METAL CUTTING

Assignment:
Abrasive Wheels

Submit by:
Ehtasham Mehmood BTM 01083007 Mechanical 3rd year

Submit to:
Sir Amir Nawaz

Grinding: Introduction
Grinding is a finishing process used to improve surface finish, abrade hard materials, and tighten the tolerance on flat and cylindrical surfaces by removing a small amount of material. In grinding, an abrasive material rubs against the metal part and removes tiny pieces of material. The abrasive material is typically on the surface of a wheel or belt and abrades material in a way similar to sanding. On a microscopic scale, the chip formation in grinding is the same as that found in other machining processes. The abrasive action of grinding generates excessive heat so that flooding of the cutting area with fluid is necessary. The grinding machine consists of a power driven grinding wheel spinning at the required speed (which is determined by the wheels diameter and manufacturers rating, usually by a formula) and a bed with a fixture to guide and hold the work-piece. The grinding head can be controlled to travel across a fixed work piece or the workpiece can be moved whilst the grind head stays in a fixed position. Very fine control of the grinding head or tables position is possible using a vernier calibrated hand wheel, or using the features of numerical controls. Grinding machines remove material from the workpiece by abrasion, which can generate substantial amounts of heat; they therefore incorporate a coolant to cool the workpiece so that it does not overheat and go outside its tolerance. The coolant also benefits the machinist as the heat generated may cause burns in some cases. In very high-precision grinding machines (most cylindrical and surface grinders) the final grinding stages are usually set up so that they remove about 200 nm (less than 1/100000 in) per pass - this generates so little heat that even with no coolant, the temperature rise is negligible.

Reasons for Grinding

Reasons for grinding are: 1. The material is too hard to be machined economically. (The material may have been hardened in order to produce a low-wear finish, such as that in a bearing raceway.) 2. Tolerances required preclude machining. Grinding can produce flatness tolerances of less than 0.0025 mm (0.0001 in) on a 127 x 127 mm (5 x 5 in) steel surface if the surface is adequately supported. 3. Machining removes excessive material.

Types of wheels
Straight wheel
To the right is an image of a straight wheel. These are by far the most common style of wheel and can be found on bench or pedestal grinders. They are used on the periphery only and therefore produce a slightly concave surface (hollow ground) on the part. This can be used to advantage on many tools such as chisels. Straight Wheels are the kind of generally used for cylindrical, centreless, and surface grinding operations. Wheels of this form vary greatly in size, the diameter and width of face naturally depending upon the class of work for which is used and the size and power of the grinding machine.

Cylinder or wheel ring

Cylinder wheels provide a long, wide surface with no center mounting support (hollow). They can be very large, up to 12" in width. They are used only in vertical or horizontal spindle grinders. Cylinder or wheel ring is used for producing flat surfaces, the grinding being done with the end face of the wheel.

Tapered wheel
A straight wheel that tapers outward towards the center of the wheel. This arrangement is stronger than straight wheels and can accept higher lateral loads. Tapered face straight wheel is primarily used for grinding thread, gear teeth etc.

Straight cup
Straight cup wheels are an alternative to cup wheels in tool and cutter grinders, where having an additional radial grinding surface is beneficial.

Dish cup
A very shallow cup-style grinding wheel. The thinness allows grinding in slots and crevices. It is used primarily in cutter grinding and jig grinding.

Saucer wheel
A special grinding profile that is used to grind milling cutters and twist drills. It is most common in non-machining areas, as sawfilers use saucer wheels in the maintenance of saw blades.

Diamond wheel
Diamond wheels are grinding wheels with industrial diamonds bonded to the periphery. They are used for grinding extremely hard materials such as carbide cutting tips, gemstones or concrete. The saw pictured to the right is a slitting saw and is designed for slicing hard materials, typically gemstones.

Cut off wheels

Cut off wheels, also known as parting wheels, are self-sharpening wheels that are thin in width and often have radial fibres reinforcing them. They are often used in the construction industry for cutting reinforcement bars (rebar), protruding bolts or anything that needs quick removal or trimming. Most handymen would recognise an angle grinder and the discs they use.

Types of grinding Machines

From the simplest grinding machine to the most complex, grinding machines can be classified as utility grinding machines, cylindrical grinding machines and surface grinding machines. The average machinist will be concerned mostly with floor-mounted and bench-mounted utility grinding machines, bufting machines. and reciprocating surface grinding machines.

