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The Whole Story...
In Creep Feed Grinding, the Grinding Wheel and
Coolant Work Together
by John R. Besse, Sr. Applications Engineer, Corporate Application Engineering, Saint-Gobain Abrasives Inc.
While conventional grinding involves a grinding wheel moving rapidly over a workpiece until it reaches its final depth of
cut, in a creep feed process a formed grinding wheel is plunged into the workpiece and, in effect, produces a finished part
in a single pass. Creep feed grinding requires powerful and very rigid grinding machines, but has inherent efficiencies
that make it especially useful for grinding difficult-to-machine materials such as high performance alloys and hardened
metals and for creating intricate slots and profiles.
While every grinding operation demands, to some extent, a systems approach in which all elements of the operation -
grinding wheel, workpiece, machine, coolant, etc. - are designed and coordinated to produce optimal results, the
coordination of system elements is especially critical in creep feed grinding. In fact, research shows that two operational
elements, the grinding wheel and the coolant, can significantly affect the achievement of desired productivity levels in
creep feed processes.
Creep feed efficiencies
One of the inherent efficiencies of creep feed grinding and one of the most striking differences between it and
conventional grinding is the long arc of contact in the creep feed method. The arc of contact is the distance along the
periphery of the grinding wheel that is in contact with the workpiece during grinding. As the depth of cut increases, the
arc of contact becomes longer. This longer contact (greater wheel surface area against the workpiece) results in higher
metal removal rates and greater productivity.
Interacting elements
As noted, each element of any grinding system affects other elements. The long arc of contact and the large wheel-to-
workpiece interface result in higher-than-normal grinding energy. This high grinding energy, in turn, requires a
correspondingly high coolant flow. Consequently, all aspects of a creep feed grinders coolant system - pumps, filters,
settling tanks, and pressures - must be substantial. On some large, high-horsepower machines, coolant pumps may
exceed 30 horsepower.
These coolant requirements affect the design and manufacture of grinding wheels, which are manufactured from two
components:
1) The abrasive grains that do the actual cutting.
2) The bond that holds the grains in a matrix and supports them as they cut.
The relative percentage of abrasive and bond and the distance between the abrasive grains, give a wheel its structure or
porosity, as the spaces between the grains are called pores. A wheel with a relatively large distance between grains is said
to have an open structure or high porosity.
By design, creep feed wheels are usually quite open. This open structure allows the wheel to work with the coolant in two
ways:
1) It allows the flood of coolant to enter the wheel, thereby reducing thermal damage.
2) It allows the coolant to wash away the swarf or residue produced by grinding.
To achieve structure, grinding wheel manufacturers induce porosity into a wheel using pore-inducing materials. The
properties of a pore-inducing material determine the size and distribution of pores in a grinding wheel.
continued...
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...continued
Grinding wheel tests
In their attempt to optimize the production of grinding wheels for creep feed operations, abrasives manufacturers
constantly research the various elements of the grinding wheel and the effects those elements have on grinding results.
The research at Saint-Gobain Abrasives examined the effect of pore size on grinding.
A test was conducted using a Blohm 106-horsepower Profimat creep feed grinder. Table speeds of 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10
inches per minute were used. At each table speed, 1.0 cubic inch/inch of wheel width of hardened 4340 steel (Rc 50) was
removed. A heavy-duty, soluble oil coolant at 5 percent concentration in water was delivered to the wheel/workpiece
interface. In order to ensure coolant penetration to the grinding zone, the coolant nozzle was designed to deliver the
coolant at a velocity equal to the peripheral velocity of the wheel.
Test results showed that fine pore-inducing material and, consequently smaller pores, interconnected porosity and
therefore more permeability, resulted in a 10 percent decrease in grinding force compared to wheels made with coarse
pore-inducing material which in equal volume delivers fewer pores and less permeability. Meanwhile, surface finish and
grinding ratios (volume of metal removed/volume of wheel wear) were fairly constant for wheels of both kinds.
The reason for these results is that fine pores create an interconnected network of porosity because they are smaller and
closer together. In fact, it has been said, One could blow smoke through a wheel with a good network of fine porosity.
Such a wheel facilitates chip flow and coolant distribution.
This relationship between wheel porosity and coolant application is just one of the many significant relationships that
occur during creep feed grinding. As mentioned, when one element is adjusted, several others may be affected.
Optimizing results for a specific creep feed application may require more experimentation than is needed for conventional
grinding. However, it is critical that you work with your abrasives supplier to ensure that your operation is as close to
perfectly balanced as possible. The time invested will be paid back quickly in higher productivity per part.