Optimizing the sharpening process of hybrid-bonded diamond grinding wheels by means of a process model

The grinding wheel topography influences the cutting performance and thus the economic efficiency of a grinding process. In contrary to conventional grinding wheels, super abrasive grinding wheels should undergo an additional sharpening process after the initial profiling process to obtain a suitable microstructure of the grinding wheel. Due to the lack of scientific knowledge, the sharpening process is mostly performed manually in industrial practice. A CNC-controlled sharpening process can not only improve the reproducibility of grinding processes but also decrease the secondary processing time and thereby increase the economic efficiency significantly. To optimize the sharpening process, experimental investigations were carried out to identify the significant sharpening parameters influencing the grinding wheel topography. The sharpening block width lSb, the grain size of the sharpening block dkSb and the area-related material removal in sharpening VâSb were identi fied as the most significant parameters. Additional experiments were performed to further quantify the influence of the significant sharpening parameters. Based on that, a process model was developed to predict the required sharpening parameters for certain target topographies. By using the process model, constant work results and improved process reliability can be obtained.