MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY -2

BATCH-3

GRINDING WHEEL
1. What is a grinding wheel A grinding wheel is a cutting tool having thousands of sharp abrasive grains on the face of it, which do the cutting action. It is used to remove material from a work piece in an abrasive action. Each grain acts as a cutting tool. It is only self-sharpening cutting tool.

COMPONENTS OF GRINDING WHEEL

Abrasive grains -which do the cutting action. Bond -which holds the abrasive grains when they do the cutting action and release the grains when they become dull or blunt. Structure -the void between adjacent grains to provide chip clearance RAW

4. Bonded AbrasivesTYPE OF BONDSYMBOL CHARACTERISTICS / SUITABLITY Resinoid B Made fromphenolictype plastic or resins,resinoidwheels are tougher and are less rigid than vitrified wheels, making them ideal for high operating speeds/heavy duty operations. Oxychloride OXY Magnesium oxychloride is used as a bond in very limited wheels, especially for its cool cutting property even without any coolant. Shellac Made of both natural and synthetic shellacs, wheels made from this bond have exceptionally cool cutting properties and well suited for grinding soft materials.

 E Rubber Made of both natural and synthetic

rubbers, it is used mainly incentrelessand control wheels for applications demanding high precision and fine surface finish. R Vitrified Made from glass, clay, feldspar under heat fusion. Wheels using this bond have a porous structure withhigh elasticity, making it suitable for high stock removal and precision grinding applications.

 Grains
Aluminum Oxide White. Aluminum Oxide Pink. Aluminum Oxide Brown. Silicon Carbide Green. Silicon Carbide Black. Aluminum Zirconia

ALUMINUM OXIDE
It is the primary metal grinding and cutting grain because of its toughness and durability. Works well with most ferrous metals and stainless steels. Most of the depressed center wheels are made out of Aluminum Oxide.

White Aluminum Oxide

Brown Aluminum Oxide

Silicon Carbide
It is the primary masonry and non-ferrous cutting and grinding. It is sharper than Aluminum Oxide but is more brittle. All concrete and masonry cutting wheels are made of silicon carbide. It is also used to cut or grind non-ferrous metals like aluminum and C.I. materials.

Black Silicon Carbide

Wheel Hardness
Wheel hardness is the term that refers to how tightly the resin material holds on to the grain particles. A hard Bond is one that is very strong, and does not release thegrain quickly, thereby providing longer wheel life. A soft bond is one that releases the grain quickly to expose newgrain particles to the work piece. Hard Wheel lasts longer but may not cut faster (they are used to grind/cut soft materials) Soft Wheel cuts faster and smoother but does not last long. (they are used to grind/cut hard materials) Selection of the wheel hardness is directly related to power of the tool. Low powered tools need soft wheels while high powered tools require harder bonds.

Types of Wheels
Cylindrical grinding wheels. Centerlessgrinding wheels. Off hand grinding wheels. Surface grinding wheels. Internal grinding wheels. Tool room grinding wheels. Dressing / honing sticks. F-type grinding wheels. Flute grinding wheels. Control / regulating wheels.

Shapes of Wheels
Plain / straight wheels Cylindrical wheels Wheels with recess Straight cup wheels Tapper cup wheels Dish wheels C' face wheels Depressed centre wheels Cut -off wheels F' type wheels Wheels with special shapes

Wheel speed
The speed at which the grinding wheel is to be operated often dictates the type of bond. Vitrified Bonded wheels should not be used at peripheral speeds over 33 meters per second except for specially designed wheels. Standard organic bonded wheels (resinoid,rubber and shellac) are used in most applications of over 35 meters upto 45 meters per second, and specially designed wheels for speeds upto 80 meters per second. The speed at which a grinding wheel revolves is important. Too slow a speed means wastage of abrasive without much useful work achieved , where as an excessive speed may result in a hard grinding action and may introduce the danger of breakage. Hence the safe operating speed marked on the wheel or blotter, in revolutions per minute must never be exceeded.

Straight wheel
To the right is an image of a straight wheel. These are by far the most common style of wheel and can be found on bench or pedestal grinders. They are used on the periphery only and therefore produce a slightly concave surface (hollow ground) on the part. This can be used to advantage on many tools such as chisels. Straight Wheels are generally used for cylindrical, centreless, and surface grinding operations. Wheels of this form vary greatly in size, the diameter and width of face naturally depending upon the class of work for which is used and the size and power of the grinding machine.

Cylinder or wheel ring

Cylinder wheels provide a long, wide surface with no center mounting support (hollow). They can be very large, up to 12" in width. They are used only in vertical or horizontal spindle grinders. Cylinder or wheel ring is used for producing flat surfaces, the grinding being done with the end face of the wheel. Tapered wheel A straight wheel that tapers outward towards the center of the wheel. This arrangement is stronger than straight wheels and can accept higher lateral loads. Tapered face straight wheel is primarily used for grinding thread, gear teeth etc

Straight cup Straight cup wheels are an alternative to cup wheels in tool and cutter grinders, where having an additional radial grinding surface is beneficial. Dish cup A very shallow cup-style grinding wheel. The thinness allows grinding in slots and crevices. It is used primarily in cutter grinding and jig grinding. Saucer wheel A special grinding profile that is used to grind milling cutters and twist drills. It is most common in non-machining areas, as sawfilers use saucer wheels in the maintenance of saw blade. Diamond wheel Diamond wheels are grinding wheels with industrial diamonds bonded to the periphery. They are used for grinding extremely hard materials such as carbide cutting tips, gemstones or concrete. The saw pictured to the right is a slitting saw and is designed for slicing hard materials, typically gemstones.

Cut off wheels

Cut off wheels, also known as parting wheels, are selfsharpening wheels that are thin in width and often have radial fibres reinforcing them. They are often used in the construction industry for cutting reinforcement bars (rebar), protruding bolts or anything that needs quick removal or trimming. Most handymen would recognise an angle grinder
and the discs they use.

MATERIAL TO BE GROUND AND ITS HARDNESS

Let us first consider the material to be ground, and its hardness which affects the choice of abrasive, grit-size and grade. Abrasive : Generally, Aluminium Oxide abrasives are well suited for steels and ferrous metals, while Silicon Carbide abrasives are ideal for grinding cast iron, non-ferrous metals and non-metallic materials. Grit Size : A relatively fine grit-size works best on hard and brittle material. A coarser grit capable of taking heavier cuts can be used advantageously on soft and ductile materials

Industrial Applications
Bearing industries. Automobile -such as pistons , piston rings, gudgeon pins, crank shaft , and cam shaft. Defenceunits Foundries and steel plants. Machine tool / cutting tool manufacturers. Razor blade industries. Coal fields. Railways. Surgical needle manufacturers. Cycle manufacturers.