High-speed machining using CNC milling machines is a process in which a cutting tool takes fast, light cuts at high spindle speeds to realize higher material-removal rates compared to slower hogging operations. Similarly, the goal with peel grinding is to achieve high material-removal rates for cylindrical parts requiring outside-diameter (OD) grinding. However, this high-speed grinding process differs from its milling counterpart in that while the operation uses fast grinding wheel speed, it also takes relatively deep passes. It is able to do this because the wheel is very thin and the grinding forces imparted into the workpiece are very low compared to plunge grinding with a wider wheel, especially when grinding wheel peripheral speeds are in the 80 to 180 m/sec. range (40 to 50 m/sec. are common with typical cylindrical grinding operations).
In fact, peel-grinding operations resemble single-point turning on a lathe, because, similarly to a lathe tool’s, the grinding wheel moves in the X and Z axes to grind contours, different diameters and other features on a workpiece. When combined with proper grinding wheel technology and high-pressure straight-oil coolant delivery, the very high speeds enable improved material-removal rates for challenging materials such as carbide, ceramic, polycrystalline diamond and even glass.
Read more: When Grinding Is Like Turning
