TABLE OF CONTENTS Grinding is a machining process which utilizes a grinding wheel consisting of abrasive grains held together with a binder material. The actual cutting points on abrasive grains at the wheel surface are micro-cutting tools which interact with the workpiece material. The spatial distribution of abrasive grains over the wheel surface and their morphology comprise the grinding wheel topography.
With the exception of some heavy-duty and cut-off operations, the grinding wheel topography and the macroscopic wheel shape are generated by preparing the wheel prior to grinding and periodically during the course of grinding. Wheel preparation generally includes truing and dressing. Truing usually refers to removal of material from the cutting surface of a grinding wheel so that the spinning wheel runs true with minimum run-out from its macroscopic shape, although truing may also include profiling of the wheel to a particular shape. Dressing is the process of conditioning the wheel surface so as to achieve a certain grinding behavior. With conventional abrasive wheels, both truing and dressing are usually done by the same process, and the combination is commonly called dressing. With superabrasive wheels, separate truing and dressing processes may be used.
It was seen in the previous chapter how the wheel topography and the grinding parameters affect the kinematic interaction between the abrasive grains and the workpiece. In subsequent chapters, it will be shown that the wheel topography and consequently the wheel preparation conditions have a profound effect on the grinding performance as characterized by forces, power consumption,...
