1

WORKSHOP THEORY AND PRACTICES- I

B.Tech 4th Semester Curriculum under ASTU
AEC, Mechanical Department
Instructor: Debottam Bhowmik, PMRF Scholar, IIT Guwahati
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About Instructor
• Name: Mr Debottam Bhowmik • Additional Information
• Class 10th : From KV Maligaon, June 2011 Passed out,
1st Division. • Qualified GATE 3 times.
• Class 12th: From KV Maligaon, May 2013 Passed out,
1st Division • Published 3 UGC Journal
• B.Tech: From Assam Science and Technology and 3 International
University, July 2017 Passed out, 1 st Class. Conference papers.
• M.Tech: From Delhi Technological University, June
2022 Passed out, 1st Class. • Got selected for MS(R)
• PhD: Pursuing from IIT Guwahati, Since July 2022 program at IIT Guwahati in
onwards, Got selected for PMRF (Oct 2023) July 2019.
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Module 5: GRINDING AND SURFACE FINISHING

Outline
• Grinding
Introduction
Kinds of Grinding
Grinding Processes
Grinding Wheel
Selection of Grinding Wheel
Dressing & Truing of Grinding Wheel
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Module 5: GRINDING AND SURFACE FINISHING

Outline
• Surface Finishing
Introduction
Classification
Various finishing process
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Grinding
• Grinding is a metal cutting operation performed by means of
rotating the abrasive wheel which acts as a tool.

• It has some similarity with the milling operation except that the
cutting points are irregularly shaped and randomly distributed.

• Mostly grinding is considered as finishing process as it removes

comparatively little amount, 0.25 to 0.50 mm in most cases.

• Many different types of grinding machines has been developed

for handling various kinds of work to be performed.
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Kinds of Grinding
• Grinding may be classified broadly into two groups:

1. Rough or non-precision grinding

2. Precision grinding

• Rough Grinding: The most common form of rough grinding are snagging and off-hand
grinding.

• In snagging, considerable amount of metal is removed without regard to the accuracy of

the finished surface. Example: trimming the surface left by sprues and risers on casting

• In off-hand grinding, the work is held in the operator’s hand. The work is pressed hard
against the wheel or vice-versa. The accuracy and surface finish are of least importance.
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Kinds of Grinding
• Precision Grinding: This is concerned in producing good
surface finish with high degree of accuracy.

• It is classified as
I. External Cylindrical Grinding
II. Internal Cylindrical Grinding
III. Surface Grinding

• External Cylindrical Grinding: It produces straight or

tapper surface on the workpiece. The workpiece must be
rotated about its own axis between the centres.
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Kinds of Grinding
• Internal Cylindrical Grinding: It produces internal cylindrical holes and tapers. The
workpieces are chucked & precisely rotated about their own axis. The grinding wheel
rotates against the direction of rotation of the workpiece.

• Surface Grinding: It produces flat surface. The work may be grounded either by the
periphery or by the end face of the grinding wheel. The workpiece is reciprocated at a
constant speed below or on the end face of the grinding wheel.
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Centre-less Grinders
• Centreless grinding is a method of grinding exterior cylindrical,
tapered, and formed surface on workpieces that are not held
and rotated along the centres.

• The principal components involved in centreless grinding are

the grinding wheel, regulating or back up wheel and the
workpiece.

• Both the wheels are rotated in the same direction, the

workpiece is located between the wheels.
Centreless Grinding
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Centre-less Grinders
• Centreless grinding can be achieved by three ways:

• Through Feed: The workpiece is fed completely through the grinding wheels,
entering on one side and exiting on the other. Through-feed grinding is very
efficient since it uses no separate feed mechanism. It is typically used for
cylindrical work

• In Feed: For more complex shapes, in-feed grinding is used. During this
process, the workpiece is manually loaded into the grinding machine and the
regulating wheel is moved into position before grinding.

