Optimisation of grinding wheel layout and workpiece clamping system design in double disc grinding machines

The design of grinding wheel layout and workpiece clamping system in double disc grinding machine is the core element to determine the machining accuracy and efficiency. The symmetry of the grinding wheel layout directly affects the parallelism and surface quality of the workpiece. In the traditional design, the two grinding wheels usually adopt parallel and symmetrical layout, but in the actual processing, uneven wear or thermal deformation of the grinding wheels will lead to micron-level deviation of the two end surfaces of the workpiece. To solve this problem, the modern design introduces a dynamic compensation mechanism, such as real-time monitoring of the grinding wheel pitch through the hydrostatic guideway and high-precision displacement sensors, combined with the CNC system to automatically adjust the axial position of the grinding wheel, thermal expansion or wear-induced errors are controlled to within ± 2μm. At the same time, the dynamic balance of the grinding wheel when rotating at high speed should not be ignored. The lightweight flange design and the application of online dynamic balance correction system can reduce the vibration amplitude to less than 1μm, which significantly improves the processing stability.

Wheel material selection and grinding path planning is another key optimisation direction. In the case of hardened steel, for example, the use of CBN (cubic boron nitride) grinding wheels can increase the life of conventional aluminium oxide grinding wheels by more than five times, and the surface roughness can reach Ra0.1μm. For brittle materials such as ceramics or silicon carbide, resin bond diamond grinding wheels can effectively reduce edge chipping. Optimisation of the grinding path is achieved through finite element simulation. For example, changing the linear feed to a helical trajectory disperses the grinding heat and reduces the local temperature rise, thus avoiding dimensional overshoots caused by thermal deformation of the workpiece. In addition, the intelligent upgrading of the dressing strategy is also crucial. Based on acoustic emission sensors, the real-time monitoring of the grinding wheel wear status triggers the adaptive dressing procedure, which ensures the consistency of the grinding wheel sharpness and prolongs its service life.

The design of workpiece clamping system needs to strike a balance between high rigidity and flexibility, which is especially critical for thin-walled parts processing. Conventional mechanical fixtures are prone to deformation of the workpiece due to uneven clamping forces, for example, bearing rings may produce a flatness error of 0.005mm in clamping. For this reason, multi-degree-of-freedom adaptive fixtures were introduced to limit the fluctuation of clamping force to within ±5N by hydraulically or pneumatically driving the split jaws, combined with closed-loop control by pressure sensors, which reduces the deformation of the workpiece by 30%. For non-conductive thin workpieces such as silicon wafers and optical glass, the composite technology of vacuum adsorption and magnetic-assisted positioning has become the mainstream solution, which can avoid the stress concentration caused by mechanical contact and achieve a positioning accuracy of ±2μm, while preventing the workpieces from sliding through the magnetic constraints on the edges.

The optimisation of the cooling and chip removal system has a direct impact on machining quality and equipment life. Conventional single-channel coolant injection is difficult to cover the entire grinding zone, resulting in localised temperature rise and chip accumulation. The new multi-channel directional cooling system precisely delivers high-pressure coolant to the grinding contact points by designing an array of micro-holes on the grinding wheel end face. Experimental data show that this design can reduce the temperature in the grinding zone by 40% and extend the life of the grinding wheel by 50%. The enhancement of chip removal efficiency relies on negative pressure suction technology, set up a negative pressure chamber under the workpiece clamping area, the use of high-speed airflow will be quickly pumped away from the chips, an automotive parts enterprise after the application of this technology, the workpiece surface scratches defective rate from 8% to 2%, the yield rate increased significantly.

The integration of intelligent technology further promotes the synergistic optimisation of grinding wheel layout and clamping system. By building a virtual grinder model, digital twin technology can simulate the processing results under different combinations of grinding wheel parameters and clamping force, and quickly verify the optimal solution. For example, an enterprise found through simulation that adjusting the grinding wheel inclination angle by 0.5° can reduce the grinding resistance by 15%, and at the same time, machine learning algorithms are used to analyse the historical processing data to achieve adaptive adjustment of the clamping force, which compresses the clamping force error from 15% to 3%. In the future, with the popularity of the Internet of Things and edge computing technology, the double disc grinding machine is expected to achieve the whole process of autonomous decision-making, from grinding wheel dressing to workpiece clamping without human intervention, to promote precision manufacturing to more efficient and intelligent.