THEORY AND PRACTICE

Theory and practice

Theory is when everybody knows how it suppose to
work, but nothing works, on the contrary
practice is when everything functions, but nobody knows
why. In most cases, theory and practice go hand in hand:
nothing works and nobody knows why. Anonymous

"In theory there is no difference between theory and
practice. In practice there is." Yogi Berra
Abstraction vs Application
Credits:
xkcd.com
Theory vs Practice?
There is always a tension between Theory and Practice.
These two separate realms are connected through a
process of abstraction and application.
To explain this relationship by way of theory, Theory
de-territorializes Practice, and Practice reterritorializes
Theory: a Theory which is a becoming-Practice and a
Practice which is a becoming-Theory.
To explain this relationship by way of practice, Theory
is abstracted Practice, and Practice is applied Theory.

Ref: http://words.steveklabnik.com/theory-and-practice
What can we do?
Theres an age-old problem with this particular relationship:
Those who specialize in Practice often claim that those who specialize in
Theory are detached from the real world, ie, the world of Practice.
Those who specialize in Theory often claim that those who specialize in
Practice have no fundamental understanding of what they do, and this
leads to contradictory, incongruous practices.
Theres a third kind of person, though: one that embodies the becoming, the
abstraction/application process.
These people are a conduit, fundamentally bridging the two worlds.
Theres a certain art to explaining just the core of Theory in the words of
someone who Practices, and theres a certain art to combining the
essences of Practices and presenting it to those who Theorize.
Building this bridge is an act of creation, of building, an opening of space.

Examples
Development of non-round
grinding solution
Theory:
Kinematics of Non-round
grinding
Machine kinematics and
dynamics
Grinding process knowhow
Practice:
Knowledge of building a
machine tool
Project management
Management/Execution to
make it happen




Examples
Grinding Process
Solutions
Theory:
Science behind
the grinding
process
Problem Solving
Approach
In-process
diagnostics
Practice
Data driven
processes
Value proposition
to customer
Lean project
execution
Using Grind Trak
for diagnostics

Grinding cycle time reduced by almost 50%!
Examples
Solving chatter issue
in grinding
Theory
Origins of chatter
Grinding process
Problem solving
approach
Practice
Execution
Management of
customer
production
Data driven
approach
Chatter Marks on a crankshaft journal
OD Chatter Impression (on sheet)
10
chatter
marks
Peak at 85 Hz observed on the work-head
during grinding.
The Power of prototyping
http://www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_build_
a_tower?language=en

How can we make a
difference?
Fulfilling Indias promise
Indias product makers have a golden opportunity to join the global big
leagues. They should seize it.
Indias manufacturers have a golden chance to emerge from the shadow
of the countrys services sector and seize more of the global market.
McKinsey analysis finds that rising demand in India, together with the
multinationals desire to diversify their production to include low-cost
plants in countries other than China could together help Indias
manufacturing sector to grow six fold by 2025, to $1 trillion, while creating
up to 90 million domestic jobs.
https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Operations/Performance/Fulfilling_t
he_promise_of_Indias_manufacturing_sector_2943#top
Stakeholders
Each of them will have different needs and they
will have to be met in different
combinations.
Machine tool
manufacturers
Academia
Government Customers
Vendors &
Suppliers
Society
Nation
Customers of
Customers
- Development of Next
Generation, High Precision
Grinding Machine (DST
funded) @ IIT Madras

- Bearing condition monitoring
(Project Nidaan) - @ IIT Delhi

- Nano-finishing: Magneto
rheological polishing (MRP)
@ BARC
- Co-creation of value

- Identification of Synergistic
opportunities

- Better integration into the
product to improve customer
experience
- Key Accounts Program

- Alignment with customer
objectives

- Providing value added
services
- Gram Niyojan Yojana

- Close interaction with
organizations like IMTMA,
DHI, DS, etc.
Major Gaps In the Industry
Microstructure and Metallurgic
Properties
Conservative Process
Parameters
Controlling wheel topography
CBN Applications
Microstruct
ure and
Metallurgic
Properties
Grinding is used to produce smooth surfaces and precise
tolerances without causing any metallurgical changes
Great cost savings can be achieved if both the
geometrical requirements as well as correct mechanical
and metallurgic requirements can be obtained via
grinding
To achieve this the grinding process must input and also
dissipate the correct amount of thermal and mechanical
energy into the workpiece
Conservati
ve Process
Parameter
s

