Mechanics of Rotary Dressing of Grinding Wheels

An investigation is reported on the mechanics of the rotary dressing process for grinding wheels. Dressing forces were measured over a wide range of conditions, and SEM observations were made of the dressed wheel surfaces. It was found that the rotary dressing process is mainly controlled by the magnitude of the interference angle between the paths of the abrasive grains and the diamonds on the dresser surface. With a larger interference angle, there is a greater tendency for the abrasive to fracture rather than to plastically deform, thereby reducing the specific dressing energy and providing a sharper wheel with less flattened area on the grain tips.