Improvement of form accuracy in cylindrical traverse grinding with steady rest by controlling traverse speed

In cylindrical traverse grinding, a slender workpiece is bent by the normal grinding force due to its low stiffness. Consequently, a form error is generated by the elastic deformation of the workpiece during the grinding process. To prevent such deformation of the workpiece, a steady rest is generally used. However, when the contact point between the workpiece and the steady rest is ground, the pushing force of the steady rest is lost, and the elastic deformation of the workpiece is increased immediately. As a result, a step shape error is generated at the contact point. To improve the use of the steady rest, the elastic deformation of the workpiece during the grinding process is simulated using the beam model considering the steady rest in this study. From the analysis results, it was determined that placing the steady rest outside the grinding part can reduce the elastic deformation of the workpiece. In addition, the traverse speed was controlled to maintain a constant elastic deformation. Through grinding experiments, it was confirmed that the form accuracy of the slender workpiece was improved by setting the steady rest outside the grinding part and adjusting the traverse speed.