The nature of wheel-workpiece contact in surface grinding

A model of the surface grinding operation is proposed in which the leading section of the working face of the wheel is considered to be primarily responsible for the removal of workpiece material. A subsequent section, the “rubbing width”, acts only to influence the workpiece surface finish and a final trailing section takes no part in the grinding process. This model is examined experimentally using a split-workpiece dynamometer to determine the variation in grinding force across the wheel face and a thermocouple device to indicate the extent of the contact between the wheel and the workpiece. These two techniques are found to be operable, the former perhaps yielding the more reliable results. The force distribution and the form of profile worn on the wheel are found to be in sympathy and the workpiece surface roughness is found to decrease as the rubbing width, that is the overall contact width minus a metal removal or cutting width, increases.