Development of a laser-guided deep-hole internal-grinding tool (series 2): Performance of guidance

In deep hole grinding, sufficient accuracy is not obtained due to insufficient rigidity of a shank of a grinding wheel. To resolve the problem, the laser-guided deep-hole internal grinding tool is developed for finishing deep-holes with high straightness and surface quality. The tool consists of a grinding head, the front and rear actuators mounted on an actuator holder and a laser diode set in the back end of the holder. Tool attitude (position and inclination) is detected by the laser diode and two PSDs (Position-Sensitive Detector). The guiding axis is set using optical device located in front of the tool. In series 1, the performance of the tool is examined with respect to the grinding forces. When grinding the cemented carbide with a depth of cut of 30 μ m and the high speed steel with a depth of cut of 30 μ m, the torques are 8% and 20% of the maximum torque of the air motor, respectively. The stiffness of air motor spindle is 0.6 μ m/N. The displacement of the grinding motor when grinding cemented carbide with a depth of cut of 200 μ m is 4 μ m, which can be automatically corrected during grinding. In this paper, the performance of guidance of tool is examined with respect to its guidance. The results show that deep hole grinding is performed with precisely guided. The hole can be finished with high straightness and surface quality.