Unit 6

Grinding and Finishing processes

Syllabus
❑ Grinding
Grinding wheels, wheel marking, wheel selection,
wheel mounting and types of grinding
machines.
❑ Super Finishing Processes
Honing, lapping, super finishing, buffing and
burnishing processes.
 Grinding
• Grinding is not only a finishing process but also a major
material removal process
• Cutting action by an abrasive grain
• Rake angle of single grain is usually negative and shear angle
is low
Generally, the grain cutting
Grain
-γne edges are exposed to the work
rake
Chip Vt
surface in such way that they
cut at extremely high negative
Low shear angle
Vw rake angle. Triangular and thin
Workpiece
cross-section chips are generally
Figure 1 Single grain in grinding process
formed in grinding.
 Grinding Machines
Grinding Machines are also regarded as machine tools. A
distinguishing
feature of grinding machines is the rotating abrasive tool. Grinding
machine is employed to obtain high accuracy along with very high
class
of surface finish on the workpiece.

Grinding machines can be broadly classified as:

(a) Surface grinding machine
(b) Cylindrical grinding machine
(c) Internal grinding machine
(d) Tool and cutter grinding machine
 Surface Grinding Machine
This machine may be similar to a milling machine used mainly to grind flat surface.
However, some types of surface grinders are also capable of producing contour
surface with formed grinding wheel.

Basically there are four different types of surface grinding machines characterised by
the movement of their tables and the orientation of grinding wheel spindles as
follows:

• Horizontal spindle and reciprocating table

• Vertical spindle and reciprocating table
• Horizontal spindle and rotary table
• Vertical spindle and rotary table
 Surface Grinding Machines
Horizontal spindle and
reciprocating table

Vertical spindle and reciprocating table

Horizontal spindle and rotary table
Vertical spindle and rotary table
 Cylindrical grinding machine
This machine is used to produce external cylindrical
surface. The surfaces may be straight, tapered, steps
or profiled. Broadly there are three different types
of cylindrical grinding machine as follows:
1. Plain centre type cylindrical grinder
2. Universal cylindrical surface grinder
3. Centreless cylindrical surface grinder
Plain centre type cylindrical grinder
 External centre-less grinder
This grinding machine is a production machine in which out side
diameter of the workpiece is ground. The workpiece is not held
between centres but by a work support blade. It is rotated by means
of a regulating wheel and ground by the grinding wheel.
 Tool and cutter grinder machine
Simple single point tools are occasionally sharpened by hand on bench or pedestal
grinder. However, tools and cutters with complex geometry like milling cutter, drills,
reamers and hobs require sophisticated grinding machine commonly known as
universal tool and cutter grinder.
Types of Grinding
Wheels
 Straight Wheel

These are generally used for cylindrical, internal, centre-less

and surface grinding operations. These wheels vary in size,
diameter and width of the face.
 It is also a straight wheel but its
free is slightly tapered to facilitate
the grinding of threads an gear
teeth.

Type 5. It is used for surface grinding, i.e. production of flat

surfaces. Grinding takes place with the help of face of the wheel.

Type 6. It is used for grinding flat surfaces with the help of face of
grinding wheel.
Type 7 used in grinding of tools in tool room.

Type 8. It is used for sharpening of circular or band saw.

Type 9. These are normally on vertical spindle, rotary type
and reciprocating type surface grinders

Type 10. It is also used for grinding of tools in tool room. It is

capable to grind very narrow places due to its thinners.
Designation and selection of Grinding wheel
1 2 6
3 4 5
Type of Nature of Nature of
Grain size Grade Structure
abrasives abrasives bond

•Coarse
Optional (10-24)
B: Resinoid
manufacturer' •Medium
• A-Al2O3 •A-H:Soft •1-4:Dense E: Shellac
s code no. to (30-60)
•C- SiC •J-P:Medium •5-8:Normal S: Silicate
indicate exact •Fine
•D- diamond •Q-Z:Hard •9-16:Open V: Vitrified
type of (70-80)
M:Metallic
abrasive •Very fine
( 220-600)

For example :

49 A 36 M 7 V
Generally abrasive properties like hardness, toughness and
resistance to fracture uniformly are important. Abrasives are
classified into two principal groups :
(a) Natural abrasives, and
(b) Artificial abrasives.
Natural Abrasives
sand stone (solid quartz) These are relatively soft. These cannot be
used for grinding of hard material and at faster speed.