To guarantee required surface integrity , production
grinding processes are developed and certified using
experimental trial and error, and extensive surface
evaluations
The industry still lacks a clear understanding about the
thermal and mechanical interactions on the workpiece
during grinding thereby making the process very
conservative in process parameters having low removal
rates
Furthermore post operations like shot peening are
required to remove further surface defects which adds
to the cost

Ref. J.F.G. Oliveira, et. al. , Industrial challenges in grinding,
CIRP Annals - 2009
Controlli
ng
wheel
topogra
phy
The efficiency of the grinding operation is highly dependent on the
grinding wheel surface topography
Parameters like grain distributions, wear flat area etc. can highly change
the result of the grinding process
There is till no system available in the industry to control the topographic
properties of the grinding wheel during the process
Technologies have been developed to characterize wheel topography
using LASER and AE (acoustic emissions). The AE tool has been developed
but needs further development in terms of robustness, signal detection
and image recognition for process diagnosis
CBN
Applica
tions
Requirement of harder and lighter materials is making grinding using CBN
more attractive as it bears the advantages of having lower wheel wear,
stability at high grinding temperatures and also high speed capabilities
Despite all the advantages, CBN is not used to its full potential because of
the lack of proper understanding of the process and the increased
machine complexity in terms of system stiffness, higher thermal loads,
lower friction components etc.
CBN will be leading the future of grinding but the industry still lacks the
tools and the understanding to use this technology to its maximum extent
Ref. J.F.G. Oliveira, et. al. , Industrial challenges in grinding,
CIRP Annals - 2009
Research opportunities
Improving Process Energy Efficiency
Grinding Process Modeling and Knowledge
Database
Grinding Technology Ultra Large
Components
Specific Grinding Solutions
Improving
Process
Efficiency
Grinding is one of the most energy intensive among all
machining processes
The energy required to grind a unit material (30J/mm3) of
steel or nickel is almost three times the energy required
required to melt the same amount of material 10 J/mm3
Considering the large amount of grinding operations
performed worldwide improvements in energy efficiency can
have a significant impact
Research in new grinding wheel technology, advanced coolant
and coolant delivery can bring down the friction in the
grinding zone and greatly reduce the energy requirements
Grinding
Process
Modeling
and
Knowledge
Database
The Grinding and processes currently developed are
conservative in terms of process parameters
The industry needs predictive models for better process
control and to develop new and optimize existing grinding
strategies
A few grinding softwares have been developed, tested and
used in the industry but thses softwares are confined to
simplae geometries furthermore the demand of highly
optimized parameters bears concerns of process instability
Ref. J.F.G. Oliveira, et. al. , Industrial challenges in grinding,
CIRP Annals - 2009
Grinding
Technology
for Ultra
Large
Component
s
The windmills for power generation require ultra large
components with diameters greater than 1 m weighing more
than 5 tons
The grinding technology for critical components of these
windmills is vital for improving the efficiency of power
generation
The industry needs solutions for reducing the cycle time and
developing new grinding technologies for high stock removal
rates, in process gauging (due to heavy weight of
components) multi surface grinding processes


Specific
Grinding
Solutions
Critical part geometries and difficult to grind materials lead to
very challenging problems that require newer process concepts
Some classic examples are the development of the Centre-less
process to grind long and slender
Developing newer grinding processes are related to new tool or
machine concepts, the solutions are complex and provide a good
opportunity for research
One of the ongoing research is in process combination of hard
turning and grinding to tackle low stiffness in ID grinding
machines
One of the limitations in the industry to day is the gap between developing new technology
and applying/replicating it
In order to bridge this gap the industry needs to move beyond isolated efforts in science,
engineering and management, towards a more integrated approach for all the three disciplines
The industry needs individuals
with a strong academic
background who can
comprehend the fundamentals
and apply them in practice

Why
?

How
?
Whe
n?
Theory
Busin
ess
Acum
en
Practi
cal
Skills
Knowledge Practical skills
Learning concepts, principles and information
regarding a particular subjects through
academic sources, media etc
The ability to use an information and apply it
in a context
Manufacturing
Knowledge
Design
Engg.
Material
Engg.
Robotics
Electronics
Material Selection
Predicting interaction on the
Workpiece for process
optimization
System layout and Plan
Machine Design
Equipment Selection
Software based analysis
Optimization
Process plan and layout
Process prediction
Process Optimization
On Board Diagnostics
Data Acquisition
Signal Processing
Automation
Designing and Implementing Machine Kinematics
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