• End Feed: When end-feed grinding is used, the workpiece enters the machine
from one side and rests against the end stop. The grinding operation is
performed, and the workpiece is then fed in the opposite direction to exit the
machine. This method is best for tapered shapes.
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Surface Grinders
• Surface grinding machines are employed to finish plane or flat
surfaces, also capable of grinding irregular and curved surfaces.

• Convention surface grinders are of two types:

• Reciprocating tables for work

• Rotating work tables

• Surface Grinders are also classified based on wheel spindles as

follows:

• Horizontal spindle reciprocating table

• Horizontal spindle rotary table Surface Grinding
• Vertical spindle reciprocating table
• Vertical spindle rotary table
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Surface Grinders
• This surface grinding machine type features a rectangular-
shaped work table that performs horizontal reciprocating
motion.

• The peripheral surface of the grinding wheel is used to

grind the workpiece and produce flat surfaces.

• Compared to other types, horizontal spindle reciprocating

table surface grinding machines are widely used in the
industry.
Horizontal Spindle Reciprocating
Table
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Surface Grinders
• These surface grinding machines are designed for grinding round or thin workpieces and
can also tilt the work table to accommodate annular workpieces or special jobs.

Horizontal Spindle Rotary Table

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Surface Grinders
• In this type of surface grinding machine, the width of the worktable is smaller than the
diameter of the grinding wheel. It is commonly used to produce flat surfaces on simple
workpieces or jobs.

Vertical Spindle Reciprocating Table

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Surface Grinders
• These surface grinding machines have a rotating worktable, allowing the continuous rotation
of the workpiece. This feature enhances the production efficiency of the machine, making it
suitable for high-volume work.

Vertical Spindle Rotary Table

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Tool and Cutter Grinders

• A Tool and Cutter Grinder is a specialized machine used in
manufacturing to sharpen and recondition cutting tools like
drills, end mills, and milling cutters.

• It ensures precision, prolonging tool life and maintaining the

quality of machined products.

• Based on the purpose of grinding, they are of two types:

• Universal tool and cutter grinders: used for sharpening of

miscellaneous cutter

• Single purpose tool and cutter grinders: used for tools like
drills, tool bits etc.
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Grinding Wheel
• A grinding wheel is a multi-tooth cutter made up of hard
particles called abrasive.

• The abrasive grains are mixed with a suitable bond, which

acts as a matrix/holder when the wheel is in use.

• The wheel may consists of one piece or of segments of

abrasive blocks built up into a solid wheel.

• The abrasive wheel is usually mounted on some form of

machine adapted to a particular type of work.
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Grinding Wheel Specification

• Abrasive wheels are specified on the basis of following parameters:

• Abrasive type
• Grain size
• Hardness/Grade
• Structure
• Bond Material

• Shortcut to remember: Attack Gate to Have Seat in Barc.

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Abrasives
• Abrasives: An abrasive is a substance that is used for grinding and polishing operations.

• It should be pure and have uniform physical properties of hardness, toughness, and
resistance to fracture.

• Abrasives may be classified into two types:

• Natural
• Artificial or manufactured

• Natural abrasives includes: sandstone or solid quartz, emery, corundum and diamond.
• Artificial abrasives includes: aluminium oxide, silicon carbide
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Abrasives
• Natural Abrasives

• Sandstone/Solid quartz: It is one of the natural abrasive stones from which the grindstones
are shaped. The material harder than quartz cannot be abraded or ground properly.
• Emery: It is a natural aluminium oxide. It contains 55 to 65% alumina, the remainder consist
of iron oxide and other impurities.
• Corundum: It is also a natural aluminium oxide. It contains 75 to 95% alumina, the remainder
consists of impurities.
• Both emery and corundum have greater hardness and better abrasive action than
quartz

• Diamond: The ones with less gem quality are crushed to produce abrasive grains for making
grinding wheel to grind cemented carbide tools and to make lapping compound.
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Abrasives
• Artificial Abrasives:
• Aluminum oxide (Al2O3): It is manufactured by heating mineral bauxite, a hydrated aluminum
oxide clay containing silica, iron, titanium oxide etc., mixed with ground coke and iron borings in an
arc type electric furnace.