Emery is a natural aluminium oxide containing 55 to 65% alumina, rest

are iron oxide and impurities.
Corundum : If percentage of aluminium oxide is more, ranging from
75 to 95% then it is called corundum.
Diamond is not recommended to use as abrasive due to its cost in
effectiveness.
 Artificial Abrasives
Silicon Carbide
It is also called carbornudum. It is manufactured from 56 parts of
silica sand, 34 parts of powdered cake, 2 pats of salt, 12 parts of
saw dust in a long rectangular electric furnace of resistance type

There are two types of silicon carbide abrasive,

green grit with approximately 97% silicon carbide
black grit with approximately 95% silicon carbide.
It is less harder than diamond and less tough than aluminium
oxide.
It is used for grinding of material of low tensile strength
like cemented carbide, stone and ceramic, gray cast iron, brass,
bronze, aluminium vulcanized rubber, etc.
Aluminium Oxide

It is prepared by heating mineral bauxite, a hydrated aluminum oxide

clay containing silica, iron oxide, titanium oxide mixed with ground
coke and iron borings in a arc type electric furnace.

preferred for grinding of materials of higher tensile strengths like

steel; high carbon and high speed steel and tough bronze
 Grain size
Grits: The grain or grit number indicates in a general way the size of the abrasive
grains used in making a wheel, or the size of the cutting teeth, since grinding is a true
cutting operation.

Grain size is denoted by a number indicating the number of meshes per liner inch
(25.4 mm) of the screen through which the grains pass when they are graded after
crushing.

The following list ranging from very coarse to very fine includes all the ordinary grain
sizes commonly used in the manufacture of grinding wheels.

Coarse 10 12 14 16 20 24 -

Medium 30 36 46 54 60 - -

Fine 80 100 120 150 180 - -

Very Fine 220 240 280 320 400 500 600

Grade: The term "grade" as applied to a grinding wheel
refers to the tenacity or hardness with which the bond
holds the cutting points or abrasive grains in place. It
does not refer to the hardness of the abrasive grain.
The grade shall be indicated in all bonds and processes by
a letter of the English alphabet.
A denoting the softest and the letter Z denoting the
hardest grade. The term "soft" or "hard" refer to the
resistance a bond offers to disruption of the abrasives. A
wheel from which the abrasive grains can easily be
dislodged is called soft whereas the one which holds the
grains more securely is called hard.
The grades are denoted below.
Structure: Abrasive grains are not packed tightly in the
wheel but are disturbed through the bond.
The relative spacing is referred to as the structure and
denoted by the number of cutting edges per unit area of
wheel face as well as by number and size of void spaces
between grains.

The primary purpose of structure is to provide clearance

of chip and it may be open or dense.

The structure commonly used is denoted by numbers as

follows.
Bonds
A bond is an adhesive material used to held abrasive particals together; relatively stable
that constitute a grinding wheel. Different types of bonds are :
(a) Vitrified bond,
(b) Silicate bond,
(c) Shellac bond,
(d) Resinoid bond,
(e) Rubber bond, and
(f) Oxychloride bond.
Vitrified Bond
This bond consists of mixture of clay and water. Clay and abrasives are
thoroughly mixed with water to make a uniform mixture. The mixture is moulded
to shape of a grinding wheel and dried up to take it out from mould. Perfectly
shaped wheel is heated in a kiln just like brick making. It this way clay vitrifies
and fuses to form a porcelain or glass grains. High temperature also does
annealing of abrasive. This wheel posses a good strength and porosity to allow
high stock removal with coal cutting. Disadvantage of this type of wheel are, it is
sensitive for heat, water, oil and acids. Their impact and bending strengths are also low.
This bond is denoted by symbol ‘V’ in specification.
Silicate Bond
Silicate bonds are made by mixing abrasive particals with silicate and soda or water glass. It is
moulded to required shape, allowed to dried up and then taken out of mould. The raw
moulded wheel is baked in a furnace at more than 200oC for several days. These wheel
exhibits water proofing properly so these can be used with coolant. These wheels are
denoted by ‘S’ in specification.

