On the grindability of low-carbon steel under dry, cryogenic and neat oil environments with monolayer brazed cBN and alumina wheels

Grinding of low-carbon steel often exhibits severe wheel loading due to the formation of long chips and high adhering tendency of the work material with the grits. Conventional composite-type alumina wheels are commercially utilised for grinding low-carbon steel. However, the actual nature of grit wear cannot be truly understood in a composite wheel. The truing and dressing conditions also have some influences on the wear mechanism. Therefore, in order to explore the wear pattern on a single layer of grits, monolayer brazed cBN, white and grey Al₂O₃ wheels were used in the present study. The grindability of AISI 1020 steel was evaluated under dry, liquid nitrogen and neat oil environments. The surface profile of the workpiece after being ground in each environmental condition was traced with a surface profilometer to reveal the mechanism of grit wear. The post-grinding conditions of the wheels were observed using scanning electron microscopy. The cBN wheel was found to outperform the alumina wheels in terms of grinding forces and grit wear. The wear of the cBN wheel was remarkably arrested with the application of neat oil. On the other hand, large-scale adhesion and breakage of grits in white alumina wheel were observed under cryogenic environment. In fact, the beneficial role of liquid nitrogen could not be realised in reducing grinding forces and grit wear with all the three types of wheel. A lubricating agent like neat oil appeared to be more suitable than cryogenic cooling when grinding low-carbon steel.     

Investigation and development of a molding process for the production of micro-hairs

Cubic boron nitride (cBN) is a unique synthetic material on account of its high hardness, high wear resistance, excellent cutting edge stability and relative chemical inertness compared to diamond. The introduction of monolayer electroplated cBN wheels replaced the complex pre-grinding wheel preparation work (truing and dressing) of composite cBN wheels and thereby extensively facilitating the application in high-efficiency deep grinding, creep feed grinding, etc. The present work has aimed at developing a precisely controlled brazing technique suitable for bonding the cBN grits to a steel substrate in monolayer form with higher bond strength, larger grit protrusion and more uniform grit distribution compared to that in the currently used galvanically bonded wheels. Experimental investigation have clearly demonstrated the potential of the newly developed brazed wheels under varying grinding conditions for processing materials like bearing steel. Improved capability of these wheels over galvanically bonded wheels could be better recognised during dry grinding at high material removal rate and for large stock removal when galvanically bonded wheels were found to suffer from severe wheel loading in grinding bearing steel and from unusual increase in grinding forces due to grit pullout. Creation of wider inter-grit spaces with strong bonding and uniform grit spacing happened to be the essence of the present brazed cBN wheel.     

OPTIMIZATION OF DRESSING CONDITIONS FOR A RESIN-BONDED DIAMOND WHEEL BY TOPOGRAPHY ANALYSIS

The macro-geometry (run-out, shape, profile, etc.) and the micro-geometry (density, distribution, and shape of the grains) of a grinding wheel are measured after both truing and dressing. The effectiveness of the truing is studied by analysing the topography of the wheel to characterize the tool and its effect on workpiece surface quality during the grinding process. Using wheel replicas, the surfaces are analyzed with a non-contact interference microscope and the measurements are processed with MountainsMap Software. For different truing and dressing conditions, the dressing efficiency, the grain density, and its effects on the roughness and wear of the wheel in the grinding process are investigated.     

A novel technique for dressing metal-bonded diamond grinding wheel with abrasive waterjet and touch truing

The dressing of metal-bonded diamond grinding wheels is difficult despite their availabilities on hard and brittle materials. In this paper, a novel compound technology that combines abrasive waterjet (AWJ) and touch truing is proposed for dressing metal-bonded diamond grinding wheel precisely and efficiently. The dressing experiments of a coarse-grained and a fine-grained bronze-bonded diamond grinding wheel were carried out on a surface grinder with a developed AWJ system. The feasibility of this method was verified by analyzing the wheel runout, the truing forces, and the wheel surface topography. The variations of 3D surface roughness of wheel surface topography during the compound dressing process were quantitatively analyzed. The mechanism of AWJ and touch compound dressing is also discussed. Further, a reaction-bonded silicon carbide block was ground to validate the dressing quality. The experiment results indicate that the grinding wheels that were well dressed by the proposed technique leads to a smaller grinding force and a smaller surface roughness than that of undressed wheels.     

