Experimental Study of the Causes for Shape Error of a Large Workpiece Machined by Surface Grinding

In surface grinding of a large workpiece used for a sliding surface of the machine tool, high shape accuracy is required for the ground surface. Therefore, it is important to investigate the causes of the shape error observed in a large workpiece machined by surface grinding. In this study, we focused on the thermal deformation and residual stress as the causes of shape error. The in-process measurement of the workpiece temperature distribution was carried out to estimate the effect of the thermal deformation to the shape error. The estimated value of the shape error calculated from the measured temperature distribution was much less than the actual measured shape error. Therefore, the residual stress on the ground surface was measured with a portable X-ray stress measurement device. The residual stress was changed from compressed state to tensile state as the grinding pass increased. The ground shape was also deformed to concave shape as the grinding pass increased. The value of the shape error was finally reached to the constant value in several grinding conditions. From these experimental results, it is suggested that the shape error of the large workpiece is caused by the residual stress applied to the ground surface.