Technological Aspects of Variation in Process Characteristics and Tool Condition in Grinding Process Diagnostics

Area of Science:

• Manufacturing Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Grinding processes are crucial in manufacturing, but diagnosing the condition of grinding wheels remains challenging.
• Current methods using ground surface topography parameters are insufficient for detailed assessment of grinding wheel wear and loading.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present technological aspects of grinding process diagnostics.
• To introduce novel parameters for assessing grinding wheel surface condition, overcoming limitations of existing methods.
• To explore future directions in abrasive tool development, including hybrid and sensor-integrated tools.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of grinding process features relevant to diagnostics.
• Evaluation of existing parameters for grinding wheel surface assessment.
• Development and validation of new dedicated parameters for differentiating grinding wheel surface conditions.
• Formulation of a methodology for assessing abrasive grain wear and wheel geometry changes using probabilistic approaches.

Main Results:

• Established that traditional surface topography parameters inadequately differentiate grinding wheel conditions.
• Introduced new dedicated parameters demonstrating high efficacy in detecting grain abrasion, chipping, and loading.
• Developed a probabilistic methodology for assessing abrasive wear and wheel dimensional changes.
• Proposed future directions including hybrid abrasive tools and additive manufacturing for specialized tools with integrated sensors.

Conclusions:

• New parameters offer enhanced diagnostic capabilities for grinding wheel condition.
• Advanced abrasive tool designs, such as hybrid structures and additive manufactured tools, represent promising future developments.
• Integrating process sensors into abrasive tools via additive manufacturing opens new avenues for real-time grinding process monitoring and control.