Surface topography modeling and analysis of camshaft generated by swing grinding process

Abstract

In conventional grinding (CG), camshafts with wide profiles suffer from poor quality and low efficiency because the large contact area between the grinding wheel and camshaft profile limits the diffusion of grinding temperature, leading to burn defects. Swing grinding (SG) can mitigate these problems as it involves a reciprocating motion along the axis of the grinding wheel; however, the lack of understanding of machined surface topography has restricted its application. Therefore, in this study, a surface topography prediction model was proposed based on the distribution, shape, and trajectory of grains. The model was verified through experiments, and the mean error was 10.2% for Rax and 3.8% for Ray; the roughness along the grinding direction was Rax, and the roughness along the vertical grinding direction was Ray. Compared to CG, SG has a 8% lower Rax. The influence of the wheel speed and feed rate in SG is consistent with that in CG. Rax exhibited a periodic trend with an increase in the swing amplitude and a monotonically decreasing trend with an increase in the swing frequency. The variation trend of Ray with the swing amplitude was the same as that of Rax. Furthermore, Ray exhibited a nonlinear increasing trend with an increase in swing frequency. Considering the processing and practical application of camshafts, the swing amplitude should be within 4 mm, the swing frequency should be within 3 Hz, the grinding wheel speed should be large, and the feed rate should be small.