MANUFACTURING PROCESS

5.0 ABRASIVE MACHINING & FINISHING OPERATIONS

INTRODUCTION
The use of abrasives to shape parts is probably the oldest material removal process. Abrasive cutting processes are primarily utilized as postmachining operations for improving surface quality in terms of reducing roughness. Abrasive machining involves material removal by the action of hard, abrasive particles that are usually in the form of a bonded wheel. Grinding is the most important of the abrasive processes. Other abrasive processes include honing, lapping, superfinishing, polishing and buffing.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this course the student will be able to: Name the types of abrasives used in manufacturing Explain the purpose and types of bonding for abrasive Describe the operations and machines in grinding processes State and explain several finishing operations

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this course the student has the ability to: Differentiate the characteristics of various abrasive machining and finishing processes

BKT

DCP4062

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

5.1

INTRODUCTION
One of the best methods to have a part with good surface finish and fine dimensional accuracy requirements is by abrasive machining. An abrasive is a small, non-metallic hard particle having sharp edges and irregular shape which capable of removing small amounts of material from a surface through a cutting process that produces tiny chips. Abrasives are also use to hone, lap, and buff and polish workpieces. Because they are hard, abrasives are also used in finishing processes for very hard or heat-treated parts such as shaping hard non-metallic materials, such as ceramics and glasses; removing unwanted weld beads and spatter; cutting off lengths of bars; structural shapes, masonry, and concrete; and cleaning surfaces with jets of air or water containing abrasive particles.

5.2

ABRASIVES
The common abrasives used in manufacturing processes are: Conventional abrasives Aluminium oxide (Al2O3) Silicon carbide (SiC)

Super abrasives Cubic boron nitride (CBN) Diamond

In addition to hardness, an important characteristic for abrasive is friability. Friability is the ability of abrasive grains to fracture into smaller pieces. This property gives abrasives their self-sharpening characteristics, which are crucial in maintaining the sharpness of the abrasives during use. High friability will break the abrasive grains easily, for example, silicon carbide has higher friability than aluminium oxide. Friability is also affected by the shape and size of the abrasive grain. The abrasives found in nature are emery, corundum (alumina), quartz, garnet, and diamond. Due to unknown amounts of impurities and posses no uniform properties the nature abrasive performance is inconsistent and unreliable. Therefore, now, abrasives

BKT

DCP4062

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

are now made synthetically. For example, the first synthetic aluminium oxide is made in 1893, is obtained by fusing bauxite, iron filings, and coke. As used in manufacturing processes, abrasives are generally very small compared to the size of cutting tools and inserts. Abrasive have sharp edges, allowing the removal of very small quantities of material from the workpiece surface which results in very fine surface finish and dimensional accuracy can be obtained. The size of abrasive grain is identified by grit number, which is a function of sieve size; the smaller the grain size, the larger the grit number. For example, number 10 is regarded as very coarse, 100 as fine, and 500 as very fine.

5.3

BONDED ABRASIVE (GRINDING WHEEL)

The bonding process is performed to join the abrasives into a usable form. High bonding strength is necessary for structure and safety because grinding operations are accomplished at high speeds and wheels are dense. The common bond types for bonded abrasives are: vitrified resinoid rubber metal bonds

Vitrified, essentially a glass is also called a ceramic bond. It is the most common and widely used bond. It consists of crystalline mineral and clays. A temperature of about 1250C is used to fuse the glass and develop structural strength. Wheels with vitrified bonds are strong, stiff, porous, and resistant to oils, acids, and water. They are brittle and lack resistance to mechanical and thermal shock. Resinoid bonding materials are thermosetting resins. The basic manufacturing technique consists of mixing the abrasive with liquid or powdered phenolic resins and additives, pressing the mixture into the shape of grinding wheel and curing it at temperatures of about 175C. Because the elastic modulus of thermosetting resins is lower than that of glasses, resonoid wheels are more flexible than vitrified wheels. Rubber is the most flexible bond used in abrasive wheels. The manufacturing process consists of mixing crude rubber, sulphur, and the abrasive grains together, rolling the

BKT

DCP4062

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

mixture into sheets, cutting out circles, and heating them under pressure to vulcanize the rubber. Metal bonds are manufactured using powder-metallurgy techniques. The abrasive grains are bonded to the periphery of a metal wheel to depths of 6 mm or less. Metal bonding is carried out under high pressure and temperature. The wheel is made from of aluminium, bronze, steel, ceramics, or composite materials, depending on the wheel requirements, such as strength, stiffness, and dimensional stability. Selection of a grinding wheel for a definite purpose is important. Many factors complicate the choice among variety of wheels. There are: Size and shape of wheel Kind of abrasive Grain size of abrasive particles Grade or strength of bond Structure of grain spacing Kind of bond material

Common type of grinding wheels made with conventional abrasives. Note that each wheel has a specific grinding face; grinding on other surface is improper and unsafe.

