28.

Grinding wheels
Grinding wheel consists of hard abrasive grains called grits, which perform the
cutting or material removal, held in the weak bonding matrix. A grinding wheel
commonly identifed by the type of the abrasive material used. he conventional
wheels include aluminium oxide and silicon carbide wheels while diamond and
c!"
#cubic boron nitride$ wheels fall in the category of superabrasive wheel.

28.% &pecifcation of grinding wheel
A grinding wheel re'uires two types of specifcation
#a$ Geometrical specifcation
#b$ (ompositional specifcation
Geometrical specifcation
his is decided by the type of grinding machine and the grinding operation to be
performed in the workpiece. his specifcation mainly includes wheel diameter,
width
and depth of rim and the bore diameter. he wheel diameter, for example can be
as
high as )**mm in high e+ciency grinding or as small as less than %mm in
internal
grinding. &imilarly, width of the wheel may be less than an mm in dicing and
slicing
applications. &tandard wheel confgurations for conventional and superabrasive
grinding wheels are shown i
(ompositional specifcations

&pecifcation of a grinding wheel ordinarily means compositional specifcation.
(onventional abrasive grinding wheels are specifed encompassing the following
parameters.

%$ the type of grit material
2$ the grit si,e
-$ the bond strength of the wheel, commonly known as wheel hardness
)$ the structure of the wheel denoting the porosity i.e. the amount of inter grit
spacing
.$ the type of bond material
/$ other than these parameters, the wheel manufacturer may add their own
identifcation code prefxing or su+xing #or both$ the standard code.
28.2 &election of grinding wheels
&election of grinding wheel means selection of composition of the grinding wheel
and this depends upon the following factors0
%$ 1hysical and chemical characteristics of the work material
2$ Grinding conditions
-$ ype of grinding #stock removal grinding or form fnish grinding$


28.2.% ype of abrasives

Aluminium oxide
Aluminium oxide may have variation in properties arising out of di2erences in
chemical composition and structure associated with the manufacturing process.

1ure Al23- grit with defect structure like voids leads to unusually sharp free
cutting
action with low strength and is advantageous in fne tool grinding operation, and
heat
sensitive operations on hard, ferrous materials.

4egular or brown aluminium oxide #doped with i32$ possesses lower hardness
and
higher toughness than the white Al23- and is recommended heavy duty grinding
to
semi fnishing. Al23- alloyed with chromium oxide #5-6$ is pink in colour.
7onocrystalline Al23- grits make a balance between hardness and toughness
and
are e+cient in medium pressure heat sensitive operation on ferrous materials.

7icrocrystalline Al23- grits of enhanced toughness are practically suitable for
stock
removal grinding. Al23- alloyed with ,irconia also makes extremely tough grit
mostly
suitably for high pressure, high material removal grinding on ferrous material
and are
not recommended for precision grinding. 7icrocrystalline sintered Al23- grit is
the
latest development particularly known for its toughness and self sharpening
characteristics.

&ilicon carbide
&ilicon carbide is harder than alumina but less tough. &ilicon carbide is also
inferior
to Al23- because of its chemical reactivity with iron and steel.

!lack carbide containing at least 8.6 &i( is less hard but tougher than green &i(
and is e+cient for grinding soft nonferrous materials.

Green silicon carbide contains at least 896 &i(. :t is harder than black variety
and is
used for grinding cemented carbide.
;iamond
;iamond grit is best suited for grinding cemented carbides, glass, sapphire,
stone,
granite, marble, concrete, oxide, non<oxide ceramic, fber reinforced plastics,
ferrite,
graphite.

"atural diamond grit is characteri,ed by its random shape, very sharp cutting
edge
and free cutting action and is exclusively used in metallic, electroplated and
bra,ed
bond.

7onocrystalline diamond grits are known for their strength and designed for
particularly demanding application. hese are also used in metallic, galvanic and
bra,ed bond.

1olycrystalline diamond grits are more friable than monocrystalline one and
found to
be most suitable for grinding of cemented carbide with low pressure. hese grits
are
used in resin bond.

c!" #cubic boron nitride$
;iamond though hardest is not suitable for grinding ferrous materials because of
its
reactivity. :n contrast, c!" the second hardest material, because of its chemical
stability is the abrasive material of choice for e+cient grinding of =&&, alloy
steels,
=&4 alloys.

