Dressing Tips for Grinding Wheels

Grinding is the process of sharpening the grains of super-hard grinding wheels. In this process, it is necessary to remove the bonding agent between the abrasive grains and 

the abrasive grains of the blunt grinding wheel so that the abrasive grains with strong grinding performance can be highlighted with the bonding agent and a sharp cutting 

edge can be formed. It is also necessary to remove fine materials from the holes on the surface of the grinding wheel to prevent the grinding force acting on the grinding 

wheel from increasing the grinding wheel, which will cause vibration and burn on the surface of the part. Without proper dressing, even the grinding wheel cannot achieve 

high quality and dimensional consistency of the processed parts.

In fact, when you buy high-quality grinding wheels, it is important to dress them well to achieve high grinding performance. It can be said that dressing is part of the 

preparation of the grinding wheel, which is carried out at the same time as ordinary grinding wheel grinding. For super-hard abrasive grinding wheels, these two processes 

are carried out separately. First, the grinding wheel is shaped, and in the process of grinding with super-hard grinding wheels, shaping is performed using a forming tool or 

roller, and dressing rods with ceramic bonds are usually used for dressing. After shaping, the grinding wheel is sharpened.

Before dressing the grinding wheel (including dressing and grinding), it is important to ensure that the spindle bearing is kept at a certain temperature (such as the normal 

grinding state of the grinding wheel). This can prevent damage to the geometry of the part and abnormal wear of the part. Dressing tools must be used with care because 

they are usually made of hard, wear-resistant but very brittle diamond materials and are very sensitive to tiny cracks and fractures caused by slight impacts and stress. Since 

the diamond dresser itself is a tool, it needs to be kept very sharp. Using a blunt dressing tool to dress the grinding wheel surface will blunt the grinding wheel. In order to 

maintain high quality and sharp diamond dressing tools, 1/8 dressing tools must be used regularly. The dressing tool must be rotated one circle at a single point or conical 

point. The number of rotations can be determined according to the dressing situation and based on experience, and it should be rotated at least once a day. Dressing tools 

usually need to be rotated 180° before they become blunt. Most cylindrical grinders place the part and the grinding wheel on a horizontal line, and the point where the outer 

circle of the part and the outer circle of the grinding wheel are called the contact point of the part/grinding wheel.

The diamond dressing tool should be as close as possible to the contact point of the part/grinding wheel. For the grinding wheel of the built-in grinder, it is more important 

to dress the diamond dressing tool at the angle of the grinding wheel near the outer circle (that is, the contact point of the part/grinding wheel when drilling). For 

micro-dressing, it seems that there is always a tendency to choose a larger depth to reduce the dressing time. This is a very wrong idea. The grinding wheel must be dressed 

at the most appropriate depth. Choosing too much dressing depth will lead to higher cutting temperature, reduce the service life of the dresser, and cut out the useful 

grinding wheel layer. The final result is damage to the dresser and the grinding wheel, which is counterproductive.

The amount of dressing is not to restore the geometry of the grinding wheel. When using a single-point dressing tool, contact the diameter of the grinding wheel at an angle 

of 10-15o, which will give the single-point dressing tool a sharpening effect. During regular rotation, the multi-touch dressing tool does not need to be tilted at this angle, 

but uses the entire end face of the dressing tool to contact the grinding wheel surface. The lateral movement speed is the speed at which the dressing tool passes through 

the surface of the grinding wheel during the dressing process. It plays a key role in the surface roughness and metal removal rate required for machining parts. Moving 

sideways too slowly will block the grinding wheel and damage the roughness and metal removal rate of the surface parts. Too slow lateral movement can also cause the 

grinding wheel to vibrate and burn the surface of the part. A uniform and fast lateral movement speed will dress the surface of the grinding wheel, improve grinding 

performance, improve grinding efficiency, and reduce the roughness of the grinding surface parts. Keep it cool. Proper use of coolant can speed up dressing and improve 

dressing efficiency.

According to experience, using a 3/8-inch diameter coolant will take away a lot of heat from the dresser and extend the life of the dresser. The dressing tool passes through 

the grinding wheel, and a coolant nozzle is installed that covers the entire surface of the grinding wheel or continuously fills the coolant into the diamond dressing tool. 

When the dressing tool contacts the grinding wheel, never let the dressing tool withdraw from the grinding wheel. Otherwise, the diamond dressing tool will crack or break 

under the extreme temperature changes of cold and hot. High-precision filtration of the coolant using a filter can avoid multiple dust or debris cycles in the coolant. 

Contaminated coolant will quickly wear the grinding wheel and increase the dressing time of the grinding wheel. The grinding wheel of the diamond dressing tool can be 

worn during dry grinding (cooling) to dry dress the grinding wheel. Before going to work every day, turn off the coolant and let the grinding wheel idle for a few minutes to 

prevent the grinding wheel from breaking. Vibration is the enemy of dressing. In grinding wheel dressing, it is very important to effectively reduce vibration and avoid leaving 

dressing marks on the grinding wheel surface, collision and damage of the dressing tool, which means that the grinding wheel must also be balanced, which is determined 

by the structural characteristics of the grinding wheel itself.

The inherent balance of the grinding wheel is affected by the uneven density and geometry of the grinding wheel, so it is also important to choose a high-quality grinding 

wheel. It is a high-quality grinding wheel, and only when it is installed correctly can the grinding wheel be well balanced. According to the manufacturer's factory instructions, 

the grinding wheel is marked with an upward arrow, indicating the position of the light end of the grinding wheel after rough balancing, and then the user can be guided by 

the arrow indication and pay attention to the dressing of the grinding wheel to achieve dynamic balance. Evenly injecting coolant sometimes also helps whey I want balance. 

To further avoid vibration, you must ensure that the dressing tool is firmly clamped on the clamping seat and maintain a small overhang to ensure that the dressing tool has 

sufficient rigidity. It will cause vibration and noise, ripples on the surface of the part, strain on the surface of the part and damage the dressing tool. The super-hard grinding 

wheel must be shaped and ground before starting grinding. Following the experience described in this article will help your grinding wheel produce a grinding effect.