ABSTRACT
The abrasive grain is at the heart of the grinding process, where its shape, mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties are paramount to the wheel performance. Although an abrasive grain does not have the optimized orientation and geometry of a turning insert, there are many active grains on the face of a wheel and the average of these is surprisingly predictable; in many ways, more so than a turning operation where the ultimate performance of a single cutting edge is far less predictable being subject to random variations of production, where a single-edge chip can spell the end of the tool life.
