Abstract
Surface integrity has attracted the attention of researchers for improving the functional performance of engineering products. Improvement in surface finish, one of the important parameters in surface integrity, has been attempted by researchers through different processes. Grinding has been widely used for final machining of components requiring smooth surfaces coupled with precise tolerances. Proper selection of grinding wheel material and grade with grinding parameters can result in an improved surface finish and improved surface characteristics. The present work reports the study of the effect of grinding parameters on surface finish of EN8 steel. Experiments were performed on surface grinding and cylindrical grinding for optimization of grinding process parameters for improved surface finish. Grinding wheel speed, depth of cut, table feed, grinding wheel material and table travel speed for surface grinding operation, and work speed for cylindrical grinding operation were taken as the input parameters with four types of grinding wheels (Al2O3 of grades K and L, and white alumina of grades J and K). The surface roughness was taken as an output parameter for experimentation. The grinding wheel material and grade have been observed to be the most significant variables for both cylindrical grinding and surface grinding. Surface roughness in the case of surface grinding is better compared to that of cylindrical grinding, which can be attributed to vibrations produced in the cylindrical grinding attachment. Surface roughness (Ra) values of 0.757 µm in cylindrical grinding and 0.66 µm in surface grinding have been achieved.
Highlights
The manufacturing industry focuses on workpiece dimensional accuracy and surface finish for improved functioning of the2018 The Authors
Experiments were performed on surface grinding and a cylindrical grinding for optimization of grinding process parameters for improved surface finish
The results obtained from experimental work for the optimization of grinding process parameters are given in annexure A
Summary
Many authors have analysed grinding input parameters (wheel speed, table speed, depth of cut and the dressing mode) to study the surface roughness and geometric error [4,5,6,7]. The process variables considered for optimization were wheel speed, workpiece speed, depth of dressing and lead of dressing These variables were optimized in order to minimize production cost and surface roughness [9]. A scatter search-based optimization approach has been developed to optimize the grinding parameters (i.e. wheel speed, workpiece speed, depth of dressing and lead of dressing) using a multi-objective function model with a weighted approach for the surface grinding process, and results were compared with the results obtained by the ants-colony algorithm, genetic algorithm and quadratic programming techniques [18]. The surface roughness was taken as an output parameter for experimentation
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