In the external cylindrical grinding process, rotationally symmetrical workpieces are usually clamped in the machine "between centres" and then machined with a grinding wheel at one or more outer diameters. Due to the ever increasing demands in machine and vehicle construction, numerous new versions of this grinding process have been developed, particularly in recent years.
An optimum balance between abrasion and surface finish
This has resulted in a myriad of extremely different grinding wheel dimensions and configurations. Most applications, however, predominantly use aluminium oxide grinding wheels in a vitrified bond with particle sizes ranging between 54 and 180, and hardness grades between H and L (depending on requirements). This enables an optimum balance between abrasion and surface finish. However, if extremely fine surface finish levels are required (e.g. Rz < 3 µm), we recommend the use of resin-bonded grinding wheels with grit sizes finer than 150.