Stability diagram for chatter free centerless grinding and its application in machine development

Suppression of work regenerative chatter vibration is one of the most important issues for improving centerless grinding performance. Current practice to avoid such chatter vibration largely relies on a trial-and-error method. Based on the stability diagram, this paper introduces a systematic approach to achieving chatter free centerless grinding. In the paper, the significance of the ratio of work rotational speed to center-height angle is first discussed, the chatter free zones are then identified from the diagram. The conditions for chatter free centerless grinding are further determined by considering the effect of lobing stability and contact filtering. Practical significance of the approach is demonstrated with grinding test results. Further, the performance of a high precision centerless grinding machine developed with enhanced dynamic stability is presented.