Cylindrical grinder

Cylindrical grinders are a class of grinding machines used on the work pieces that are symmetrical about an axis of rotation (e.g. cylindrical).

Types of Cylindrical Grinders

OD grinder

An OD grinder grinds the outer diameter (OD) of the work piece, held on one or both ends. Usually, the work piece is held between centers or chucked and rotated against a faster spinning grinding wheel,great care should be taken as the OD comes closer to finished size as its too easy to over grind the tool.

ID grinder

An ID grinder grinds the inside diameter (ID) of a work piece but usually this tends to be a longer process than OD grinding as the ID grinding stone is smaller and requires the operator to make smaller cuts from the tool to ensure that the ID grind is perfect and to the correct size.

Centerless grinder

A centerless grinder is a type of OD grinder where the workpiece, rather than being supported on either end, is held against the grinding wheel by a second smaller wheel, turning at a slower RPM and known as a regulating wheel, while resting on a workblade.

Centerless grinding is much easier to combine with automatic loading procedures than centred grinding; throughfeed grinding, where the regulating wheel is held at a slight angle to the part so that there is a force feeding the part through the grinder, is particularly efficient. Plunge grinding involves feeding the part onto the support blade and then lowering the grinding wheel radially into it.

The workblade is angled slightly towards the regulating wheel, with the workpiece centerline above the centerlines of the regulating and grinding wheel; this means that high spots do not tend to generate corresponding opposite low spots, and hence the roundness of parts can be improved.

External links

• http://www.efunda.com/processes/machining/grind_centerless.cfm
• http://www.mmsonline.com/articles/120001.html