Relationship between grinding process and the parameters of subsurface damage based on the image processing

Grinding is the main process step for the high-precision optical components, and its process parameters may bring forth subsurface damage to some degrees on the surfaces and finally result in the variation of the mechanical and optical properties of the components. In this paper, the ground sample is etched to expose the micro cracks and the characterization parameters of the subsurface damage are extracted using the image processing method. To investigate the influence of main grinding parameters on the micro cracks of subsurface damage, relationships among the average abrasive size, grinding force, wheel speed, and grinding depth and characterization parameters (length, angle, and density) of micro cracks are established. The results show that the influence of grinding parameters on the micro crack's length is consistent with that on the surface roughness. The average abrasive size and grinding force have obvious influence on the subsurface damage and surface roughness than wheel speed and grinding depth. Micro cracks' angle and density are almost not affected by the grinding parameters.