1resently c!" grits are available as monocrystalline type with medium strength
and
blocky monocrystals with much higher strength. 7edium strength crystals are
more
friable and used in resin bond for those applications where grinding force is not
so
high. =igh strength crystals are used with vitrifed, electroplated or bra,ed bond
where large grinding force is expected.
7icrocrystalline c!" is known for its highest toughness and auto sharpening
character and found to be best candidate for =>;G and abrasive milling. :t can
be
used in all types of bond.

28.2.2 Grit si,e
he grain si,e a2ects material removal rate and the surface 'uality of workpiece
in
grinding.
?arge grit< big grinding capacity, rough workpiece surface
@ine grit< small grinding capacity, smooth workpiece surface

28.2.- Grade
he worn out grit must pull out from the bond and make room for fresh sharp grit
in
order to avoid excessive rise of grinding force and temperature. herefore, a soft
grade should be chosen for grinding hard material. 3n the other hand, during
grinding of low strength soft material grit does not wear out so 'uickly.
herefore, the
grit can be held with strong bond so that premature grit dislodgement can be
avoided.
28.2.. !ond

vitrifed bond
Aitrifed bond is suitable for high stock removal even at dry condition. :t can also
be
safely used in wet grinding. :t can not be used where mechanical impact or
thermal
variations are like to occur. his bond is also not recommended for very high
speed
grinding because of possible breakage of the bond under centrifugal force.

4esin bond
(onventional abrasive resin bonded wheels are widely used for heavy duty
grinding
because of their ability to withstand shock load. his bond is also known for its
vibration absorbing characteristics and fnds its use with diamond and c!" in
grinding of cemented carbide and steel respectively. 4esin bond is not
recommended with alkaline grinding Buid for a possible chemical attack leading
to
bond weakening. @iberglass reinforced resin bond is used with cut o2 wheels
which
re'uires added strength under high speed operation.

&hellac bond
At one time this bond was used for Bexible cut o2 wheels. At present use of
shellac
bond is limited to grinding wheels engaged in fne fnish of rolls
ruing and dressing of grinding wheel

28.-.% ruing
ruing is the act of regenerating the re'uired geometry on the grinding wheel,
whether the geometry is a special form or Bat profle. herefore, truing produces
the
macro<geometry of the grinding wheel.

ruing is also re'uired on a new conventional wheel to ensure concentricity with
specifc mounting system. :n practice the e2ective macro<geometry of a grinding
wheel is of vital importance and accuracy of the fnished workpiece is directly
related
to e2ective wheel geometry.

28.-.2 ruing tools
here are four maCor types of truing tools0
&teel cutter0
hese are used to roughly true coarse grit conventional abrasive wheel to ensure
freeness of cut.

Aitrifed abrasive stick and wheel0
:t is used for o2 hand truing of conventional abrasive wheel. hese are used for
truing resin bonded superabrasive wheel.

&teel or carbide crash roll
:t is used to crush<true the profle on vitrifed bond grinding wheel.
;iamond truing tool0
&ingle point diamond truing tools
he single point diamond truing tools for straight face truing are made by setting
a
high 'uality single crystal into a usually cylindrical shank of a specifc diameter
and
length by bra,ing or casting around the diamond. ;uring solidifcation
contraction of
the bonding metal is more than diamond and latter is held mechanically as result
of
contraction of metal around it. &ome application of single point diamond truing
tool is
illustrated in @ig.28.)



&ingle point
diamond tool
&ingle point
diamond tool




7ulti stone diamond truing tool
@ig 28.) Application of single point diamond truing tool
:n this case the truing tool consists of a number of small but whole diamonds,
some
or all of which contact the abrasive wheel at the same time. he diamond
particles
are surface set with a metal binder and it is possible to make such tool with one
layer
or multilayer confguration. "ormal range of diamond used in this tool is from as
small as about *.*2 carat to as large as of *.. carat. hese tools are suitable for
heavy and rough truing operation. ;istribution pattern of diamond in this tool
shown
in @ig.28..
:mpregnated diamond truing tools
his wheel truing tool consists of crushed and graded diamond powder mixed
with
metal powder and sintered. he diamond particles are not individually set in a
pattern but are distributed evenly throughout the matrix in the same way that an
abrasive wheel consists of abrasive grains and bonding agent. he si,e of
diamond
particles may vary from 8*</** microns. !y using considerably smaller diamond
grit
and smaller diamond section it is possible to true sharp edge and fne grit
grindingwheel. he use of crushed diamond product ensures that there are
always many
sharp points in use at the same time and these tools are mainly used in fne
grinding,
profle grinding, thread grinding, cylindrical grinding and tool grinding. ruing
action
of an impregnated diamond tool is shown schematically
4otary powered diamond truing wheels
4otary powered truing devices #@ig.28.9$ are the most widely recommended
truing
tool in long run mass production and are not ideally suited for those wheels with
large diameters #greater than 2** mm$. hey can be pneumatic, hydraulic or
electrically powered. 4otary powered truing device can be used in cross axis and
parallel axis mode. !asically there are three types of truing wheels.
&urface set truing wheels
=ere the diamond particles are set by hand in predetermined pattern. A sintered
metal bond is used in this case. hese truing wheels are designed for high
production automated operations.

