3D metal removal simulation to determine uncut chip thickness, contact length, and surface finish in grinding

The two most important geometric parameters that describe the mechanics of grinding are the uncut chip thickness and the contact length. Currently, analytical approaches are used to estimate these parameters. The accuracy of these approaches, however, is limited because they do not take into account the random shape, size, and protrusion height and placement of the abrasive grains around the circumference of the grinding wheel. In this paper, a simulation technique was used to gain new insight into the effect of the stochastic nature of grinding wheels on the geometric properties of the grinding process. The simulator was used to calculate the number of active grains, uncut chip thickness, and contact length for a stochastic wheel model of Radiac Abrasive's WRA-60-J5-V1 grinding wheel. These values were then mapped to every grain on the grinding wheel and used to determine the instantaneous material removal rate of the wheel and workpiece surface finish. There was excellent agreement between the predicted and experimentally measured surface topology of the workpiece. The results suggest that only 10-25 % of the grains on the grinding wheel are active and that the average grinding chip may be as much as ten times thicker and ten times shorter than would be produced by a grinding wheel with a regular arrangement of cutting edges as assumed by existing analytical approaches.