1. Material Removal Efficiency And Processing Speed
(1) Coarse grain size (#24~#60)
Suitable for large-residue rough processing, with large abrasive cutting depth, strong cutting force of single abrasive, and material removal rate increased by 20%~40%;
When grinding cemented carbide at high speed, coarse-grained grinding wheels (such as #50) can reduce the risk of abrasive blockage and maintain stable cutting efficiency.
(2) Fine grain size (#100~#800)
Fine grain size (such as #200) is required in the fine grinding stage, with dense abrasive distribution, dispersed cutting force, and surface roughness (Ra) can be controlled within 0.1μm;
However, the material removal rate is only 30%~50% of the coarse-grained size, and the feed speed needs to be reduced to avoid overloading the grinding wheel.
2. Surface Quality And Machining Accuracy
(3) Surface roughness
Fine-grained grinding wheels can significantly reduce surface scratches and chipping of workpieces through multi-point micro-cutting with tiny abrasive particles, and are particularly suitable for fine machining of hard and brittle materials (such as ceramics and optical glass);
Coarse-grained grinding wheels are prone to forming grooves as deep as 5~10μm on the surface of workpieces, and are only suitable for rough machining or low-precision scenarios.
(4) Edge integrity
When machining hard and brittle materials, fine grain (#400~#800) can reduce cutting stress concentration and reduce chipping rate (<5%), while coarse grain (#60) has a chipping risk of up to 15%~30%;
For example, #800 grain is recommended for fine grinding of ceramic parts, and the edge chipping size can be controlled within 10μm.
3. Grinding Wheel Life And Wear Characteristics
(5) Wear of coarse-grained grinding wheels
The abrasive grain size is large, the holding area of the binder is small, and the whole grain is prone to fall off. The life is only 50%~70% of that of fine-grained grinding wheels;
It is necessary to use a metal binder or a high concentration design (≥100%) to enhance the abrasive retention.
(6) Clogging and self-sharpening of fine-grained grinding wheels
The chip space between fine abrasive grains is small, and adhesion and clogging are prone to occur when processing tough materials (such as stainless steel). Loose tissue or resin binder is required to improve self-sharpening;
It is recommended to dress the grinding wheel every 10~15 minutes of processing to restore cutting sharpness.
IV. Application Scenario Adaptation Suggestions
(7) Carbide/ceramic processing
Rough processing stage: use #50~#100 grit, with high concentration (100%~150%) to improve efficiency;
Fine grinding/polishing stage: switch to #400~#800 grit, reduce concentration (75%~100%) to optimize surface quality.
(8) Metal material processing
Stainless steel/high temperature alloy: medium and fine grit (#100~#200) is recommended to reduce abrasive adhesion and inhibit burr generation;
Ordinary steel rough grinding: use #60~#80 grit, with brown corundum or white corundum abrasive to reduce costs.
5. Parameter Co-Optimization
Grit and concentration linkage: High-concentration grinding wheels need to reduce the grit level (e.g., select #50 grit when the concentration is 150%) to avoid friction heat accumulation caused by excessive abrasive density;
Grit and binder matching: Fine grit (#800) is recommended to be matched with resin binder to use its self-sharpening property to compensate for the defect of insufficient chip space.
