An investigation into parallel and cross grinding of BK7 glass

Conventional grinding of BK7 glass will normally result in brittle fracture at the surface, generating severe sub-surface damage and poor surface finish. The precision grinding of BK7 glass in parallel and cross grinding modes has been investigated. Grinding process, maximum chip thickness, ductile/brittle regime, surface roughness and sub-surface damage have been addressed. Special attention has been given to the condition for generating a ductile mode response on the ground surface. A polishing–etching method has been used to obtain the depth of sub-surface damage. Experiments reveal that the level of surface roughness and depth of sub-surface damage vary differently for different grinding modes. This study gives an indication of the strategy to follow to achieve high quality ground surfaces on brittle materials.