UTILITY GRINDING MACHINES

The utility grinding machine is intended for offhand grinding where the workpiece is supported in the hand and brought to bear against the rotating grinding abrasive wheel. The accuracy of this type of grinding machine depends on the operators dexterity. skill, and knowledge of the machines capabilities and the nature of the work. The utility grinding machine consists of a horizontally mounted motor with a grinding abrasive wheel attached to each end of the motor shaft. The electric-motor-driven machine is simple and common. It may be bench-mounted or floor-mounted. Generally, the condition and design of the shaft bearings as well as the motor rating determine the wheel size capacity of the machine. Suitable wheel guards and tool rests are provided for safety and ease of operation. Grinding machines come in various sizes and shapes as listed below.

Floor Mounted Utility Grinding Machine

The typical floor-mounted utility grinding machine stands waist-high and is secured to the floor by bolts. The floormounted utility grinding machine shown in Figure 1 mounts two 12-inch-diameter by 2-inch-wide grinding abrasive wheels. The two wheel arrangement permits installing a coarse grain wheel for roughing purposes on one end of the shaft and a fine grain wheel for finishing purposes on the other end this saves the time that would be otherwise consumed in changing wheels.

Each grinding abrasive wheel is covered by a wheel guard to increase the safety of the machine. Transparent eyeshields. spark arresters. and adjustable tool rests are provided for each grinding wheel. A tool tray and a water pan are mounted on the side of the base or pedestal. The water pan is used for quenching carbon steel cutting took as they are being ground. Using the 12-inch wheel, the machine provides a maximum cutting speed of approximately 5.500 SFPM. The 2-HP electric motor driving this machine has a maximum speed of 1.750 RPM.

Bench Type Utility Grinding Machine

Like the floor mounted utility grinding machine, one coarse grinding wheel and one fine grinding wheel are usually mounted on the machine for convenience of operation. Each wheel is provided with an adjustable table tool rest and an eye shield for protection. On this machine, the motor is equipped with a thermal over-load switch to stop the motor if excessive wheel pressure is applied thus preventing the burning out of the motor. The motor revolve at 3.450 RPM maximum to provide a maximum cutting speed for the 7 inch grinding wheels of about 6,300 surface feet per minute (SFPM).

Bench-Type Utility Grinding and Buffing Machine

The bench-type utility grinding and buffing machine is more suitable for miscellaneous grinding, cleaning, and buffing It is not recommended for tool grinding since it contains no tool rests, eyeshields, or wheel guards. This machine normally mounts a 4 inchdiameter wire wheel on one end. The wire wheel is used for cleaning and the abrasive wheel is used for general grinding. One of the two wheels can be removed and a buffing wheel mounted in its place for buffing and polishing. The 1/4-HP electric motor revolves at a maximum of 3,450 RPM. The maximum cutting speed of the 4-inch-diameter wheel is approximately 3,600 SFPM

Bench-Type Tool and Cutter Grinder

The bench-type tool and cutter grinder, see Figure 4, was designed primarily to grind end mills. It can also grind a large variety of small wood and steel cutters as well as slitting saw cutters up to 12 inches in diameter using the saw grinding attachment. Capacity of the typical bench-type tool and cutter grinder is as follows:

Grinding wheel travel 7 l/2-inch vertical. Grinding wheel travel 5 1/2-inch horizontal. Table travel 6 inches. Slitting saws with attachment 12-inch diameter. Distance between centers 14 inches. Swing on centers (diameter) 4 l/2-inch diameter. Swing in work head (diameter) 4 l/2-inch diameter.

Nonspecialized cylindrical grinding machines in the Army maintenance system include the tool post grinding machine and the versa mil attachment.

Tool Post Grinding Machine

The tool post grinding machine, see Figure 5, is a machine tool attachment designed to mount to the tool post of engine lathes. It is used for internal and external grinding of cylindrical workplaces.

SURFACE GRINDING MACHINE

The surface grinding machine is used for grinding flat surfaces. The workpiece is supported on a rectangular table which moves back and forth and reciprocates beneath the grinding wheel. Reciprocating surface grinding machines generally have horizontal wheel spindles and mount straight or cylinder-type grinding abrasive wheels.

Reciprocating surface grinding machine

The reciprocating surface grinding machine is a horizontal- type surface grinding machine. Workpieces are fastened to the table and can be moved beneath the grinding abrasive wheel by hand or power feed. A magnetic chuck maybe used for fastening the workpiece to the table. This grinding machine has an internal pump and piping network for automatic application and recirculation of a coolant to the workpiece and wheel. The grinding abrasive wheel, mounted to the horizontal spindle is straight and cuts on its circumferential surface only. Grinding wheel speeds are adjustable.

Processes
Selecting which of the following grinding operations to be used is determined by the size, shape, features and the desired production rate.

