Tool wear and conditioning are important factors for the tool user as they define product quality, grinding forces, maximum material removal rate and auxiliary times. Grinding tool performance impacts workpiece dimensions and surface integrity. Tool manufacturers are able to generate desired tool capabilities within a certain range, but the tool use also decides on tool performance. Several researchers conducted detailed grinding experiments on how tool specification (structure grade, grit concentration, grit size, wheel hardness) affects grinding forces, and surface roughness and quality [LINE92, KLOM86].
Tool wear affects wheel life time and tool costs. However, the direct costs of different grinding wheel designs need to be compared with the total costs for process stability, auxiliary times, scrap rate, etc. (see Sect. 7.1.3 Life Cycle Costing (LCC)). Dressing is non-productive auxiliary time and the dressed wheel volume is lost for processing. The tool micro-design, i. e. abrasive layer design, defines process productivity decisively.