AbstractIn grinding, the crystal grain size of the workpiece material is relatively same range compared to the removal depth. This raises a question if an anisotropic material model, which considers the effect of the crystal grain size and orientations, would better predict the process forces when compared to an isotropic material model. Initially, a simple micro‐indentation process is chosen to compare the two models. In this work, a crystal plasticity model and an isotropic Johnson‐Cooke plasticity model are employed to simulate micro‐identation of a twinning induced plasticity (TWIP) steel. The results of the two models are compared using the force‐displacement curves from the micro‐indentation experiments. In the future, the study will be extended to describe the material removal process during a single grit scratch test.