GRINDING AND

OTHER ABRASIVE
PROCESSES
Chapter 25
Grinding
25.1.1 THE GRINDING WHEEL
■ A grinding wheel consists of abrasive particles and bonding material. The bonding
material holds the particles in place and establishes the shape and structure of the wheel.
These two ingredients and the way they are fabricated determine the five basic
parameters of a grinding wheel:
– (1) abrasive material,
– (2) grain size,
– (3) bonding material,
– (4) wheel grade, and
– (5) wheel structure.
■ To achieve the desired performance in a given application, each of the parameters must
be carefully selected.
Abrasive Material
■ Different abrasive materials are appropriate for grinding different work materials.
■ General properties of an abrasive material used in grinding wheels include
– high hardness,
– wear resistance,
– toughness, and
– friability.
■ Hardness, wear resistance, and toughness are desirable properties of any cutting-tool
material. Friability refers to the capacity of the abrasive material to fracture when the
cutting edge of the grain becomes dull, thereby exposing a new sharp edge.
■ Today, the abrasive materials of greatest commercial importance are aluminum oxide,
silicon carbide, cubic boron nitride, and diamond.
■ They are briefly described in Table 25.1, together with their relative hardness values
Grain Size
■ The grain size of the abrasive particle is important in determining surface finish and
material removal rate.
■ Small grit sizes produce better finishes, whereas larger grain sizes permit larger material
removal rates. Thus, a choice must be made between these two objectives when
selecting abrasive grain size.
■ The selection of grit size also depends to some extent on the hardness of the work
material.
■ Harder work materials require smaller grain sizes to cut effectively, whereas softer
materials require larger grit sizes.
■ The grit size is measured using a screen mesh procedure. In this procedure, smaller grit
sizes have larger numbers and vice versa. Grain sizes used in grinding wheels typically
range between 8 and 250. Grit size 8 is very coarse and size 250 is very fine. Even finer
grit sizes are used for lapping and superfinishing.
Bonding Materials
■ The bonding material holds the abrasive grains and establishes the shape and structural integrity
of the grinding wheel.
■ Desirable properties of the bond material include strength, toughness, hardness, and temperature
resistance.
■ The bonding material must be able to
– withstand the centrifugal forces
– high temperatures experienced by the grinding wheel,
– resist shattering in shock loading of the wheel, and
– hold the abrasive grains rigidly in place to accomplish the cutting action while allowing
those grains that are worn to be dislodged so that new grains can be exposed.
■ Bonding materials commonly used in grinding wheels are identified and briefly described in
Table 25.2.
Wheel Structure and Wheel Grade
■ Wheel structure refers to the relative spacing of the abrasive grains in the wheel.
■ In addition to the abrasive grains and bond material, grinding wheels contain air gaps or
pores, as illustrated in Figure 25.1
■ The volumetric proportions of grains, bond material, and pores can be expressed as

■ Wheel structure is measured on a scale that ranges between ‘‘open’’ and ‘dense.’’ An
open structure is one in which Pp is relatively large, and Pg is relatively small. That is,
there are more pores and fewer grains per unit volume in a wheel of open structure. By
contrast, a dense structure is one in which Pp is relatively small, and Pg is larger.
Generally, open structures are recommended in situations in which clearance for chips
must be provided. Dense structures are used to obtain better surface finish and
dimensional control.
■ Wheel grade indicates the grinding wheel’s bond strength in retaining the abrasive grits
during cutting.
■ This is largely dependent on the amount of bonding material present in the wheel
structure (Pb in Eq. (25.1).
■ Grade is measured on a scale that ranges between soft and hard. ‘‘Soft’’ wheels lose
grains readily, whereas ‘‘hard’’ wheels retain their abrasive grains.
■ Soft wheels are generally used for applications requiring low material removal rates and
grinding of hard work materials. Hard wheels are typically used to achieve high stock
removal rates and for grinding of relative soft work materials.
Grinding Wheel Specification

■ The preceding parameters can be concisely designated in a standard grinding wheel marking
system defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) [3].
■ This marking system uses numbers and letters to specify abrasive type, grit size, grade,
structure, and bond material.