Surface grinding
Surface grinding uses a rotating abrasive wheel to smooth the flat surface of metallic or nonmetallic materials to give them a more refined look or to attain a desired surface for a functional purpose. The tolerances that are normally achieved with

grinding are 2 104inches for a grinding a flat material, and 3 104inches for a parallel surface. (in metric units : 5 um for flat material and 8 um for parallel surface). The surface grinder is composed of an abrasive wheel, a workholding device known as a chuck, either electromagnetic or vacuum, and a reciprocating table. Typical workpiece materials include cast iron and minor steel. These two materials don't tend to clog the grinding wheel while being processed. Other materials are aluminum, stainless steel, brass and some plastics.

Cylindrical grinding
Cylindrical grinding (also called center-type grinding) is used in the removing the cylindrical surfaces and shoulders of the workpiece. The workpiece is mounted and rotated by a workpiece holder, also known as a grinding dog or center driver. Both the tool and the workpiece are rotated by separate motors and at different speeds. The axes of rotation tool can be adjusted to produce a variety of shapes. The five types of cylindrical grinding are: outside diameter (OD) grinding, inside diameter (ID) grinding, plunge grinding, creep feed grinding, and centerless grinding. A cylindrical grinder has a grinding (abrasive) wheel, two centers that hold the workpiece, and a chuck, grinding dog, or other mechanism to drive the machine. Most cylindrical grinding machines include a swivel to allow for the forming of tapered pieces. The wheel and workpiece move parallel to one another in both the radial and longitudinal directions. The abrasive wheel can have many shapes. Standard disk shaped wheels can be used to create a tapered or straight workpiece geometry while formed wheels are used to create a shaped workpiece. The process using a formed wheel creates less vibration than using a regular disk shaped wheel. Tolerances for cylindrical grinding are held within five ten-thousandths of an inch (+/0.0005) (metric: +/- 13 um) for diameter and one ten-thousandth of an inch(+/- 0.0001)

(metric: 2.5 um) for roundness. Precision work can reach tolerances as high as five hundred-thousandths of an inch (+/- 0.00005) (metric: 1.3 um) for diameter and one hundred-thousandth of an inch (+/- 0.00001) (metric: 0.25 um) for roundness. Surface finishes can range from 2 to 125 microinches (metric: 50 nm to 3 um), with typical finishes ranging from 8-32 microinches. (metric: 0.2 um to 0.8 um)

Creep-feed grinding
Creep-feed grinding (CFG) was invented in Germany in the late 1950s by Edmund and Gerhard Lang. Unlike normal grinding, which is used primarily to finish surfaces, CFG is used for high rates of material removal, competing with milling and turning as a manufacturing process choice. Depths of cut of up to 6 mm (0.25 inches) are used along with low workpiece speed. Surfaces with a softer-grade resin bond are used to keep workpiece temperature low and an improved surface finish up to 1.6 micrometres Rmax With CFG it takes 117 sec to remove 1 in.3 of material, whereas precision grinding would take more than 200 sec to do the same. CFG has the disadvantage of a wheel that is constantly degrading, and requires high spindle power, 51 hp (38 kW), and is limited in the length of part it can machine. To address the problem of wheel sharpness, continuous-dress creep-feed grinding (CDCF) was developed in the 1970s. It dresses the wheel constantly during machining, keeping it in a state of specified sharpness. It takes only 17 sec. to remove 1 in 3 of material, a huge gain in productivity. 38 hp (28 kW) spindle power is required, and runs at low to conventional spindle speeds. The limit on part length was erased.

Centerless grinding
Centerless grinding is a method of material removal through grinding, similar to centered grinding except for the absence of the spindle. It has high throughput, i.e. a large number of parts can be manufactured in a short time.

The workpiece is set up between the regulating wheel (or back up wheel) and the grinding wheel, and is supported by the work blade (or work rest). The work rest is located between the wheels. The work is placed upon the work rest, and the latter together with the regulating wheel is fed forward forcing the work against the grinding wheel. Axial movement of the work past the grinding wheel is accomplished by tilting The regulating wheel at a slight angle from horizontal. An angular adjustment of 0 to 8 or 10 degrees is provided in the machine for this purpose. Centerless grinding is classified into two types:

Throughfeed grinding - the workpiece is fed into the machine along the work blade Plunge grinding - the workpiece is placed between the wheels on a work blade and the grinding wheel is plunged into the workpiece.

Some of the benefits of centerless grinding include the ability to grind parts with geometries that do not allow them to be OD ground, the ability to remove three, five and other odd numbered lobing on the shaft of a part, and to maintain size beyond what is typically capable of an OD grinder due to the low overall pressures spaced out along the workpiece. An example of a centerless ground application is the outer diameter of the bearing races.

