Cylindrical grinder

The cylindrical grinder is a type of grinding machine used to shape the outside of an object. The
cylindrical grinder can work on a variety of shapes, however the object must have a central axis of
rotation. This includes but is not limited to such shapes as a cylinder, an ellipse, a cam, or
a crankshaft.
Cylindrical grinding is defined as having four essential actions:
1. The work (object) must be constantly rotating
2. The grinding wheel must be constantly rotating
3. The grinding wheel is fed towards and away from the work
4. Either the work or the grinding wheel is traversed with respect to the other.
While the majority of cylindrical grinders employ all four movements, there are grinders that only
employ three of the four actions.

History
The origins of the cylindrical grinder, as with all other modern machine tools, stem from the
experimentation and invention of John Wilkinson and later Henry Maudslay who built the first
horizontal boring machine and the first engine lathe, respectively. The cylindrical grinder owes much of
its development from the onset of the Industrial Revolution, particularly to the advent of reliable,
inexpensive steel production and later the improvement of the grinding wheel.[1] The basis for the
modern day cylindrical grinder was first built in the 1830s by two men working independently, Jonathan
Bridges and James Wheaton . It is unclear as to which man had first produced the machine but both
are closely tied to the first historical appearance of the modern day tool. It took another 40 years
before further improvement and refinement of the tool occurred.
The Brown & Sharpe company in Providence, RI was one of the first builders of the Willcox & Gibbs
Sewing Machine, one of the first piece of precision machinery to be used in a residential setting.
Joseph Brown believed that the shaft and needle bars of the sewing machine must be crafted from
hardened tool steel. It was this desire that led to their experimentation with building a cylindrical
grinder. The first attempt was simple a small lathe with a grinding wheel mounted to it. Subsequent
attempts led to the cylindrical grinder displayed at the 1876 Centennial Exposition and the subsequent
patent.
It is important to note that Brown & Sharpe cannot be given sole credit of pioneering advances in
cylindrical grinding. A man in Waltham, Massachusetts, Ambrose Webster had created a small grinding
machine in 1860 that contained all of the improvements Brown & Sharpe claimed to be their own
original invention. Even more so, the emphasis on precision, accuracy, and reliability was championed
by Charles Norton.
Norton was an employee of Brown & Sharpe who quit the company with the desire to further pursue
his belief that the cylindrical grinder is not merely a finishing tool but could be a staple of the machine
shop. He founded the Norton Grinding Company, where he continued improving the cylindrical grinder
to use faster rpm values and more precise grinding tolerances. He was acknowledged for his work on
April 18, 1925 when he won The John Scott Medal and Premium for his invention of "accurate grinding
devices of high power". These standards developed by Norton were the status quo until about the
middle of the 20th century.
The remainder of technological innovation applicable to the cylindrical grinder is almost identical and
entangled in a sense, to the rest of machine tools. The innovation of the last 70 years can be

characterized by three waves of change. The first wave was the creation of numerical control by John
T. Parsons in the 1940s. The U.S. Air Force, looking for a faster, cheaper, and more efficient means of
part and tool production for airplanes, played a large role in developing NC both politically and
financially. The first implementation of NC in machine tools occurred in the 1950s and continued
through the 1960s. The second wave of innovation, occurring during the 1970s and 1980s, is marked
by the massive demand for microcomputers to be used to direct NC. The joining of computers marked
the birth of Computer Numerical Control which once again revolutionized the ability of the cylindrical
grinder. Now the machine was able to receive instruction from a computer which would give it precise
directions on every imaginable dimension and measurement needed to produce the desired product.
This was a completely different work environment in comparison to mid-century production where a
worker had to direct the machine at every point on how to manipulate the work. The third wave of
change came in the 1990s with the advent of the Personal Computer. Integrating CNC and the PC into
one dynamic system allowed for even further control of the manufacturing process that required little to
no human supervision.

Types
There are five different types of cylindrical grinding: outside diameter (OD) grinding, inside diameter
(ID) grinding, plunge grinding, creep feed grinding, and centerless grinding.

Outside diameter grinding

OD grinding is grinding occurring on external surface a of an object between the centers. The centers
are end units with a point that allow the object to be rotated. The grinding wheel is also being rotated in
the same direction when it comes in contact with the object. This effectively means the two surfaces
will be moving opposite directions when contact is made which allows for a smoother operation and
less chance of a jam up.[7]

Inside diameter grinding

ID grinding is grinding occurring on the inside of an object. The grinding wheel is always smaller than
the width of the object. The object is held in place by a collet, which also rotates the object in place.
Just as with OD grinding, the grinding wheel and the object rotated in opposite directions giving
reversed direction contact of the two surfaces where the grinding occurs. See also ID Grinding.

