Simulation of diamond-ground surfaces

State-of-the-art models available for predicting the characteristics of diamond-ground surfaces entail digitization of wheel topography which limits their practical utility. This paper presents a geometric simulation of surface generation in diamond grinding, that utilizes wheel topography data obtained from simulated three-dimensional structure of the diamond grinding wheel. Simulation results are validated by surface grinding experiments on a variety of materials that exhibit different material removal mechanisms, with the roughness parameters R-a and R-t, the autocorrelation function and the fractal dimension as the comparison indices. A parametric study on the effect of various grinding parameters on surface finish is also reported, with particular emphasis on identifying and minimizing process-inherent variability. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.