:mpregnated truing wheels
:n this case impregnated diamond particles are distributed in a random pattern
to
various depths in a metal matrix. his type of roll fnds its best applications
#i.e. groove grinding$ where excess wheel surfaces must be dressed of.
>lectroplated truing tool
:n this truing wheel diamond particles are bonded to the wheel surface with
galvanically deposited metal layer. 7ain advantage of this techni'ue is that no
mould
is necessary to fabricate the diamond truing wheel unlike that of surface set or
impregnated truing wheels.

;iamond form truing blocks
@ig. 28.8 ;iamond form truing block to true
#a$ a straight faced wheel #b$ a form wheel
D;iamond form truing block can be either diamond impregnated metal bond or
electroplated, as shown in @ig.28.8. !ra,ed type diamond truing block has also
come
as an alternative to electroplated one. hey can be as simple as Bat piece of
metal
plated with diamond to true a straight faced wheel or contain an intricate form to
shape the grinding wheel to design profle. ruing block can eliminate the use of
self
propelled truing wheels and are used almost exclusively for hori,ontal spindle
surface grinder to generate specifc form.
>lectroplated truing tool
:n this truing wheel diamond particles are bonded to the wheel surface with
galvanically deposited metal layer. 7ain advantage of this techni'ue is that no
mould
is necessary to fabricate the diamond truing wheel unlike that of surface set or
impregnated truing wheels.

;iamond form truing blocks
@ig. 28.8 ;iamond form truing block to true
#a$ a straight faced wheel #b$ a form wheel
D;iamond form truing block can be either diamond impregnated metal bond or
electroplated, as shown in @ig.28.8. !ra,ed type diamond truing block has also
come
as an alternative to electroplated one. hey can be as simple as Bat piece of
metal
plated with diamond to true a straight faced wheel or contain an intricate form to
shape the grinding wheel to design profle. ruing block can eliminate the use of
self
propelled truing wheels and are used almost exclusively for hori,ontal spindle
surface grinder to generate specifc form.
?:& 3@ 7A(=:">4E A"; >FG:17>"
&r. "o. ;escription "o.
%. Gang block cutting machine 2
2. &lide cutting machine 2
-. rolley type cutting machine 2
). 1olishing machine, pneumatic 2
.. 1olishing machine, hand operated 2
/. Auto polisher, twin head 2
9. Fuarry e'uipment &et
8. ools &et
8. 7ining e'uipment &et
%*. Auxiliary e'uipment
1roduction 1rocess

he successful and economical working of granite 'uarries depends upon an
intelligent
application of a knowledge of the structure of the rock and its natural divisions in
the mass,
as well as upon improved methods, tools, and machinery for 'uarrying. he
topographical
location of the 'uarry and its relation to facilities for transportation are important
factors
that a2ect the productiveness and greatly modify the actual cost of operations in
a given
place.

he manufacturing process of granite blocks and slabs involves the following
operations0
'uarry openingH blastingH cuttingH polishing and ornamenting.

Fuarrying for dimension stone re'uires a speciali,ed method of extraction.
"ormal
'uarrying methods use large 'uantities of explosives to move huge volumes for
breaking
down into aggregate. his creates cracking throughout the stone, which renders
it unsuitable
for our purpose. 7any a dimension stone 'uarry has been rendered useless by
the over use
of explosives.

Iire sawing is used for primary block extraction. he system consists of a long
stranded
wire or diamond tipped wire fed through a series of pulleys and assisted by
abrasives.
&tranded wire has been used for many years in marble and sandstone, whilst
improvements
in diamond technology, has seen the recent introduction of wire sawing in
granite 'uarries.
he yield from wire sawing is much higher and gives a semi fnished surface
which allows
a close examination of the material before further working.
(utting is performed by a gang<saw for producing granite slabs. Gang sawing
uses a
reciprocating frame with up to %2* steel blades working theirs way through the
block. :t can
take up to one week to saw each block.
Granite cutting has no adverse impacts on the environment.