An experimental investigation of rotary diamond truing and dressing of vitreous bond wheels for ceramic grinding

Experiments of rotary diamond truing and dressing of vitreous bond grinding wheels were conducted to investigate the effects of feed, speed ratio, and overlap ratio on cylindrical grinding of zirconia. The applications of cer amic engine components with complex and precise form and the lack of techno logy for precision truing of diamond grinding wheels have driven the need t o study-the use of vitreous bond CBN and SiC wheels for form grinding of ce ramics. Truing and grinding forces and the roundness and surface finish of ground zirconia parts were measured. By varying truing process parameters, a wide range of surface finish and roundness could be achieved. Experimenta l results showed that wheels trued at speed ratio below -1.0 could grind pa rts with fine surface finish and good roundness. The analysis of truing and grinding results showed the trend of increasing grinding force at higher s pecific truing energy and better surface finish at higher grinding force. T he lack of speed control of the direct-drive, variable-speed truing spindle was observed and its effect on the reverse of direction of truing force at positive speed ratios was studied. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All righ ts reserved.