Effects of Various Helically Angled Grinding Wheels on The Surface Roughness and Roundness in Grinding Cylindrical Surfaces

Abstract

Grinding is generally used in the final step of machining metallic materials to achieve the necessary surface quality and dimensions. Grinding wheels with flat surfaces are commonly used in the process of grinding. However, due to the fact that there is a great deal of contact length (corresponding to the grinding-wheel width) between the grinding wheel and the workpiece, effective cooling during the grinding process may not be possible and, consequently, the heat in the deformation region is increased. Due to these reasons, some undesired results such as an unqualified surface and a roundness error take place. Various profiles of the grinding wheel were, therefore, proposed to improve the surface quality and decrease the roundness error by modifying the grinding wheel and developing various methods. In this study, AISI 1050, AISI 4140 and AISI 7131 steel materials were subjected to the cylindrical-grinding process using wheels helically grooved at 15 degrees, 30 degrees and 45 degrees and the obtained results such as the average surface roughness and roundness errors were compared with the results of the flat-surface grinding wheels. The experimental results show that the surface roughness and roundness error are reduced when using a helically grooved grinding wheel and, thus, the quality of the machined parts is improved.