Systems approach for the ceramic thru-feed centerless grinding

An approach for simulation and production implementation of thru-feed cente rless grinding of transformation toughened:zirconia using vitreous bond dia mond grinding wheels is presented. A set of, grinding tests was designed an d conducted to identify the effects of abrasive product (diamond grit size) , work-material, and operational factors (stock removal, thru-feed rate, nu mber of thru-feed passes and truing and dressing methods) on grinding perfo rmance. Evaluation parameters of surface finish, grinding forces and G-rati o were utilized to determine machine tool features. Very-fine surface finis hes, in the order of 0.05 to 0.1 mu m R-a range, could be achieved using vi treous bond microgrit diamond wheels, without additional part processing. S uch a level of surface finish on ground ceramics has traditionally been gen erated only by using resinoid bonded diamond wheels. These test results wer e used to design and manufacture a full-size composite or sandwiched: diamo nd grinding wheel. This grinding wheel has been successfully applied in hig h-volume ceramic production, which in turn has verified the proposed approa ch. Lastly, the surface finish data is interpreted based on SEM and AFM obs ervations and materials properties.