• Aluminum oxide is tough and not easily fractured, so it is better adopted to grinding materials of
high tensile strength such as most of the irons and steels.

• Silicon carbide (SiC): It is a abrasive made from 56 parts of silicon sand, 34 parts of powdered
coke, 2 parts of salt, and 12 parts of saw dust made in an electric furnace made of loose brickwork.

• There are two types of silicon carbide abrasives: Green grit which contains at least 97% silicon
carbide and black grit which has at least 95% silicon carbide. Black grit is harder but weaker then
green grit.
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Grain Size/Grit
• The grain size or grit number indicates the size of the abrasive grains used in making a
wheel or the size of the cutting teeth.
• Grain size is indicated by a number which represents number of meshes per linear inch.

Grain size or grit

Coarse 10 12 14 16 20 24
Medium 30 36 46 54 60
Fine 80 100 120 150 180
Very Fine 220 240 280 320 400 500 600

• The size of abrasive grain required in a grinding wheel depends upon the amount of
material to be removed, the finish desired, and the hardness of the material grounded.

• The coarse wheels are used for fast material removal, fine wheels are used for soft, ductile
materials.
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Grade
• The term grade refers to the hardness with which the bond holds the cutting point or
abrasive grains in a place. It does not refer to the hardness of the abrasive grain.

• The grade shall be indicated by using a set of English alphabets, A denoting the softest and
Z the hardest grade.

• The term soft and hard refers to the resistance a bond offers to disruption of the abrasives.

• The grade of the grinding wheel depends upon the hardness of the material being ground
as the main factor.
Grade of Grinding Wheels
Soft A B C D E F G H • Hard wheels are used
Medium I J K L M N O P for soft material and
soft wheels for hard
Hard Q R S T U V W X Y Z material
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Structure
• The abrasive grains are not packed in the wheel but distributed through the bond.

• This relative spacing is referred to as the structure and is denoted by the number of cutting
edges per unit area of the wheel face.

• The primary purpose of the structure is to provide chip clearance and it may be open or
dense.
Structure of Grinding wheels
• Soft, ductile material
Dense 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 requires open structure
while hard, brittle
Open 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Or
material need dense
higher
structure
• The structure of a grinding wheel depends upon the hardness of the material being ground,
the finish required, and the nature of the grinding operation.
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Bonds & Bonding Material

• A bond is an adhesive substance that is employed to hold abrasive grains together in the
form of sharpening stones or grinding wheels.

• Bonding materials and processes are:

• Vitrified bond for making verified grinding wheels

• Silicate bond for making silicate wheels
• Shellac bond for making elastic wheels
• Resinoid bond for making resinoid wheels
• Rubber bond for making vulcanized wheels
• Oxychloride bond for making oxychloride wheels
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Bonds
• Vitrified Bond (V):
• It is suitable for high stock removal at dry condition, even though it can be used for wet
grinding as well.
• It cannot be used where mechanical impact and thermal variations are likely to occur.
• This bond is not recommended for high speed grinding as there will be breakage of bond
under centrifugal force.

• Resinoid bond (B):

• Conventional resin bonded wheels are used for heavy duty grinding due to its ability to
withstand shock load.
• This bond is also known for its vibration absorbing characteristics and is used along with
diamond and CBN for grinding of cemented carbide and steel respectively.
• It is not recommended to be used with alkaline grinding fluid as a possible chemical attack can
lead to bond weakening.
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Bonds
• Shellac Bond (E):
• It is also known as elastic bond. Once a time it was used for flexible cut off wheels.
• At present, it is limited to grinding wheels used for finishing purpose.
• The elasticity of this bond is greater then other types as it has considerable strength.

• Rubber Bond (R):

• It is prepared by mixing abrasive grains with pure rubber and sulphur.
• These are more resilient, less heat resistant and more dense compared to resinoid bond.
• They are used where good finish is of primary requisite.
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Bonds
• Oxychloride bond (O):
• It is prepared by mixing abrasive grains with oxide and chloride of magnesium.
• It is used in case of disc grinding operations.
• It is best used in case of dry grinding.
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Specification Example
• Consider the following nomenclature for grinding wheel:
51-A-60-K-5-V-05

• The number 51 represents manufacturer’s identification number.