Online dressing of profile grinding wheels

Improving the dressing accuracy and efficiency of profile grinding wheels has been increasingly demanded. The significance is addressed in the practical application of precision engineering. In this study, an online dressing system of profile grinding wheels is introduced. A special feature of the system is the application of the non-contact image measuring method used to evaluate deviation of the grinding wheel’s edge in determining the timing and amount of dressing. Diamond form rollers were selected to generate the profile grinding wheels with steep profile flanks by taking advantage of their high flexibility, short dressing times, and low wear rate. A series of grinding and dressing tests were carried out to investigate the dressing accuracy and surface quality for the profile grinding wheels with the proposed system. Through repeated experimental investigations, it was found that the dressing force is a key parameter in determining the number of passes needed in achieving high efficiency dressing. This is to assure that the length of the dressing time, and waste of the dresser and grinding wheel can be minimized. Other main dressing conditions that influence the grinding wheel and workpiece roughness include speed ratio, cross feed and roller profile radius.     

Study on the rotary cup dressing of CBN grinding wheel and the grinding performance

A systematic research is conducted to investigate the effect of rotary cup dressing on vitrified cubic boron nitride grinding performance in grinding of nickel-based superalloys. Grinding performance is evaluated mainly in terms of specific grinding energy and radial wheel wear. The number of active grits per unit area and their slope is considered as the two grinding wheel topographical key parameters for studying grinding performance. Cup dressing conditions with various speed ratios and overlap factors were investigated. In each case, the specific grinding energy and the radial wheel wear were experimentally measured, and then the effect of changing dressing parameters on the grinding performance is analyzed. To provide a view on how various parameters influence specific energy and the importance of wheel topography and grit workpiece interaction, a new specific grinding energy model is developed. Inputs to this model are workpiece parameters, grinding process parameters, and, in particular, the grinding wheel topographical parameters. This model is validated by experimental results. The theoretical values considering the complexity of the grinding process reasonably compare with the experimental results. The effect of number of active grits per unit area and their slope on specific grinding energy and then metal removal mechanism is investigated. The results revealed that the number of active grits per unit area has less effect on specific grinding energy than grits slope.     

基于修整力的树脂结合剂金刚石砂轮机械修整

研究了树脂结合剂金刚石砂轮修整过程中修整力与修整效果的关系,基于修整力的变化表征了砂轮的表面形貌及磨削性能。首先,对碳化硼、碳化硅、白刚玉3种砂轮修整工具进行实验,并采集了修整过程中修整力的变化;然后,利用白光干涉仪观测修整后砂轮的表面形貌;最后,对修整后砂轮进行磨削验证实验,得到不同修整工具修整后砂轮的磨削性能。基于上述实验,分析并验证了修整力的变化与砂轮表面形貌和砂轮磨削性能的关系。结果表明,法向力Fn能够表征砂轮的磨粒切削刃密度以及磨粒突出高度;修整比率β反映了砂轮的锋锐程度,当β稳定时,砂轮达到充分修整。因此修整力反映了砂轮表面形貌和磨削性能,根据修整力的变化可以把握砂轮的修整进程。     

磨削参数对GH4169高温合金磨削表面特征影响研究

采用单因素试验法,使用不同特性的砂轮进行GH4169高温合金的外圆磨削试验,研究了单晶刚玉砂轮和CBN砂轮对GH4169高温合金磨削表面特征中表面粗糙度和表面形貌的影响,分析了各磨削工艺参数对表面粗糙度的影响规律,并分析了单晶刚玉砂轮和CBN砂轮切屑的形态,还检测了磨削加工的表面形貌。结果表明：采用粒度为80、中软级、陶瓷结合剂的单晶刚玉砂轮磨削GH4169高温合金时,其磨削表面粗糙度较小,表面特征较稳定;磨削进给运动轨迹构成了试件已加工表面形貌轮廓的主要特征。在工件速度为8~21.66m/min、砂轮速度为15~30m/s、径向进给量为0.005~0.02mm、纵向进给量为1.3~3.6mm/r范围内,可以保证表面粗糙度Ra在0.14μm以内。     

磨削液对陶瓷结合剂CBN砂轮磨削性能影响

分析了磨削液对陶瓷结合剂CBN砂轮磨削性能的影响，使用3种磨削液在精密外圆磨床M1420E上进行了磨削加工实验，用加工表面微观形貌、表面粗糙度R。值、工件表面残余应力以及砂轮径向磨损量对磨削液效能进行评价。结果表明，轻质润滑油不仅能提高工件表面质量，降低表面粗糙度值，而且砂轮磨损量明显降低，乳化液和化学合成液对磨削性能的影响各有利弊，润滑油是陶瓷结合剂CBN砂轮磨削的优选磨削液。     

砂轮表面形貌定量评价及修整效果研究

基于砂轮表面磨粒出刃面积,提出砂轮表面磨粒出刃面积率Sr的概念,在此基础上提出磨粒出刃度βd和磨粒出刃面积分散度δs两个指标来评价砂轮表面形貌特征。用滚轮修整器对树脂结合剂金刚石砂轮进行修整实验,分析了不同修整方式、修整深度和修整速比对βd和δs的影响。采用修整后的砂轮进行磨削实验,分析了不同特征参数的砂轮对磨削力和工件表面粗糙度的影响。研究结果表明,采用较小的修整深度、较小的修整速比,多次进给修整砂轮时,磨粒出刃度高、磨粒出刃面积分散度小,修整效果好。当βd为69.35%、δs为1 000 μm2时,磨削力、表面粗糙度最小,表明砂轮磨削性能最好,证明修整质量最高。因此所提出的βd、δs两个指标能对修整后的砂轮表面形貌进行有效评价,且磨粒出刃面积的检测方法简单,检测效率较高。     

