What Is Grinding Process

WHAT IS GRINDING?

The cutting tool is a grinding wheel or grinder in this abrasive machining method. Grinding is a metal-cutting operation, so grinding is a subset of cutting. The cement industry and mineral processing facilities grind frequently.

Workpieces that need high surface quality and accuracy in shape and dimension are finished with grinding. Grinding can be used in roughing applications to remove large amounts of metal quickly.

GRINDING PROCESS

The quality abrasives are used in the grinding process to remove material. One of the first production methods used by humans was material removal using abrasives. Micro-processing techniques include grinding. In grinding, pressure is applied between the workpiece's processed surface and an abrasive (a free abrasive) to create relative movement and remove the abrasive from the workpiece. Small raised layers on the surface to smooth out the surface and enhance geometric and dimensional accuracy, etc.

A variety of metal and non-metal materials can be ground. Flat surfaces, inner and outer cylindrical and conical surfaces, convex and concave spherical surfaces, threaded surfaces, tooth surfaces, and other profiles are among the surfaces that are treated. Precision die-casting molds, plastic molds, and vehicle panel molds—all of which demand a high level of product aesthetic quality—are frequently utilized in in-mold manufacturing.

WHAT IS THE OPERATION OF A GRINDING MACHINE?

• The grinder tool's grinding surface receives a uniform abrasive coating during grinding. The abrasive features sharp edges and corners that can cut the workpiece when it moves under pressure with the grinding tool. This is if the grinding tool's material hardness is lower than the workpiece's. High-hardness particles may push into the lap's surface to cause cutting action (plastic deformation). In contrast, others may roll or slide between the machining tool and the workpiece's surface to cause slippage (elastic deformation). These specks, which resemble many cutting blades, exert a tiny amount of cutting action on the workpiece's surface. They uniformly remove a thin layer of metal from it. As the workpiece gradually attains high dimensional accuracy and low surface roughness, the passivated abrasive particles squeeze the peak points of the processed surface. This is under the influence of grinding pressure. This results in micro-extrusion plastic deformation on the processed surface.
• During grinding, abrasives like chromium oxide and stearic acid react with the workpiece's surface. This reaction produces a very thin oxide film that is easily removed. Numerous cycles of repetition during the grinding process continuously create and remove the oxide coating, smoothing out the treated surface.

WHAT TYPES OF GRINDING PROCESSES ARE THERE?

1. MANUAL GRINDING

The workpiece and the grinding machine are manually moved relative to one another. Operator skill level determines processing quality, and there is high labor intensity and low work efficiency. Suitable for a variety of metal and non-metal workpiece surfaces. On the mold-formed parts, localized narrow slots, deep holes, blind holes, and dead corners are still hand-ground.

2. SEMI-MECHANICAL GRINDING

The movement of one grinder machine and the workpiece is mechanical, whereas the other is manual. Although labor is not involved, operator abilities still influence processing quality. They are primarily employed for grinding inner and outer cylindrical, flat, and conical surfaces and are used frequently while grinding mold components.

3. MECHANICAL GRINDING

Both the workpiece and the machine are moved mechanically. Mechanical equipment ensures processing quality and productivity. However, it can only be used for grinding simple pieces with simple surface shapes.

CONDITIONS OF ABRASIVE USE

WET GRINDING

The abrasives are applied to the grinding tool surface during the grinding process. The grinding material rolls or slides between the machining tool and the workpiece to create a cutting effect on the workpiece's surface. Even with high processing efficiency, dry grinding still provides the best geometric shape, dimensional precision, and gloss. It is mostly used to rough-grind and semi-finish flat surfaces and cylindrical objects' inner and exterior surfaces.

DRY GRINDING

Sand embedding is the process of evenly pressing abrasive particles into the workpiece surface of the grinding before grinding. High dimensional precision and minimal surface roughness are obtained during the machining process. This is done by applying pressure to the grinding tool and the workpiece while moving according to a predetermined trajectory. Typically, no or very small lubricating abrasives are used during dry grinding. It is typically used for fine-grinding planes. However, it has low production efficiency.

SEMI-DRY GRINDING

Similar to wet grinding, paste grinding paste is used. Apply the grinding paste as soon as possible, considering the workpiece's processing accuracy and surface roughness demands. It is appropriate for both coarse and fine grinding of all workpiece types.

APPLICATIONS FOR GRINDING TECHNOLOGY

LOW SURFACE ROUGHNESS

Surface grinding is a type of micro-feed grinding, and the short-cutting depth is advantageous for lowering the workpiece's surface roughness value. Ra0.01 m is the maximum surface roughness the surface grinding equipment can process.

HIGH DEGREE OF PRECISION IN DIMENSIONS

The machine, grinding, and workpiece are all in an elastic floating working state when grinding since the process uses extremely fine micronized abrasives. The convex spots of the processed surface are repeatedly ground under low speed and low pressure, and the processing precision can reach 0. 1μm～0.01μm.

HIGH SHAPE PRECISION

In grinding a workpiece, the force is uniform, the movement is steady, and the accuracy of the movement has no bearing on the accuracy of the shape or location. The treated cylinder's cylinder can reach 0.1 micrometers.

To enhance the workpiece's surface's mechanical attributes, Surface grinding machines have low heat generated during grinding, small workpiece deformation, a thin metamorphic layer, and no surface microcracks. Additionally, it can increase wear and corrosion resistance while lowering the surface friction coefficient. The ground portion surface has residual compressive stress, which increases workpiece fatigue resistance