Temperature distribution in a workpiece during cylindrical plunge grinding

In cylindrical plunge grinding, a large amount of heat flows into the workpiece continuously, accumulates and remains even after the process, which causes dimensional error. Therefore it is necessary to investigate the temperature distribution in the workpiece during grinding and analyze the influence of grinding heat on the dimension. Such an investigation has not been done enough, because the technology to measure the temperature distribution in the rotating workpiece has not matured. Considering such background, an in-process measuring system has been developed, which makes it possible to detect the temperature distribution in a wide range from the outer surface to the inside of the rotating workpiece. The system consists of small temperature sensors which are embedded into the workpiece, a micro computer attached on the workpiece which acquires the data from the sensors and transmits to a personal computer by a wireless communication device. Furthermore the contact type thermocouple which enables to measure the rotating surface temperature is added to the system. Measurement experiments revealed that the grinding heat conducts from the workpiece surface toward the center, accumulates, and remains in the workpiece even after the process. Heat conduction simulation was also performed. Good agreement was achieved between the simulated temperatures and experimental measurements. © 2012 German Academic Society for Production Engineering (WGP).