The mechanism and application of bronze-bond diamond grinding wheel pulsed laser dressing based on phase explosion

This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the surface bond removal mechanism for bronze-bond diamond grinding wheels using a pulsed laser. For the first time, the existence of a phase explosion phenomenon during the process of grinding wheel laser dressing is proposed, and the negative effects of a phase explosion on laser dressing are analyzed. Additionally, a theoretical study on phase explosion is conducted. The mechanism of bronze-bond diamond grinding wheel laser dressing is improved, and theoretical guidance for bronze-bond diamond grinding wheel laser dressing is provided. In the experiment, the processing parameters of the laser during phase explosion are studied, and a grinding test under the corresponding conditions is conducted. A high-speed camera is used to observe phase explosion in the laser dressing process. An ultra-depth 3-D microscope system is used to observe the topography of the bronze-bond diamond grinding wheel after dressing and grinding as well as the bronze wheel surface quality. It is concluded that to avoid phase explosion from occurring in the laser dressing of the bronze-bond grinding wheel, chip space around the bond must exist for the abrasive particle protrusions. The processing parameters of laser dressing under certain condition are optimized, and the desired dressing effect is achieved.     

IN SITU TRUING/DRESSING OF DIAMOND WHEEL FOR PRECISION GRINDING

An application for achieving on-machine truing/dressing and monitoring of diamond wheel is dealt with in dry grinding. A dry electrical discharge （ED） assisted truing and dressing method is adopted in preparation of diamond grinding wheels. Effective and precise truing/dressing of a diamond wheel is carried out on a CNC curve grinding machine by utilizing an ED assisted diamond dresser. The dressed wheel is monitored online by a CCD vision system. It detects the topography changes of a wheel surface. The wear condition is evaluated by analyzing the edge deviation of a wheel image. The benefits of the proposed methods are confirmed by the grinding experiments. The designed truing/dressing device has high material removal rate, low dresser wear, and hence guarantees a desired wheel surface. Real-time monitoring of the wheel profile facilitates determining the optimum dressing amount, dressing interval, and the compensation error.     

Ultra-precision grinding of optical glasses using mono-layer nickel electroplated coarse-grained diamond wheels. Part 2: Investigation of profile and surface grinding

After finishing the precision conditioning of mono-layer nickel electroplated coarse-grained diamond wheels with 151 μm (D151), 91 μm (D91) and 46 μm (D46) grain size, resp., profile and surface grinding experiments were carried out on a five-axis ultra-precision grinding machine with BK7, SF6 optical glasses and Zerodur glass ceramic. A piezoelectric dynamometer was used to measure the grinding forces, while an atomic force microscopy (AFM), white-light interferometer (WLI)) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to characterize the ground surface quality in terms of micro-topography and subsurface damage. Moreover, the wear mechanics of the coarse-grained diamond wheels were analyzed and the grinding ratio was determined as well, in aiming to evaluate the grinding performance with the conditioned coarse-grained diamond wheels. Finally, the grinding results were compared with that of the fine-grained diamond wheels with regard to the ground specimen surface quality, process forces and wheel wear as a function of stock removal. The experimental results show that the precision conditioned coarse-grained diamond wheels can be applied in ductile mode grinding of optical glasses with high material removal rates, low wheel wear rates and no dressing requirement yielding excellent surface finishes with surface roughness in the nanometer range and subsurface damage in the micrometer range, demonstrating the feasibility and applicability of the newly developed diamond grinding technique for optical glasses.     

A novel method for grooving and re-grooving aluminum oxide grinding wheels

In this paper, a new grinding wheel grooving system is proposed that is able to both groove as well as re-groove a grinding wheel using a single-point diamond dressing tool. The re-grooving capability of the new system is achieved by synchronizing the grinding wheel angular position with the dressing tool translational position. This position synchronization enables the diamond dressing tip to repeatedly engage the grinding wheel at the same angular position around the wheel and then proceed to trace the existing groove pattern along the wheel surface to, for example, refresh a worn groove geometry. Furthermore, the proposed system can be mounted on either a non-CNC or a CNC conventional grinding machine and can groove and re-groove the grinding wheel without the need to remove it from the grinding wheel spindle. The novel wheel grooving system was experimentally validated by creating helically shaped circumferential grooves on the grinding wheel surface. The resulting maximum differences in groove width and depth were found to be 0.015 and 0.013 mm, respectively, for ten consecutively cut grooves. These small discrepancies are believed to be primarily due to the brittle fracture mechanism of the abrasive grits. Furthermore, the new wheel grooving system was shown to be able to create a wide range of different groove patterns on the wheel surface. A wear study was then carried out to compare the performance of both grooved and non-grooved grinding wheels. For the conditions used in this research, the results of this wear study showed that a grooved wheel not only exhibits less wear than a non-grooved wheel but also can remove approximately twice as much workpiece material before failure occurs.     

