Ductile-Regime Grinding: A New Technology for Machining Brittle Materials

TLDR

Recent precision engineering enables nanometer‑scale grinding infeed rates, allowing brittle materials to be ground by plastic flow rather than fracture—a deterministic process called ductile‑regime grinding that delivers contour accuracy and complex shapes comparable to polishing or lapping. The paper develops a research apparatus for ductile‑regime grinding, investigates the required infeed rates analytically and experimentally, and proposes a model linking infeed rate to brittle material properties. The apparatus performs ductile‑regime grinding by plastic deformation, producing polishing‑like surface finishes while enabling controlled contour accuracy, and the study includes analytical and experimental analyses of infeed rates and a model relating those rates to material properties.

Abstract

Because of recent advances in precision engineering that allow controlled grinding infeed rates as small as several nanometers per grinding wheel revolution, it is possible to grind brittle materials so that the predominant material-removal mechanism is plastic-flow and not fracture. This process is known as ductile-regime grinding. When brittle materials are ground through a process of plastic deformation, surface finishes similar to those achieved in polishing or lapping are produced. Unlike polishing or lapping, however, grinding is a deterministic process, permitting finely controlled contour accuracy and complex shapes. In this paper, the development of a research apparatus capable of ductile-regime grinding is described. Furthermore, an analytical and experimental investigation of the infeed rates necessary for ductile-regime grinding of brittle materials is presented. Finally, a model is proposed, relating the grinding infeed rate necessary for ductile material-removal with the properties of the brittle workpiece material.