DOI: 10.1615/ICHMT.2004.IntThermSciSemin
ISBN Print: 978-9-61913-930-1
Control of Grinding Temperature by High Speed Air Jets
RESUMO
Grinding is a widely employed machining process for different materials such as metals, ceramics, glass and carbides to achieve good geometrical form and dimensional accuracy with excellent surface finish and surface integrity. However unlike other conventional machining processes such as turning or milling, grinding is characterized by high energy requirements, which can lead to a high cutting zone temperature. If it is too high, a whole range of problems may arise (metallurgical damage, geometrical inaccuracy, tensile residual stress, high roughness, cracking etc.). Temperature has usually been controlled with liquid coolants, but they are expensive, and raise environmental concerns. Moreover, they are only really effective when applied with a high-power pump. This paper presents a new approach to this age-old problem by introducing a cooling technique based on high-speed air jets. Results from an air-cooled grinding test with regard to grinding temperatures, forces and specific energy are discussed and compared to those in dry grinding. It appears that air-cooled grinding offers significant advantages in terms of effectiveness, cost and environment-related issues. More importantly the method presented offers significant room for further improvements.