Shellac Bond
These are prepared by mixing abrasive with shellac than moulded by rolling and pressing and
then by heating upto 150oC for several hours. This bond exhibit greater elasticity than other
bonds with appreciable strength. Grinding wheels having shellac bond are recommended for
cool cutting on hardened steel and thin sections, finishing of chilled iron, cast iron, steel rolls,
hardened steel cams and aluminium pistons. This bond is denoted by ‘E’ in specifications

Resinoid Bond
These bonds are prepared by mixing abrasives with synthetic resins like backeliteand
redmanol and other compounds. Mixture is moulded to required shape andbaked upto 200oC
to give a perfect grinding wheel. These wheels have good grinding capacity at higher speed.
These are used for precision grinding of cams, rolls and other objects where high precision of
surface and dimension influence the performance of operation. A resinoid bond is denoted by
the letter ‘B’.
Rubber Bond
Rubber bonded wheels are made by mixing abrasives with pure rubber and
sulpher. After that the mixture is rolled into sheet and wheels are prepared by
punching using die and punch. The wheels are vulcanized by heating then in
furnace for short time. Rubber bonded wheels are more resilient and have larger
abrasive density. These are used for precision grinding and good surface finish.
Rubber bond is also preferred for making thin wheels with good strength and
toughness. The associated disadvantage with rubber bond is, these are lesser heat
resistant. A rubber wheel bonded wheel is denoted by the letter ‘R’.
Oxychloride Bond
These bonds are processed by mixing abrasives with oxides and chlorides of
magnesium. The mixture is moulded and baked in a furnace to give shape of a
grinding wheel. These grinding wheels are used for disc grinding operations. An
oxychloride bonded wheel is specified the letter ‘O’.
 Selection of Grinding Wheel
1.Type of metal on which grinding is required

Abrasive

Metal of low tensile strength – Silicone carbide

Metal of high tensile strength- Aluminium oxide
Grain Size

Low cut /Better surface finish – fine grain

Rough cut/ deep cut- Coarse / Medium
grain
• Grade
Soft metals- High grade
Hard metals – Low grade
• Structure
Soft metals- open structure
Hard metals – Dense structure
• Bond
high cut – vitrified bond
High finish – shellac bond
parting – resinoid / Rubber
2.Amount of metal to be removed
High cut – Rough / coarse – medium Grain
Low cut – Fine grain/ Dense structure

3. Accuracy of size & finish

- On grain size/bond
- Rough cut / low finish – coarse grain/ vitrified
bond
- High finish – Resonoid / shellac / Rubber bond
4.Area of contact
Greater area – Soft Grade
Smaller area – High grade / Soft grade

5. Types of machine
Heavy Machine – Low vibration – Soft wheel
Small machine – hard wheel
6. Speed of wheel
200m/s or lesser – vitrified bond
Higher speed – resinoid bond
MOUNTING OF GRINDING WHEELS
 Procedure
1. All wheels should be closely inspected just before mounting to make sure that
they have not been damaged in transit, storage, or otherwise. The wheel must
first be subjected to the ringing test. For this purpose, the grinding wheel is put
on an arbor while it is subjected to slight hammer blows. A clear, ringing,
vibrating sound must be heard. If a grinding wheel contains fine cracks,
discordant sound that fail to vibrate will be emitted. This test is applicable to
vitrified and silicate wheels. Shellac, resinoid or rubber loaded wheels will not
ring distinctly.
2. The abrasive wheels should have an easy fit on their spindles or locating spigots.
They should not be forced on.
3. The hole of grinding wheels mostly is lined with lead. The lead liner bushes
should not project beyond the side of wheels.
4. There must be a flange on each side of the wheel. The mounting flanges must be
large enough to hold the wheel properly, at least the flange diameter must be
equal to the half of the grinding wheel diameter. Both the flanges should be of
the same diameter, other-wise the wheel is under a bending stress which is liable
to cause fracture.
5. The sides of the wheel and the flanges which clamp them should be flat and bear
evenly all round
6. All flanges must be relieved in the center so that the flanges contact the wheel
only with the annular clamping area. If they are not properly relieved, the
pressure of the flanges is concentrated on the sides of the wheel near the hole, a
condition which should be avoided.
7. Washers of compressible materials such as card board, leather, rubber, etc. not
over 1.5 mm thick should be fitted between the wheel and its flanges. In this way
any unevenness of the wheel surface is balanced and a tight joint is obtained. The
diameter of washers may be normally equal to the diameter of the flanges.
8. The inner fixed flange should be keyed or otherwise fastened to the spindle,
whereas the outer flange should have an easy sliding fit on the spindle so that it
can adjust itself slightly to give a uniform bearing on the wheel and the
compressible washers.
9. The nut should be tightened to hold the wheel firmly. Undue tightness is
unnecessary and undesirable as excessive clamping strain is liable to damage the
wheel.
10. The wheel guard should be placed and tightened before the machine is started
for work.
 Part B
Super finishing Processes

Lapping
Buffing
Honing
Burnishing
 Lapping

Schematics of lapping
process showing the lap and
the cutting action of
suspended abrasive particles.

