Method for Ball Screw Generation without Form-Dressing. Generation using a Grinding Wheel with an Irregular Shape.

This study deals with the development of a method for ball screw generation that uses a standard-shaped grinding wheel, instead of a form-grinding process that uses a form-dressed grinding wheel. The optimum angle of inclination of the wheel axis is determined by numerical simulation of the generation process. In the previous studies, the data of the planned standard-shape of the grinding wheel is used in the simulation process. However, the shape of an offered grinding wheel with super-abrasives is often different from the planned shape, that causes low accuracy of numerical simulations and generated ball screws. This study describes a method for ball screw generation using a grinding wheel with an irregular shape or an arbitrary profile to replace a form-dressed or standard-shaped grinding wheel. The shape of the grinding wheel actually used in the work-process is previously measured and the data of the shape of the wheel is translated to a computer to be used in the simulation process. Through the grinding simulation and generation experiments, it is shown that the ball screw generation method using an irregular-shaped or arbitrary-shaped grinding wheel has great advantage in manufacturing.