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A study on centerless grinding with variable stiffness regulating wheel
Date Issued
2001
Author(s)
Radhakrishnan, V
Ravishankar, M
Hari, RS
Babu, NR
Abstract
Centerless grinding, an efficient manufacturing process, has been researched in detail in the past [1-6]. These covered the mechanism of roundness generation, dynamics of the process and the role of process variables on product quality. However there has been only limited understanding on the role of the regulating wheel characteristics on the process and product quality. Stiffness or compliance of the regulating wheel plays an important role on the quality of the ground part. It has been reported that a compliant regulating wheel improves the finish but its influence on the form is limited [14]. A rigid wheel significantly improves the form of the ground part but not the finish [4]. In this paper a simulation done to understand the role played by the regulating wheel stiffness on the roundness of the part has confirmed this. For achieving excellent quality in grinding, both form and finish are important. A variable stiffness regulating wheel could achieve this by grinding the part with higher stiffness to get good roundness and then the final passes could be done with reduced stiffness to get good finish. A variable stiffness regulating wheel has been designed and fabricated for this. This paper gives the details of the results obtained using such a regulating wheel.