➢ In lapping, instead of a bonded abrasive tool, oil-based fluid suspension of very small free
abrasive grains (aluminum oxide and silicon carbide, with typical grit sizes between 300 and 600)
called a lapping compound is applied between the work piece and the lapping tool.

➢ The lapping tool is called a lap, which is made of soft materials like copper, lead or wood. The lap
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.

➢ Lapping is sometimes performed by hand, but lapping machines accomplish the process with
greater consistency and efficiency.
 Lapping
➢ Lapping is regarded as the oldest method of obtaining a fine
finish. Lapping is basically an abrasive process in which loose
abrasives function as cutting points finding momentary support
from the laps. Material removal in lapping usually ranges from
.003 to .03 mm but many reach 0.08 to 0.1mm in certain cases.
➢ The cutting mechanism in lapping is that the abrasives become
embedded in the lap surface, and the cutting action is very similar
to grinding, but a concurrent cutting action of the free abrasive
particles in the fluid cannot be excluded.
➢ Lapping is used to produce optical lenses, metallic bearing
surfaces, gages, and other parts requiring very good finishes and
extreme accuracy.
 Characteristics of lapping process:

➢ Use of loose abrasive between lap and the work piece

➢ Usually lap and work piece are not positively driven but are
guided in contact with each other

➢ Relative motion between the lap and the work should change
continuously so that path of the abrasive grains of the lap is not
repeated on the work piece.
 Lapping

Figure (a) Schematic illustration of the lapping process. (b) Production lapping on
flat surfaces.(c) Production lapping on cylindrical surfaces.
 Lapping
• Abrasives of lapping
– Al2O3 and SiC, grain size 5~100μm
– Cr2O3, grain size 1~2 μm
– B4C3, grain size 5-60 μm
– Diamond, grain size 0.5~5 V

• Lubricating materials of lapping

– Machine oil
– Rape oil
– grease

• Technical parameters affecting lapping processes are

– unit pressure
– the grain size of abrasive
– concentration of abrasive in the vehicle
– lapping speed
 Buffing

➢ Buffing is a finishing operation similar to polishing, in which abrasive grains are not
glued to the wheel but are contained in a buffing compound that is pressed into the
outside surface of the buffing wheel while it rotates. As in polishing, the abrasive
particles must be periodically replenished.
➢ As in polishing, buffing is usually done manually, although machines have been
designed to perform the process automatically.
➢ Buffing wheels are made of discs of linen, cotton, broad cloth and canvas
 Honing

Honing tool
➢ Honing is a finishing process, in which a tool called hone carries out a combined rotary and
reciprocating motion while the work piece does not perform any working motion. Most
honing is done on internal cylindrical surface, such as automobile cylindrical walls.
➢ The honing stones are held against the work piece with controlled light pressure. The
honing head is not guided externally but, instead, floats in the hole, being guided by the
work surface
➢ It is desired that
▪ honing stones should not leave the work surface
▪ stroke length must cover the entire work length.
 Honing
• Honing is a finishing process performed by a
honing tool, which contains a set of three to a
dozen and more bonded abrasive sticks. The
sticks are equally spaced about the periphery of
the honing tool. They are held against the work
surface with controlled light pressure, usually
exercised by small springs.
• The honing tool is given a complex rotational
and oscillatory axial motion, which combine to
produce a crosshatched lay pattern of very low
surface roughness
Honing
 Honing
• Stone

– Al2O3 or SiC bonded abrasives

• The critical process parameters are:

– Rotation speed

– Oscillation speed

– Length and position of the stroke

– Honing stick pressure

• Parameters that affect material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (R) are:

– Unit pressure, p

– Peripheral honing speed, Vc

– Honing time, T
 Burnishing

➢ Cold-working process that sizes, finishes and work

hardens internal and external metal surfaces of pressure
contact of hardened tools.
➢ Process displaces peaks and valleys of irregular height
➢ Burnishing tool incorporates planetary system of
tapered rolls evenly spaced by retaining cage
 Burnishing Process
• Hardened mandrel forces burnishing tool against
surface of part
– Mandrel tapered inversely to taper of rolls
• Tool is adjusted slightly larger than part
• Slight pressure created when tool passes through
part
– Exceeds yield point of softer part surface
• Results in mirror like, tough, wear and corrosion-
resistant surface
END