• The letter A represents the type of abrasive is aluminium oxide.
• The number 60 represents the wheel consists of medium sized grains.
• The letter K represents medium hard wheel
• The letter V means the bond material used is vitrified bond.
• The number 05 represents wheel manufacturer identifier.
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Selection of Grinding Wheel

• Selection of grinding wheel depends upon the four constant factors as well as four variable
factor as stated below:

• Constant factors: Material to be ground, Amount of stock to be removed, Area of contact,

Type of grinding machine.

• Variable factors: Wheel speed, Work speed, Condition of the machine, Personal factor
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Constant Factors
• 1. The material to be ground: This factor influences the selection of abrasive, grain size,
grade, structure and bond

 Abrasive Al2O3 is recommended for high tensile strength material and SiC for low tensile
strength.

 Fine grain is used for hard-brittle material whereas coarse grains for soft ductile materials.

 Hard wheel is used for soft material while Softer wheel for hard materials.

 Generally, close spacing is used for hard-brittle material and wide for soft-ductile materials.

 Bond selection depends upon the manufacturers, but mostly vitrified bond is used.
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Constant Factors
• 2. Amount of stock to be removed: This involves accuracy and finishing purpose.

 Coarse grain is used for fast cutting and fine grain for fine precise finishing operation,
 Wide spacing is used for rapid removal and closed one for fine finish.
 Resinoid, Rubber, Shellac bonds for high finish.

• 3. Area of Contact: This influences the selection of grain size, grade, and structure spacing.

 Fine grain and close grain spacing are useful where the area of contact is small.
 Coarse grain and open spacing are used where large area of contact is concerned.
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Constant- Variable Factors

• 4. Type of grinding machine: This determines to an extent the grade of the wheel.
• Heavy rigidly constructed machines take softer wheels than the lighter more flexible type.

The selection of grinding machine also depends on other combination of factors:

 Wheel Speed: The wheel speed influences the selection of grade and bond. The higher the
speed, the softer should be the wheel. For speed up to 2000 rpm, vitrified bond is used and
for speed more than 2000 rpm, rubber, resinoid and shellac bond is used.

 Work Speed: The work speed in relation with the wheel speed determines the hardness of
the wheel. The higher the work speed, harder the wheel should be.
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Constant- Variable Factors

 Condition of the grinding machine: This has bearing on the grade of the wheel to be
selected.

 Spindle loose in bearings and on shaky foundation necessitate the use of harder wheels than
the case where machine were in better operating operation.

 Personal factor: The skill of the workmen is another variable factor which is to be considered
in selecting the grinding wheel.
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Dressing & Truing of Grinding Wheel

• Truing: It is the act of regenerating the required geometry of the grinding wheel, whether the
geometry is a complex one or flat profile.

• Truing produces the macro geometry of the grinding wheel.

• Truing is also required on a new conventional grinding wheel to ensure concentricity with
specific mounting system.

• In general, macro geometry of the grinding wheel is vital for accuracy of the finished
workpiece

• Truing can also be achieved by grinding the wheel using controlled path.
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Dressing & Truing of Grinding Wheel

• Dressing: It is the reconditioning of the wheel which ensures the abrasive cutting edges are able to
penetrate into the workpiece material.

• Dressing attempts to break the abrasive grains to make them sharp and free cutting to remove any
residue left by material being grounded. Thus it produces micro geometry.

• The useable period of the wheel not only depends on wheel wear but also on wheel loading and glazing.

• The grinding wheel contains void between the grain to allow space for the chips, the chip may stay in the
wheel blocking this voids. This is termed as loading of wheel.

• When the work material is hard, the grains wear out faster hence losing their sharpness quickly. This is
called as glazing.

• Truing and Dressing are commonly combined into one operation for conventional abrasive
grinding wheels, but are usually two distinctly separate operation in case of super abrasive wheel
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Surface Finishing
• The application of a finish operation to manufactured products requires further processing
and handling of the components after they are physically manufactured.