BKT

DCP4062

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

A standard system of marking grinding wheels, adopted by the American National Standard Institute, is shown in the accompanying chart.

Standard marking system chart

5.4

GRINDING WHEEL WEAR

Grinding wheel wear is an important consideration because it adversely affects the shape and dimensional accuracy of ground surfaces, as does wear on cutting tools. Grinding wear is caused by three different mechanisms. They are: Attritious grain wear Grain fracture Bond fracture

In attritious grain wear, the cutting edges of an originally sharp grain become dull by attritious, developing a wear flat that is similar to flank wear in cutting tools. Wear is caused by the interaction of the grain with the workpiece material, involving both physical and chemical reactions. The selection of the type of the abrasive for low attritious wear is based on the reactivity of the grain with the workpiece and on their relative mechanical properties, such as hardness and toughness.

BKT

DCP4062

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

For grain fracture, the grain becomes dull and grinding becomes inefficient and produces undesirably high temperatures. Optimally, the grain should fracture or fragment at a moderate rate, so that new sharp cutting edges are produce continuously during grinding. The selection of grain type and size for a particular application also depends on the attritious wear rate. A grain-workpiece material combination with high attritious wear and low grain friability dulls grains and develops a large wear flat. Grinding then becomes inefficient, and surface damage is likely to occur. The strength of the bond (grade) is a significant parameter in grinding. If the bond is too strong, dull grains cannot be dislodged. This prevents other sharp grains along the circumference of the grinding wheel from contacting the workpiece to remove chips, and the grinding process becomes inefficient. On the other hand, if the bond is too weak, the grains are easily dislodged and the wear rate of the wheel increases. In this case, maintaining dimensional accuracy becomes difficult. In general, softer bonds are recommended for harder materials, and for reducing residual stresses and thermal damage to the workpiece. Hard-grade wheels are used for softer materials and for removing large amounts of material at high rates. To obtain a good result in grinding, the wheel needs to be: Dressed Truing Shaping

Dressing is the process of producing sharp new edges on grains. Dressing is necessary when excessive attritious wear dulls the wheel, called glazing because of the shiny appearance of the wheel surface, or when the wheel becomes loaded. Loaded or loading is when the porosities on the grinding surfaces of the wheel become filled or clogged with chips. Three techniques are used to dress grinding wheels. First method is by using a special shaped diamond-point tool or diamond cluster is moved across the width of the grinding face of a rotating wheel and removes a small layer from the wheel surface with each pass. In the second dressing method, a set of star-shaped steel disks is manually pressed against the wheel. Material is removed from the wheel surface by crushing the grains. In the third method, abrasive sticks may be used to dress grinding wheels, particularly softer wheels. However, this technique is not appropriate for precision grinding operations.

BKT

DCP4062

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Truing is a dressing operation by which wheel is restored to its original shape; thus, a round wheel is dressed to make its circumference a true circle. Grinding wheels can be shaped to the form to be ground on the workpiece.

5.5

GRINDING PROCESS
Grinding is a chip-removal process that uses an individual abrasive grain as the cutting tool. The major differences between grain and single-point cutting tool actions are as follows: The individual abrasive grains have irregular shapes and are spaced randomly along the periphery of the wheel. The average rake angle of the grains is highly negative, such as -60 or even lower. Consequently, grinding chips undergo much larger deformation than they do in other cutting processes. The radial positions of the grains vary. Cutting speeds are very high, typically 30 m/s.

5.6

GRINDING OPERATIONS AND MACHINES

Grinding machines are designed principally to finish parts having cylindrical, flat, or internal surfaces. Machines designed for special functions such as tool grinding or cutting off are designated according to their operation.

5.6.1 CYLINDRICAL GRINDER

This machine is used primarily for grinding cylindrical surfaces, although tapered and simple formed surfaces may also be ground.

BKT

DCP4062

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

A 10 x 36 in (250 X 915 mm) plain cylindrical grinder

Methods of supporting work between centres and centerless type of cylindrical grinding.

BKT

DCP4062

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

5.6.2 INTERNAL GRINDERS

The work done on an internal grinder is diagrammatically shown below. Tapered holes or those having more than one diameter may be accurately finished in this manner.

