The Impact of fluid supply on energy efficiency and process performance in grinding

Abstract

An approach is presented to evaluate the energy efficiency of grinding processes by the total specific energy in relation to the process limits, e.g. starting thermal damage at a certain specific removal rate. The paper deals with grinding experiments on hardened steel workpieces covering a broad range of different types of fluid supply nozzles, fluid flowrates, and removal rates with and without high pressure tool cleaning. In the investigations, process configurations were identified leading to high energy efficiency in combination with highest achievable removal rates. Furthermore, the results confirm that the process limit is significantly influenced by specifically adapted fluid supply conditions e.g. flowrate and jet speed.