• In some of the cases, other operations are employed to get the durable finishes.

Why surface finish is important

 To improve the aesthetic quality of the product.

 To eliminate minor imperfection left after the manufacturing process.
 To protect the material from corrosion.
 To enhance the properties of the surface of the product.
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Lapping
• Lapping is a precision finishing technique employed to achieve
a fine surface finish. It primarily relies on abrasives acting as
cutting agents, temporarily supported by laps.

• Typically, material removal during lapping falls within the range

of 0.003 to 0.03 mm, although in specific instances, it can
extend to 0.08 to 0.1 mm.

• Common lap materials include cast iron, soft steel, copper,

brass, hardwood, hardened steel, and glass.

• n the lapping process, aluminium oxide abrasive is used to

create a smooth and highly polished surface on various
materials, such as metals, ceramics, and optical components.
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Lapping (Working Principle)

• The fundamental principle underlying the lapping process
encompasses three key components: a workpiece, a lapping
plate, and abrasive particles.

• In this process, abrasive particles are distributed onto the

lapping plate, and the workpiece is then moved across it
through rubbing action.

• As a result of the applied force during the relative motion

between the plate and the workpiece, these abrasive particles
eliminate minuscule material from the workpiece.

• The primary effect of this abrasive action is to diminish or

flatten the microscopic peaks and valleys that exist on the
surface of the workpiece.
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Lapping
• The different abrasives used in this process are:

 Al2O3 and SiC, grain size 5~100μm

 Cr2O3, grain size 1~2 μm
 B4C3, grain size 5-60 μm
 Diamond, grain size 0.5~5 V

• There are three important types of lapping machines:

• Vertical axis lapping machine

• Centreless lapping machine
• Belt lapping machine
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Lapping
• Vertical Lapping Machine: Vertical lapping machines feature lower and upper laps, along
with a workpiece holder. The workpiece is positioned on the lower lap, and abrasive particles
mixed with adhesive vehicles are applied to the laps before operation.

• Centerless Lapping Machine: Centerless lapping involves a control roller, lapping roller,
workpiece, and a V-notched fiber stick. It works on the same principle as that of the
centreless grinders.

• Belt Lapping: Belt lapping employs an abrasive cloth belt driven by a motor, with two
wheels used for belt propulsion.
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Honing
• The honing process is a superfinishing operation primarily utilised for
enhancing the quality of previously machined surfaces, particularly
internal cylindrical surfaces.

• This precision operation employs a tool known as a hone, typically

consisting of bonded abrasive stones configured in stick form.

• During honing, the hone tool engages in both rotary and reciprocating
movements while the workpiece remains stationary.
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Honing (Working Principle)

• The workpiece is typically secured in a fixture, and the tool undergoes a slow reciprocating
motion while it rotates, resulting in a complex motion that combines rotation with
oscillatory axial movement.

• The length of the motion is designed to ensure that the stones extend beyond the
workpiece's surface at the end of each stroke.

• These combined motions create a distinctive cross-hatch pattern on the workpiece

surface.

• The inclusion of coolants in this process is essential to flush away small chips and
maintain uniform temperatures.
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Honing
• There are two primary types of honing machines, each with its unique operation:

• Horizontal Honing Machines: Horizontal honing machines operate parallel to the honing
tool and workpiece. The spindle and honing tools are located above the workpiece.
Horizontal honing machines excel in honing long cylindrical metals such as shafts, rods,
and tubes.

• Vertical Honing Machines: Vertical honing machines are simpler in design compared to
their horizontal counterparts. The spindle in a vertical honing machine operates vertically,
perpendicular to the ground. They are also well-suited for efficient mass production of
parts.
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Super Finishing
• It is an operation using bonded abrasive stones in a
particular direction to produce an extremely high quality
of surface finish with almost complete absence of defects
in surface layer.

• A very thin amount of material (0.005 – 0.02 mm) is

removed in super finishing.

