Simulation and assessment of diamond mill grinding wheel topography

The topography of grinding wheel has a remarkable effect on grinding process. In this paper, the topographies of two mill grinding wheels with different grain sizes were measured by using an Olympus confocal scanning laser microscope. Kolmogorov–Smirnov normality tests were carried out to obtain distribution characteristics of abrasive grains. The test results indicate that the surface of grind wheel is of non-Gaussian nature. Consequently, a non-Gaussian statistical model was proposed to simulate the mill grinding wheel topography. Simultaneously, some parameters of “Birmingham 14” were introduced to assess the grinding wheel surface quantitatively. Simulated profile of the grinding wheel is found to correspond well in appearance with that of the actual grinding wheel.