Maximizing grinding wheel life

Grinding wheels have two major components: the abrasiveg rains that do the actual cutting, and the bond that holds and supports the grains together while they cut. The percentages of grain and bond and their spacing in the wheel determine the wheel抯structure. Joint effort between management and staff can helpmaximize the life of your grinding wheels. Paying attention on the abrasives you抮e using and the metalyou抮e grinding to improve productivity can make life easier for theemployees assigned to use them. The abrasive used in a wheel ischosen based on the way it will interact with the work material. Thesuitable abrasive has the ability to stay sharp with minimal pointdulling. When dulling begins, the abrasive fractures, creating newcutting points. Each abrasive type is unique with distinct propertiesfor hardness, strength, fracture toughness and resistance to impact. Abrasives Aluminum oxide is the most common abrasive used in grindingwheels. It is usually the abrasive chosen for grinding carbon steel,alloy steel, high-speed steel, annealed malleable iron, wrought iron,and bronzes and similar metals. There are many different types ofaluminum oxide abrasives, each specially made and blended forparticular types of grinding jobs. Each abrasive type carries its owndesignation, usually a combination of a letter and a number. Thesedesignations vary by manufacturer. Zirconia alumina is another family of abrasives, each one madefrom a different percentage of aluminum oxide and zirconium oxide.The combination results in a tough, durable abrasive that works wellin rough grinding applications, such as cut-off operations, on a broadrange of steels and steel alloys. As with aluminum oxide, there areseveral different types of zirconia alumina from which to choose. Silicon carbide is an abrasive used for grinding gray iron,chilled iron, brass, soft bronze and aluminum, as well as stone,rubber and other non-ferrous materials. Ceramic aluminum oxide is the newest major development inabrasives. This is a high-purity grain manufactured in a gel sinteringprocess. The result is an abrasive with the ability to fracture at acontrolled rate at the sub-micron level, constantly creating thousandsof new cutting points. This abrasive is exceptionally hard and strong.It is primarily used for precision grinding in demanding applicationson steels and alloys that are the most difficult to grind. The abrasiveis normally blended in various percentages with other abrasives tooptimize its performance for different applications and materials. Once the grain is known, the next question relates to grit size.Every grinding wheel has a number designating this characteristic.Grit size is the size of individual abrasive grains in the wheel. Itcorresponds to the number of openings per linear inch in the finalscreen size used to size the grain. In other words, higher numberstNike