■ Table 25.3 presents an abbreviated version of the ANSI Standard, indicating how the numbers
and letters are interpreted.
■ The standard also provides for additional identifications that might be used by the grinding
wheel manufacturers.
■ The ANSI Standard for diamond and cubic boron nitride grinding wheels is slightly different
than for conventional wheels.
■ The marking system for these newer grinding wheels is presented in Table 25.4.
■ Grinding wheels come in a variety of shapes and sizes, as shown in Figure 25.2.
■ Configurations (a), (b), and (c) are peripheral grinding wheels, in which material
removal is accomplished by the outside circumference of the wheel.
■ A typical abrasive cutoff wheel is shown in (d), which also involves peripheral cutting.
Wheels (e), (f), and (g) are face grinding wheels, in which the flat face of the wheel
removes material from the work surface.
25.1.2 ANALYSIS OF THE GRINDING
PROCESS
■ The cutting conditions in grinding are characterized by very high speeds and very small
cut size, compared to milling and other traditional machining operations.
■ Using surface grinding to illustrate, Figure 25.3(a) shows the principal features of the
process.
■ The peripheral speed of the grinding wheel is determined by the rotational speed of the
wheel:
■ FIGURE 25.3 (a) The geometry of surface grinding, showing the cutting conditions; (b)
assumed longitudinal Shape
■ Depth of cut d, called the infeed, is the penetration of the wheel below the original work
surface.
■ As the operation proceeds, the grinding wheel is fed laterally across the surface on each
pass by the work. This is called the crossfeed, and it determines the width of the
grinding path w in Figure 25.3(a).
■ This width, multiplied by depth d determines the cross-sectional area of the cut.
■ In most grinding operations, the work moves past the wheel at a certain speed v w, so
that the material removal rate is
25.1.3
APPLICATION
CONSIDERATIO
NS IN
GRINDING
25.1.4 GRINDING OPERATIONS AND
GRINDING MACHINES
■ Grinding is traditionally used to finish parts whose geometries have already been created by other
operations.
■ Accordingly, grinding machines have been developed to grind plain flat surfaces, external and
internal cylinders, and contour shapes such as threads.
■ The contour shapes are often created by special formed wheels that have the opposite of the
desired contour to be imparted to the work.
■ Grinding is also used in tool rooms to form the geometries on cutting tools.
■ In addition to these traditional uses, applications of grinding are expanding to include more high
speed, high material removal operations.
■ Our discussion of operations and machines in this section includes the following types:
■ (1) surface grinding, (2) cylindrical grinding, (3) centerless grinding, (4) creep feed
■ grinding, and (5) other grinding operations.
 Surface Grinding
■ Surface grinding is
normally used to grind
plain flat surfaces.
■ It is performed using
either the periphery of
the grinding wheel or the
flat face of the wheel.
Cylindrical Grinding
■ As its name suggests, cylindrical grinding is used for rotational parts.
■ These grinding operations divide into two basic types (Figure 25.9):
– (a) external cylindrical grinding and
– (b) internal cylindrical grinding
Centerless Grinding
■ Centerless grinding is an alternative process for grinding external and internal
cylindrical surfaces.
■ As its name suggests, the workpiece is not held between centers.This results in a
reduction in work handling time; hence, centerless grinding is often used for high-
production work.
Creep Feed Grinding
■ A relatively new form of grinding is creep feed grinding, developed around 1958.
■ Creep feed grinding is performed at very high depths of cut and very low feed rates;
hence, the name creep feed.
■ The comparison with conventional surface grinding is illustrated in Figure 25.13
Other Grinding Operations

■ Jig grinders are grinding machines traditionally used to grind holes in hardened steel
parts to high accuracies.
■ Disk grinders are grinding machines with large abrasive disks mounted on either end of
a horizontal spindle as in Figure 25.14.
■ Abrasive belt grinding uses abrasive particles bonded to a flexible (cloth) belt. A
typical setup is illustrated in Figure 25.15.
25.2 RELATED ABRASIVE
PROCESSES
25.2.1 HONING
■ Honing is an abrasive process performed by a set of bonded abrasive sticks.
