Influence of cutting parameters on surface hardening of 52100 steel in flat grinding process

Grinding is a finishing operation widely used in the production of mechanical components that need high tolerance, less form errors, and excellent surface quality. Using the correct cutting strategy in grinding can generate better results by minimizing the amount of cooling fluids, improving surface roughness and decreasing cutting forces. The main aim of this work was to produce analyses of the surface roughness, shear strengths, and microhardness related to the variation of cutting parameters. Thus, a grinding wheel of silicon carbide with 254 mm of outer diameter and width of 25.4 mm was employed to carry out flat grinding tests on 52100 hardened steel. Shear strengths, surface roughnesses, and microhardnesses were monitored with specific devices. The results showed that the most influential parameters were the feed rate and the depth of cut. Thus, the increase of the feed rate resulted in the rising of surface roughness values greater than 90%, considering the orthogonal plane and cutting direction. The process also generated higher microhardness values. Finally, the resulting microhardness also revealed the softening of the surface layer of the workpieces for cutting conditions with lower depth of cut and feed rate. Based on this, it can be concluded that the use of high feed rates generated higher values of microhardness. Thus, the use of correct feed rate values can reduce the burning of material without compromising the structure of the machined material.