Internal grinding
Internal grinding is used to grind the internal diameter of the workpiece. Tapered holes can be ground with the use of internal grinders that can swivel on the horizontal.

Abrasive
An abrasive is a material, often a mineral, that is used to shape or finish a workpiece through rubbing which leads to part of the workpiece being worn away. While finishing a material often means polishing it to gain a smooth, reflective surface it can also involve roughening as in satin, matte or beaded finishes.

Abrasive minerals
Abrasives may be classified as either natural or synthetic. When discussing sharpening stones, natural stones have long been considered superior but advances in material technology are seeing this distinction become less distinct. Many synthetic abrasives are effectively identical to a natural mineral, differing only in that the synthetic mineral has been manufactured rather than been mined. Impurities in the natural mineral may make it less effective. Some naturally occurring abrasives are:

Calcite (calcium carbonate) Emery (impure corundum) Diamond dust (synthetic diamonds are used extensively) Novaculite Pumice dust Rouge Sand

Some abrasive minerals (such as zirconia alumina) occur naturally but are sufficiently rare or sufficiently more difficult/costly to obtain such that a synthetic stone is used industrially. These and other artificial abrasives include:

Borazon (cubic boron nitride or CBN) Ceramic

Ceramic aluminium oxide Ceramic iron oxide Corundum (alumina or aluminium oxide) Dry ice Glass powder Steel abrasive Silicon carbide (carborundum) Zirconia alumina

Bonds
The bonding system holds the abrasives together in the wheel shape. Consisting of resins & fillers, it allows the wheel to wear away at a specific rate, to achieve the required cutting action. Wheels with tenacious bonds are called hard; those that break down more rapidly are considered soft. Resinoid bonding systems are used for dry-cutting of most materials. Rubber-Resin bonding systems are used for most wet-cutting applications. Four types of bonds are generally used for diamond and CBN grinding tools: Resin bonds Sintered metal bonds Electroplated bonds Ceramic bonds The different types of bonds are classified in bond groups which are in turn allocated to certain bonding tasks. Resin bonds are subclassified according to their bond hardness. In contrast to the hardness of a ceramic bond grinding tool, which is a measure of resistance to penetration, the hardness of a resin bond for diamond or CBN grinding tools describes the effective hardness and grinding behavior of these tools. However, in the case of sintered metal bonds, resistance to wear is generally referred to in a somewhat modified form. The bond decisively influences both the grinding behavior and the service life of the grinding tool. The bond must adhere to the grains as long as possible while simultaneously wearing in such a way that the tips of the abrasive grains can cut freely in the course of the metal cutting process. This process is called the "self-sharpening effect". It results from the combined effect of the bond, the grain size and the concentration on the one hand, and from the bond wear caused by chip formation on the other hand. The optimal bond is the one that offers the most cost-effective balance between the stock removal rate on the workpiece and the wear of the abrasive layer. In order to accomplish a wider variety of grinding tasks, a wide variety of bonds must be made available.

Resin bonds
The resin bond is a very versatile type of bond. Its range of application covers far more than half of all the machining tasks for which diamond and CBN grinding tools can be used.

The outstanding features of a resin bond are that it enables large cutting volumes as well as soft and cool grinding. However, its rate of wear is higher than that of sintered metal bonds.

Sintered metal bonds

Sintered metal bonds can be divided into two main groups: bronze bonds and steel bonds. In special cases, bonds made of hard materials are also used. The higher mechanical stability and thermal load capacity of sintered metal bonds gives them a greater resistance to wear than offered by resin bonds. This is utilized especially in connection with grinding tools for profile grinding jobs and in the machining of materials which exhibit a strong abrading effect, such as glass, ceramics, etc. With the exception of brittle bronze bonds, sintered metal bonds yield lower material removal rates than resin bonds do.

Electroplated bonds
In the electroplated bond, the grain-on-grain abrading medium is embedded on a substrate by a metallic deposit in a galvanic bath. As a rule a single-layer coating is used, however, a multilayer coating is also possible where feasible. In the case of the single-layer coating, the abrasive grains protrude out of the bond by approx. 1/3 of their size. (Illustration) The main characteristic features of diamond and CBN grinding tools with electroplated bonding are: Exceptional gripping capacity, - High cutting capacity, - Manufacture of complex profiles, - Manufacture of tools with micro dimensions, - Repeated use of substrates.

Ceramic bonds
Ceramic bonds are used for diamond and grinding tools only in isolated cases. CBN grinding tools usually attain good results with ceramic bonds when used to machine long-chipping materials such as ball bearing steels.