■ A common application is to finish the bores of internal combustion engines. Other
applications include bearings, hydraulic cylinders, and gun barrels.
■ Surface finishes of around 0.12 μm or slightly better are typically achieved in these
applications.
■ In addition, honing produces a characteristic cross-hatched surface that tends to retain
lubrication during operation of the component, thus contributing to its function and
service life.
■ Honing enlarges and finishes the hole but cannot change its location.
■ Grit sizes in honing range between 30 and 600.
■ The same trade-off between better finish and faster material removal rates exists in
honing as in grinding.
25.2.2 LAPPING
■ Lapping is an abrasive process used to produce surface finishes of extreme accuracy and smoothness.
■ It is used in the production of optical lenses, metallic bearing surfaces, gages and other parts requiring
very good finishes.
■ Metal parts that are subject to fatigue loading or surfaces that must be used to establish a seal with a
mating part are often lapped.
■ Instead of a bonded abrasive tool, lapping uses a fluid suspension of very small abrasive particles
between the wor kpiece and the lapping tool. The process is illustrated in Figure 25.17 as applied in
lens-making.
■ The fluid with abrasives is referred to as the lapping compound and has the general appearance of a
chalky paste.
■ The fluids used to make the compound include oils and kerosene. Common abrasives are aluminum
oxide and silicon carbide with typical grit sizes between 300 and 600.
■ The lapping tool is called a lap, and it has the reverse of the desired shape of the work part.
■ To accomplish the process, the lap is pressed against the work and moved back and forth over the
surface in a figure-eight or other motion pattern, subjecting all portions of the surface to the same
action. Lapping is sometimes performed by hand, but lapping machines accomplish the process with
greater consistency and efficiency.
25.2.3 SUPERFINISHING
■ Superfinishing is an abrasive process similar to honing. Both processes use a bonded
abrasive stick moved with a reciprocating motion and pressed against the surface to be
finished.
■ Superfinishing differs from honing in the following respects : (1) the strokes are shorter, 5
mm (3/16 in); (2) higher frequencies are used, up to 1500 strokes per minute; (3) lower
pressures are applied between the tool and the surface, below 0.28 MPa (40 lb/in2); (4)
workpiece speeds are lower, 15 m/min (50 ft/min) or less; and (5) grit sizes are generally
smaller.
■ The relative motion between the abrasive stick and the work surface is varied so that
individual grains do not retrace the same path.
■ A cutting fluid is used to cool the work surface and wash away chips.
■ In addition, the fluid tends to separate the abrasive stick from the work surface after a certain
level of smoothness is achieved, thus preventing further cutting action.
■ The result of these operating conditions is mirror-like finishes with surface roughness values
around 0.025 mm (1 μ-in).
■ Superfinishing can be used to finish flat and external cylindrical surfaces. The process is
25.2.4 POLISHING AND BUFFING
■ Polishing is used to remove scratches and burrs and to smooth rough surfaces by means
of abrasive grains attached to a polishing wheel rotating at high speed—around 2300
m/min (7500 ft/min).
■ The wheels are made of canvas, leather, felt, and even paper; thus, the wheels are
somewhat flexible.
■ The abrasive grains are glued to the outside periphery of the wheel.
■ After the abrasives have been worn down and used up, the wheel is replenished with
new grits.
■ Grit sizes of 20 to 80 are used for rough polishing, 90 to 120 for finish polishing, and
above 120 for fine finishing.
■ Polishing operations are often accomplished manually.
■ Buffing is similar to polishing in appearance, but its function is different.
■ Buffing is used to provide attractive surfaces with high luster. Buffing wheels are made
of materials similar to those used for polishing wheels—leather, felt, cotton, etc.—but
buffing wheels are generally softer.
■ The abrasives are very fine and are contained in a buffing compound that is pressed into
the outside surface of the wheel while it rotates.
■ This contrasts with polishing in which the abrasive grits are glued to the wheel surface.
■ As in polishing, the abrasive particles must be periodically replenished.
■ Buffing is usually done manually, although machines have been designed to perform the
process automatically.
■ Speeds are generally 2400 to 5200 m/min (8000 to 17,000 ft/min).