Plunge grinding
A form of OD grinding, however the major difference is that the grinding wheel makes continuous
contact with a single point of the object instead of traversing the object.

Creep feed grinding

Creep Feed is a form of grinding where a full depth of cut is removed in a single pass of the wheel.
Successful operation of this technique can reduce manufacturing time by 50%, but often the grinding
machine being used must be designed specifically for this purpose. This form occurs in both cylindrical
and surface grinding.

Centerless grinding
Centerless grinding is a form of grinding where there is no collet or pair of centers holding the object in
place. Instead, there is a regulating wheel positioned on the opposite side of the object to the grinding
wheel. A work rest keeps the object at the appropriate height but has no bearing on its rotary speed.

The workblade is angled slightly towards the regulating wheel, with the workpiece centerline above the
centerlines of the regulating and grinding wheel; this means that high spots do not tend to generate
corresponding opposite low spots, and hence the roundness of parts can be improved. Centerless
grinding is much easier to combine with automatic loading procedures than centered grinding;
throughfeed grinding, where the regulating wheel is held at a slight angle to the part so that there is a
force feeding the part through the grinder, is particularly efficient.

Control methods
There are three basics ways in which an operator can interact with a cylindrical grinder. Either manual
manipulation of the machine,Numerical Control with a punched card system or using Computer
Numerical Control using a pre existing interface designed for that machine or by using a PC as an
interface to communicate with the grinder. The first two options are rarely if ever used today. CNC
operated cylindrical grinders are the most technologically advanced, efficient, reliable systems in the
manufacturing industry.

Applications
The cylindrical grinder is responsible for a plethora of innovations and inventions in the progression of
science and technology. Any situation in which extremely precise metalworking is required, the
cylindrical grinder is able to provide a level of precision unlike any other machine tool. From the
automotive industry to military applications, the benefits the cylindrical grinder have given us are
immeasurable.[1]

Centerless grinding
Centerless grinding is a machining process that uses abrasive cutting to remove material from a
workpiece. Centerless grinding differs from centered grinding operations in that no spindle or fixture is
used to locate and secure the workpiece; the workpiece is secured between two rotary grinding
wheels, and the speed of their rotation relative to each other determines the rate at which material is
removed from the workpiece.
Centerless grinding is typically used in preference to other grinding processes for operations where
many parts must be processed in a short time.

Process
In centerless grinding, the workpiece is held between two grinding wheels, rotating in the same
direction at different speeds, and a workholding platform. One wheel, known as the grinding wheel
(stationary wheel in the diagram), is on a fixed axis and rotates such that the force applied to the
workpiece is directed downward, against the workholding platform. This wheel usually performs the
grinding action by having a higher tangential speed than the workpiece at the point of contact. The
other wheel, known as the regulating wheel (moving wheel in the diagram), is movable. This wheel is
positioned to apply lateral pressure to the workpiece, and usually has either a very rough or rubberbonded abrasive to trap the workpiece.
The speed of the two wheels relative to each other provides the grinding action and determines the
rate at which material is removed from the workpiece. During operation the workpiece turns with the
regulating wheel, with the same linear velocity at the point of contact and (ideally) no slipping. The
grinding wheel turns faster, slipping past the surface of the workpiece at the point of contact and
removing chips of material as it passes.

Types
There are three forms of centerless grinding, differentiated primarily by the method used to feed the
workpiece through the machine.

Through-feed
In through-feed centerless grinding, the workpiece is fed through the grinding wheels completely,
entering on one side and exiting on the opposite. The regulating the wheel in through-feed grinding
is canted away from the plane of the grinding wheel in such a way as to provide a lateral force
component, feeding the workpiece through between the two wheels. Through-feed grinding can be
very efficient because it does not require a separate feed mechanism; however, it can only be used for
parts with a simple cylindricalshape.

End-feed
In end-feed centerless grinding, the workpiece is fed axially into the machine on one side and comes
to rest against an end stop; the grinding operation is performed, and then the workpiece is fed in the
opposite direction to exit the machine. End-feed grinding is best for tapered workpieces.

In-feed
In-feed centerless grinding is used to grind workpieces with relatively complex shapes, such as an
hourglass shape. Before the process begins, the workpiece is loaded manually into the grinding
machine and the regulating wheel moved into place. The complexity of the part shapes and grinding
wheel shapes required to grind them accurately prevent the workpiece from being fed axially through
the machine.

Equipment
Centerless grinding uses purpose-built centerless grinding machines. Such a machine will always
include the grinding wheel, regulating wheel, and some means of supporting a workpiece. Modern
machines may involve computer numerical control to allow automation and improve precision. Grinding
wheels are interchangeable, to allow for different grits and shapes. Machines designed to
accommodate through-feed grinding operations will allow the angle of the regulating wheel to be
adjusted, to accommodate parts of different sizes.