Studies on the surface quality of the unsteady-state grinding technique

Ultra-precision grinding for advanced ceramics has been achieved by the unsteady-state grinding technique. This paper deals mainly with observing and analyzing the surface quality of silicon nitride ground by a pink fused alumina wheel with different grinding parameters. To optimize the grinding parameters in the process of unsteady-state grinding, experiments of X-ray diffraction, energy spectrum analysis, SEM observation and roughness measurement were performed. The results show that there do exist optimum grinding conditions such as grain size, coolant, and cutting depth, etc. Finally, the surface roughness Ra can be as good as 0.01 μm under optimum conditions.