This paper presents a research in which the performance of two different grinding wheels (a conventional and a CBN wheel) was evaluated in a transverse cylindrical grinding of a eutectic alloy. Three cutting conditions were tested: rough, semi-finishing and finishing. As evaluating parameters, the cutting force, the roughness and the wheel wear were measured. As a result, the best values of the cutting force and the roughness were obtained when grinding with the conventional wheel, due to the best dressing operation performed, for all the cutting conditions. The CBN presented the best G ratio values. Although, the G ratio values observed for the CBN wheel were lower than the expected one due to the non-effective dressing operation applied. In the conditions tested, in terms of cutting force and roughness, the conventional wheel is the best choice. In terms of G ratio, a cost analysis is crucial to determine if the differences observed among the wheels can justify the use of the CBN wheel. In a positive case, the dressing operation must be improved

We report herein on a comparison of the performance of two different grinding wheels (conventional and CBN) in the transverse cylindrical grinding of a eutectic alloy. Three cutting conditions were tested: rough, semi-finishing and finishing. The parameters of evaluation were the cutting force, roughness and wheel wear. The optimal cutting force and roughness values were obtained when grinding with the conventional wheel, due to the superior dressing operation performed under every cutting condition tested. Although the CBN wheel presented the best G ratio values, they were lower than expected owing to the inappropriate dressing operation applied. Excessive wheel corner wear was detected in both wheels, caused by the grinding kinematics (transverse grinding) employed. In terms of cutting force and roughness, the conventional wheel proved to be the better choice under the conditions tested. However, in terms of the G ratio, a cost analysis is crucial to determine whether the differences between the wheels justify the use of the CBN wheel, in which case the dressing operation requires improvement