Effect of grinding parameters on surface quality in internal grinding of silicon nitride ceramics

Engineering ceramic has been widely used in various fields, especially in bearings, for its excellent characteristics, such as the outstanding tolerance to temperature and wear, good stiffness, high strength, and so on. Surface quality is vital for precision bearings. However, the machining of ceramic materials is difficult due to their high hardness and high brittleness. To investigate the effect of grinding parameters (grinding wheel speed, workpiece, and grinding depth) on the surface quality in internal grinding of Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) ceramics applied to bearing ring, an orthogonal experiment was carried out in this study. The surface roughness (SR), surface morphology, and subsurface damage of the ceramic material were analyzed based on a sequence of experimental results, respectively. Then, two prediction models on the SR in the internal grinding of Si3N4 ceramics were established combining the experimental results, internal grinding process, and empirical equation. This study provides a significant reference to obtain better surface quality in the internal grinding of ceramic material.