11 - Conditioning of abrasive wheels

Abstract

Chapter 11 describes the operations to prepare and condition abrasive tools for effective machining. First, there is wheel truing to achieve the required precision form of the wheel. Then there is wheel dressing to achieve and to maintain an efficient cutting surface on the grinding wheel . These two distinct conditioning operations are sometimes combined as one. Preparation of grinding wheels also includes ringing to check the integrity of a new abrasive wheel, safe mounting of the abrasive wheel to avoid stress concentrations, and wheel balancing for safety and for effective grinding. Dynamic balancing is also required for high speeds. Other aspects described include cleaning up the wheel surface to remove loading, effects of dressing on grinding performance, self-dressing processes, wheel glazing, and types of grain fracture. Types of dressing tools and their characteristics are described including single-stone, multi-stone, and diamond roll dressers and crush dressers leading to conditioning of super-abrasive wheels. Unconventional dressing methods employed for metal-bond wheels include electrical discharge dressing (EDD) and electrolytic in-process dressing (ELID). A further possibility being researched includes laser dressing. Wear progression of dressing tools is discussed. References are given to previous work on truing and dressing techniques.