MODELING OF DRESSING FORCES DURING ROTARY DIAMOND CUP DRESSING OF VITRIFIED CBN GRINDING WHEELS

This paper presents a mathematical model of dressing of vitrified CBN grinding wheels by a diamond cup dresser. It predicts the dressing forces during rotary diamond cup dressing of vitrified CBN grinding wheels. This model is based on the fracture of abrasive grits, the fracture of the bond and the contact forces between dresser and grinding wheel. It considers the kinematical influences and in particular speed ratio and overlap factor during the dressing process. A Weibull distribution is used to predict the probability of bond fracture and also the collision number between the diamond grits of a rotating dresser and the CBN grits. This model is validated by experimental results. The theoretical modeling values agree reasonably well with the experimental results. On the basis of this model the effect of different cup dressing parameters on dressing forces is theoretically discussed with the aim of establishing appropriate dressing process configurations. Furthermore the presented model provides a basis for further prediction of wheel topography and the grinding process.     

Wear behavior and mechanism of single-layer brazed CBN abrasive wheels during creep-feed grinding cast nickel-based superalloy

Wear behavior and mechanism of single-layer brazed CBN abrasive wheels during creep-feed grinding nickel-based superalloy K424 was investigated. Grinding force and temperature acting on the abrasive wheels were measured. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were utilized to detect grain protrusion and wheel wear morphology. The normal distribution of the protrusion height of the brazed CBN grains on the wheel surface was determined. The results show that, though the grinding zone temperature is merely about 180°C during creep-feed grinding nickel-based superalloy, the grinding heat still has an important effect on the grain wear owing to the high temperature of the individual grain up to 500–600°C. Wear patterns of brazed wheels are composed of mild wear (attritious wear and grain micro-fracture) and severe wear (grain macro-fracture, erosion of the bonding layer). Strong joining of brazed CBN grains and Ag–Cu–Ti bonding layer improves significantly the resistance to grain pullout.     

Mist-jetting electrical discharge dressing (MEDD) of nonmetal bond diamond grinding wheels using conductive coating

Diamond wheels are widely used in high-precision grinding of hard and brittle materials; unfortunately, they are difficult to true and dress. This paper addresses that problem in that it proposes an effective dressing technique—mist-jetting electrical discharge dressing (MEDD) of nonmetal bond diamond grinding wheels using conductive coating. A conductive phase is coated on the wheel surface to increase the conductivity of the nonmetal bond. Electrical discharge model was built to analyze feasibility and select optimized parameters of MEDD. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the dressing performance of MEDD in terms of surface morphology of the wheel surface, grinding force, and surface roughness of the workpiece. Experimental results show that abrasive grains on the wheel protrude are satisfied. The discharge parameters have an important influence on the dressing result. The grinding force and the surface roughness of the workpiece significantly reduced after dressing.     

Experimental study of wheel wear in electrolytic in-process dressing and grinding

Profile accuracy of components ground with ultra-precision machine tools is primarily dependent on wheel wear. Quantitative analysis of wheel wear is therefore an important aspect for precision grinding with electrolytic in-process dressing (ELID). In this paper, wheel wear is measured from ELID grinding experiments with different dressing and machining parameters. The grinding forces and dressing current characteristics of the experiments are also compared. Based on the results, a benchmark function is defined for wheel wear rate. A relation for identifying insufficient dressing from sufficient dressing for particular machining conditions is also identified. It is found that insufficient dressing produces pitting and/or arcing on the wheel surface, and wheel wear can be linearly correlated to ELID grinding conditions when the wheels are sufficiently dressed.     

杯形砂轮磨削高硬度球面砂轮磨损的研究

采用分块杯形砂轮磨削高硬度球面,磨削过程中砂轮磨损不仅影响砂轮磨削性能,而且造成工件和砂轮实际接触面积不断产生变化,影响磨削力和磨削质量。为此,基于展成法磨削原理研究砂轮块磨损后的形状变化,分析了分块砂轮的磨损形式,揭示了进给过程中砂轮块磨损形状的变化规律,推导了砂轮磨损量和砂轮工件接触面积的计算公式,分析了砂轮磨损速度的变化趋势及其影响因素,试验最后研究了砂轮磨损量的变化规律,并验证了砂轮磨损量的计算模型。