• This process can be applied to both external as well as

internal surfaces of parts made up of steel, cast iron and
non ferrous alloys.

• It is the most frequently used one to obtain very fine

surface finish.
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Super Finishing (Working Principle)

• A very fine grit abrasive stick is retained in suitable holder and is applied to the surface of
the workpiece with light spring pressure.

• The stick is moved in oscillatory motion, and the workpiece is rotated or reciprocated as
per the shape of surface being super finished.

• A special lubricant, usually a mixture of kerosene and oil, is used to obtain a high quality of
surface finish.
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Polishing
• It is a surface finishing operation performed by a polishing
wheel.

• It is used for the purpose of removing appreciable amount

of metal to eliminate the scratches, tool marks, pits and
other defects from rough surfaces.

• In polishing, accuracy of size and shape of finish surface is

not important, but sometimes tolerances of 0.025 mm or
less is achievable.

• The polishing process is similar to the grinding process.

They are classified as endless belt machines & coated
abrasive wheels.
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Polishing(Working Principle)
• The polishing wheels are made up of leather, paper, canvas or wool.The abrasive
grains are set up with glue or thermosetting resin on the face of the wheel.

• The workpiece is held against the wheel and is being rotated to achieve the desired
surface finish.

• These steps are then necessarily repeated, to remove the defects in first hand and
then to obtain the desired polish on the surface.
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Buffing
• It is used to obtained higher reflective finish that cannot be
obtained by polishing.

• In buffing process, abrasive grains are not glued to wheel

instead it is contained inside a buffing compound, which is
pressed into the outside surface of the buffing wheel while it
rotates.

• The buffing wheel rotates with a speed up to 40 m/s.

• The abrasives may consists of iron oxide, chromium oxide,

emery etc. whereas the binders used are mixture of wax with
grease or kerosene.
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Tumbling

• It is the least expansive process for removing rust and scale from metal parts.

• Parts configuration and size are the primary limitation of the process.

• The tumbling is performed with fully automatic and semi-automatic machines with abrasive
plastic cones for deburring.
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Tumbling (Working Principle)

• The operation is accomplished by placing the workpieces in a drum or barrel together with
the abrasive minerals.

• The abrasive material can be sand, granite, chips or slag.

• When the barrel is rotated, the movement of the workpiece and the abrasive material
against each other produces a cutting action by friction which removes the flashes &
scales from theproducts.
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Tumbling
• Tumbling is a mechanical surface finishing used to eliminate
defects in small size components.

• Tumbling consists of submitting the parts to vibration while in the

presence of abrasive media, which in technical terms is known as
vibratory finishing.

• The media is specially designed to cause friction with the parts,

and in effect polish the parts in a controlled manner.

• The process involves uniform removal but not precise on all

surfaces.
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Tumbling (Working Principle)

• It utilizes a rotating barrel or a vibrating bowl filled with abrasive media and the parts to be
finished.

• As the barrel rotates or the bowl vibrates, the media and parts tumble over each other,
generating friction and impact forces.

• This gradually removes material from the parts' surfaces, achieving a desired finish.

• Tumbling offers a consistent and cost-effective method for achieving a uniform surface
finish on metal parts, particularly for complex geometries.
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Burnishing
• The burnishing process consists of pressing hardened
steel rolls or balls into the surface of the workpiece and
imparting a feed motion to the same.

• During burnishing considerable residual compressive

stress is induced in the surface of the workpiece and
thereby fatigue strength and wear resistance of the
surface layer increase.

• Burnishing achieves a smooth surface finish on metal

parts through a process of plastic deformation, not
material removal.
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Burnishing (Working Principle)

• Burnishing utilizes an unique approach: cold working the surface rather than shaving
material away.

• The tool (ball or roller) is pressed against the workpiece with a carefully controlled force,
strong enough to surpass the yield strength of the metal's surface layer.

• As the tool traverses under pressure, the asperities on the surface don't get chipped off,
but rather get squeezed and smeared over the lower areas.

• This plastic deformation creates a smoother overall surface profile. An additional benefit is
work hardening, making it more resistant to wear and tear.