ABSTRACT
Workpiece material composition and condition control all aspects of the grinding process. As ever greater demands are placed on productivity and quality, it becomes critical that the engineer understands the metallurgy of the materials being ground and their impact on the grinding process. Grindability is the term used to describe the ease of grinding a given workpiece material and is akin to the term machinability used in milling and turning. Machinability, a more familiar term to engineers, is usually judged by four criteria: tool life, tool forces and power consumption, surface quality (including roughness, integrity, and burrs), and chip form. Comparable criteria exist for grindability, namely G ratio, stock removal parameter Λ, surface quality (including roughness, surface residual stress, and burrs), and chip form. In broad terms, an easy to machine material is usually easy to grind especially when judged in terms of tool life and power.
