On the design and implementation of an instrumented grinding testbed

Purpose - The need for an instrumented grinding system that addresses the requirements of ductile regime machining of brittle materials is implemented. The static and dynamic stiffness of the structural loop of the grinding system meets or exceeds those of previous researchers. An instrumented spindle is introduced which features capacitance gages embedded in the stator of an air bearing spindle. Design/methodology/approach - The instrumented spindle is demonstrated to provide valuable force feedback for fine grinding and is capable of resolving intra-revolution force components. Tests are performed to demonstrate the use of the instrumented spindle for ductile grinding of brittle materials with superabrasive wheels. Findings - The results of the test show that the instrumented spindle is capable of determining intra-revolution force components for square alumina-titanium carbide wafers. Originality/value - Outlines some important work developing and building instrumented spindles to aid the precision grinding industry.