Traditionally, the grinding of hard materials has resulted in accurate contour but a poor quality, fractured surface. Polishing, on the other hand, provides a good surface finish at the expense of contour accuracy.
Through recent advances in precision actuation and control, a new form of machining has emerged in which grinding machine with precise actuation system with tens of nanometer resolution is controlled to provide extremly small material removal rates, similar to those encountered in polishing. Under these conditions, the material removal mechanism changes from brittle fracture to plastic deformation, resulting in a much improved surface.
This study has been tried to investigate grinding conditions that influence the brittle-to-ductile transition. An precise actuating system using PZT actuator has been designed and built for experiment. using this device, transitions from brittle to ductile material removal has been demonstrated for fine ceramics such as $Si_3N_4$, $Al_2O_3$ and Optical glass, BK7.
The dependence of grinding ductility on infeed rate has been shown, and the influence of grain size and bond material of the grinding wheel on grinding ductility has been investigated.
