Grinding machines :

A grinding machine is a power-operated machine tool where the workpiece is fed against a constantly rotating abrasive wheel to remove the thin layer of material from work.

Grinding Wheel :

• A grinding wheel is a multi-tooth cutter made up of many hard particles  known as abrasives which have  been crushed  to leave sharped edges for machining 

• Every grinding wheel has two constituents:

• Abrasive used for cutting

• Bond that holds the abrasive materials 

Functions of Grinding Wheel :

• Removal of stock

• Generation of flat, curved and cylindrical surfaces 

• Production of highly finished surfaces

• Cutting off operations

• Production of sharp edges and points 

Principle of the grinding process:

• The workpiece is fed against the rotating abrasive wheel.

•Due to the action of rubbing or friction between the abrasive particles and workpiece material is removed.

Purpose of grinding:

•Grinding is a surface finishing operation where a very thin layer of material is removed in the form of dust particles.

• The thickness of the material removed is in the range of 0.25 to 0.50 mm.

• The tool used is an abrasive wheel.

Grinding process :

Grinding is an abrasive machining process that uses a grinding wheel as the cutting tool.

Abrasives :

• Abrasive is the material employed for sharpening, grinding and polishing operations.​
• Natural abrasive – emery, corundum, quartz, sandstone, diamond, etc.​
• Artificial abrasive – carborundum, aloxite, alundum, etc.​

​​Applications of abrasives:

Corundum : 

• It is a natural mineral consisting of aluminium oxide. Hardest natural substance after diamond. ​
• Used for shaping, finishing and polishing other tools.

Emery :​

• natural abrasive consisting of aluminium oxide and a small amount of iron oxide.​

Silicon carbide : 

• Synthetic abrasive is harder than aluminium oxide.​
• Used to grind metals like iron, brass and soft bronze.​
• Used in non-metals like wood and leather industries.

Zirconia aluminia :

• It is a mixture of zirconium oxide and aluminium oxide.
• Used in casting and foundry industries.

Cubic boron nitride : 

• It is made up of boron nitride with a cubic crystalline structure. 
• Used for hard coating material. 

Diamond : 

• Industrial diamonds are used in grinding wheels as an abrasive material. These diamonds are specifically processed for industrial applications, rather than for jewellery.

Thanks for reading!