Acoustic emission testing of surface roughness and wear caused by grinding of ceramic materials

The current manufacturing trend mainly involves automation precisely to offer better productivity and improved quality. In this context, on-line monitoring of tools becomes essential. Acoustic emission is the most recognized technique used for condition monitoring of machine tools. Grinding is a material removal and surface generation process employed to shape and finish components made of metals and other materials. The research work deals with machining of CUMITUFF WR-90 alumina ceramics by employing two different grinding wheels made of aluminum oxide and silicon carbide under varying depth of cut. Surface roughness of the machined component and wear of both grinding wheels were analyzed using acoustic emission technique. For a constant depth, the quality of machining has been improved for the material grinded using silicon carbide wheel, which is inferred from low surface roughness value compared to material grinded using aluminum oxide wheel.