Surface Properties of Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted ELID Grinding ZTA Ceramics

This study aimed to explore the evolution of surface properties of nanocomposite ceramics during ultrasonic vibration-assisted electrolytic in-process dressing (UVA-ELID) grinding. First, the trajectory of the grain was analyzed, and the motion was simulated using MATLAB to demonstrate the mechanism of UVA-ELID grinding. The critical grinding depth was also calculated under the effect of ultrasonic vibration. Then, the conventional ELID (C-ELID) and UVA-ELID grinding were compared. The surface properties, including surface residual stress, surface microstructure, surface roughness, and surface morphology, were used to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of UVA-ELID grinding. Whether it was conventional C-ELID or UVA-ELID grinding, the residual compressive stress was introduced into the machined surface, while the former was lower than the latter. The microstructure of the UVA-ELID grinding was evenly distributed, and the ductility removal occurred during material removal. The surface roughness of Ra and Rz was reduced by 14.5% and 20.6%, respectively, during the UVA-ELID grinding. The surface morphology was dramatically changed with the help of ultrasonic vibration. In a word, for nanocomposite ceramic, the UVA-ELID grinding can significantly improve surface performance and achieve a better machining effect.

ELID Mirror Surface Grinding for Concave Molds by Conductive Elastic Wheel Containing Carbon Black

Elastic grinding wheels have previously been adopted for the development of the mirror surface finishing method for concave spheres. In this study, new conductive elastic grinding wheels, to which electrolytic in-process dressing (ELID) can be applied, are developed; the aim of the study is to address the challenge of maintaining a constant removal rate for rubber bond wheels. When ELID grinding is performed using a non-diene (isobutane isoprene rubber, IIR)-based wheel, a larger removal amount is achieved, and a higher-quality surface is also achieved compared to a diene (acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, NBR)-based wheel. In addition, to investigate the effect of grinding wheel bond hardness on the removal amount and ground shape accuracy, grinding wheels with various levels of hardness are prepared by controlling the amount of carbon black contained in them, and grinding experiments are conducted. Thus, a larger removal amount is achieved using a harder grinding wheel, but the roughness of the ground surfaces deteriorates. Therefore, in practice, it is necessary to select an appropriate grinding wheel that can achieve both productivity and surface quality. Finally, to obtain a high-quality mirror finish on a concave spherical surface, ELID grinding is performed on the workpieces as is done for spherical lens molds. Thus, high-quality mirror surfaces with roughness Ra < 10 nm were generated. When the work pieces are ground using a grinding wheel of the same radius, excessive removal occurs at the edge of the concave spherical profile, decreasing the form accuracy. Numerical simulation demonstrates that chamfering of the grinding wheel is effective for improving the shape accuracy. The results of this study are expected to contribute to automation and cost reduction in the mirror-finishing process for concave molds.

Cavitation Effect in Ultrasonic-Assisted Electrolytic In-Process Dressing Grinding of Nanocomposite Ceramics

Ultrasonic-assisted electrolytic in-process dressing (UA-ELID) grinding is a promising technology that uses a metal-bonded diamond grinding wheel to achieve a mirror surface finish on hard and brittle materials. In this paper, the UA-ELID grinding was applied to nanocomposite ceramic for investigating the cavitation effect on the processing performance. Firstly, the ultrasonic cavitation theory was utilized to define the cavitation threshold, collapse of cavitation bubbles, and variation of their radii. Next, the online monitoring system was designed to observe the ultrasonic cavitation under different ultrasonic amplitude for the actual UA-ELID grinding test. A strong effect of ultrasonic cavitation on the grinding wheel surface and the formed oxide film was experimentally proved. Besides, under the action of ultrasonic vibration, the dressing effect of the grinding wheel was improved, and the sharpness of grain increased by 43.2%, and the grain distribution was dramatically changed with the increase of ultrasonic amplitude. Compared with the conventional ELID (C-ELID) grinding, the average protrusion height increased by 14.2%, while the average grain spacing dropped by 21.2%. The UA-ELID grinding reduced the workpiece surface roughness Rz and Ra by 54.2% and 46.5%, respectively, and increased the surface residual compressive stress by 44.5%. The surface morphology observation revealed a change in the material removal mechanism and improvement of the surface quality by ultrasonic cavitation effect. These findings are considered instrumental in theoretical and experimental substantiation of the optimal UA-ELID grinding parameters for the processing of nanocomposite ceramics.