Four basic grinding processes are illustrated in Figure 1.2. The figure shows examples of peripheral grinding of flat surfaces and cylindrical surfaces. The figure also shows examples of face grinding of nonrotational flat surfaces and face grinding of rotational flat surfaces. Face grinding of rotational flat surfaces can be carried out on a cylindrical grinding machine and may therefore be simply termed cylindrical face grinding.
Figure 1.1 introduces common terms with four basic operations. A distinction is drawn between grinding with the face of the grinding wheel, known as face grinding, and grinding with the periphery of the wheel, known as peripheral grinding. Surface grinding usually refers to grinding flat or profiled surfaces with a linear motion. Cylindrical grinding refers to grinding a rotating workpiece. Cylindrical grinding may be performed internally or externally. A full description of grinding operations commonly employed is rather more complex and is described in other chapters.
In practice, the range of possible grinding processes is large and includes a number of profilegenerating operations, profile-copying operations, slitting, and grooving. Profiling processes include grinding of spiral flutes, screw threads, spur gears, and helical gears using methods similar to gear cutting, shaping, planing, or hobbing with cutting tools. There are other processes suitable for grinding crankshafts, cam plates, rotary cams, and ball joints. Terminology for these different processes can be confusing. The International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP) has published a number of terms and definitions [CIRP 2005]. Details of CIRP publications can be found on the Internet at www. cirp. net. Further details of process classification are given in Chapter 3 and later chapters dealing with applications.