hardness of the bond (d) Ability of the grinding wheel to penetrate the work piece

GATE - 2006
If each abrasive grain is viewed as a cutting tool, then which of the following represents the cutting parameters in common grinding operations? (a) Large negative rake angle, low shear angle and high cutting speed (b) Large positive rake angle, low shear angle and high cutting speed (c) Large negative rake angle, high shear angle and low cutting speed (d) Zero rake angle, high shear angle and high cutting speed

IES - 2005
Consider the following statements in respect of grinding? 1. The pitch of the grit cutting edges is larger than the pitch of the milling cutter. 2. The cutting angles of the grits have a random geometry. 3. The size of the chip cuts is very small for grinding. Which of the statements given above are correct? (a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3 (c) 1 and 3 (d) 1, 2 and 3

IES - 2001
Specific cutting energy is more in grinding process compared to turning because (a) Grinding (cutting) speed is higher (b) The wheel has multiple cutting edges (grains) (c) Plaguing force is significant due to small chip size (d) Grinding wheel undergoes continuous wear

IES - 1996
Specific energy requirements in a grinding process are more than those in turning for the same metal removal rate because of the (a) Specific pressures between wheel and work being high. (b) Size effect of the larger contact areas between wheel and work. (c) High cutting velocities (d) High heat produced during grinding.

IES - 1994
The ratio of thrust force to cutting force is nearly 2.5 in (a) Turning (b) Broaching (c) Grinding (d) Plain milling

IES 2010
In relation to the peripheral or surface speeds of the grinding wheel and that of the workpiece in cylindrical grinding of alloy steel workpieces, the grinding wheel speed is (a) Less than the speed of the workpiece (b) Same as the speed of the workpiece (c) Double the speed of the workpiece (d) 65 to 75 times the speed of the workpiece.

IES - 2000
The sequence of markings "S 14 K 14 S" on a grinding wheel represents respectively (a) Bond type, structure, grade, grain size and abrasive type (b) Abrasive type, grain size, grade, structure and bond type (c) Bond type, grade, structure, grain size and abrasive type (d) Abrasive type, structure, grade, grain size and bond type

IES - 1993
Tool life in the case of a grinding wheel is the time (a) Between two successive regrinds of the wheel (b) Taken for the wheel to be balanced (c) Taken between two successive wheel dressings (d) Taken for a wear of 1mm on its diameter

IES - 2007
Honing Process gives surface finish of what order? (a) 10 m (CLA) (b) 1.0 m (CLA) (c) 0.1 m (CLA) (d) 0.01 m (CLA)

IES - 2012
Statement (I): Honing is an abrading process to remove stock from metallic surfaces. Statement (II):Honing is commonly done on internal surfaces. (a) Both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are individually true and Statement (II) is the correct explanation of Statement (I) (b) Both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are individually true but Statement (II) is not the correct explanation of Statement (I) (c) Statement (I) is true but Statement (II) is false (d) Statement (I) is false but Statement (II) is true

IES - 1992
A surface finish of 0.025 0.1 micrometer CLA values is to by produced. Which machining process would you recommend? (a) Grinding (b) Rough turning (c) Lapping (d) Honing

IAS - 2001
Consider the following statements: The set-up for internal centreless grinding consists of a regulating wheel, a pressure roll and a support roll, between which the tubular workpiece is supported with the grinding wheel within the tube, wherein 1.The grinding wheel, workpiece and regulating wheel centers must lie on one line 2.The directions of rotation of workpiece and grinding wheel are same 3.The directions of rotation of pressure roll, support roll and regulating wheel are same 4.The directions of rotation of grinding wheel and regulating wheel are same Which of these statements are correct? (a) 1, 2 and 3 (b) 1, 3 and 4 (c) 2 and 3 (d) 3 and 4

IAS - 2001
Which one of the following grinding wheels (with Grade, Grit and Bond) is suitable for cutter grinding? (a) K 60 vitrified (b) K 320 vitrified (c) T 60 resinoid (d) T 320 resinoid

Q. No 1 2 3 4 5 6

Ch-9: Grinding Option Q. No D 7 D 8 A 9 A 10 B 11 B 12

Option A A A C A D