Sizing to dimension by internal grinding

5.6.3 SURFACE GRINDING

Grinding flat or plane surfaces is known as surface grinding. Two types of surface grinding have been developed for this purpose: the planer type with a reciprocating table or having a rotating worktable. Each machine has the possible variation of a horizontal or vertical positioned grinding wheel spindle. The four possibilities of construction are illustrated below:

BKT

DCP4062

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Types of surface grinding machines.

BKT

10

DCP4062

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Horizontal spindle, reciprocating table surface grinder

Reciprocating table grinders is used for grinding gear faces, thrust washers, cylinder head surfaces, and other flat-surfaced parts.

5.6.4 TOOL AND CUTTER GRINDERS

In grinding tools by hand, a bench or pedestal type of grinder is used. The tool is hand held and moved across the face of the wheel continually to avoid excessive grinding in the spot. The type of grinding is used to a large extent for a single point tools. Quality results depend on the skill of the operator. For sharpening miscellaneous cutters a universal type grinder is used. It is equipped with a universal-head, vise, headstock and tailstock, attachments for holding tools and cutters.

BKT

11

DCP4062

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

5.7

FINISHING OPERATIONS
In addition to those described thus far, several processes are also used on workpieces as the final finishing operation. These processes mainly utilize fine abrasive grains. Finishing operations can contribute significantly to production time and product cost. Thus, they should be specified with due consideration to their costs and benefits.

5.7.1 COATED ABRASIVES

Examples of coated abrasives are sandpaper and emery cloth, with grains that are more pointed than those used for grinding wheels. Coated abrasives are made either from aluminium oxide, silicon carbide or zirconia alumina. Coated abrasives are available as sheets, belts, and disks. They are used extensively to finish flat or curved surfaces of metallic and non-metallic parts and metallographic specimens, and in woodworking. The precision of surface finished obtained depends primarily on grain size.

Belt grinding of turbine nozzle vanes

BKT

12

DCP4062

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

5.7.2 WIRE BRUSHING

In the wire brushing process, the workpiece is held against a circular wire brush that rotates at high speed. The speed ranges from 1750 rpm for large wheels to 3500 rpm for small wheels. The tips of the wire produce longitudinal scratches on the workpiece surface. This process is used to produce a fine surface texture. Some efforts are taking place to develop wire brushing as a light material-removal process.

5.7.3 HONING
Honing is an operation used primarily to give holes a fine surface finish. The honing tool consists of a set of aluminium-oxide or silicon carbide bonded abrasives, called stones. They are mounted on a mandrel that rotates in the hole, applying a radial force with a reciprocating axial motion; this action produces a cross-hatched pattern. The stones can be adjusted radially for different hole sizes. Honing is also done on external cylindrical or flat surfaces and to remove sharp edges on cutting tools and inserts.

Schematic illustration of a honing tool used to improve the surface finish of bored or ground holes.

BKT

13

DCP4062

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Schematic illustration of the superfinishing process for a cylindrical part. (a) Cylindrical microhoning (b) centreless microhoning

In another honing process, called superfinishing, the pressure applied is very light and the motion of the stone has a short stroke. The process is controlled so that the grains do not travel along the same path on the surface of the workpiece being honed.

5.7.4 LAPPING
Lapping is a finishing operation used on flat or cylindrical surfaces. The lap is usually made of cast iron, copper, leather, or cloth. The abrasive particles are embedded in the lap, or they may be carried through slurry. Depending on the hardness of the work piece, lapping pressure range from 7kPa to 140kPa. Dimensional tolerances on the order of 0.0004 mm can be obtained with the use of fine abrasives up to grit size 900. Surface finish can be as smooth as 0.025 to 0.1 m.

BKT

14

DCP4062

MANUFACTURING PROCESS

(a) Schematic illustration of the lapping process, (b) Production lapping on flat surfaces, (c) Production lapping on cylindrical surfaces

5.7.5 POLISHING
Polishing is a process that produces a smooth, lustrous surface finish. Polishing is done with disks or belts made of fabric, leather, or felt that are coated with fine powders of aluminium oxide or diamond. Parts with irregular shapes, sharp corners, deep recesses, and sharp projections are difficult to polish.

5.7.6 CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING

Chemical mechanical polishing is a process in which a chemically reactive surface is polished with ceramic slurry in a sodium hydroxide solution. A major application of this process is the polishing of silicon wafers.

5.7.7 ELECTROPOLISHING
Mirror-like finishes can be obtained on metal surfaces by electropolishing. Because there is no mechanical contact with the workpiece, this process is particularly suitable for polishing irregular shapes. The electrolyte attacks projection and peaks on the workpiece surface at a higher rate than the rest of surface, producing a smooth surface. Electropolishing is also used for deburring operations.

BKT

15

DCP4062