The Diagnostics of Abrasive Tools After Internal Cylindrical Grinding of Hard-to-Cut Materials by Means of a Laser Technique Using Imaging and Analysis of Scattered Light

The formation of smears on the grinding wheel active surface is one of most undesirable phenomena during abrasive machining. Intensive growth of such smears leads to a decrease in the machining capacity of the grinding wheel, which, in turn increases the grinding power and the effects of friction upon the process, reducing efficiency. What is very important in this context is the possibility to inspect the condition of the grinding wheel active surface during the grinding process in order to detect the excessive growth of smears. Such an inspection can be carried out by automatic machine vision systems, or systems using optical measuring methods (especially those from a group of light scattering methods). In the paper is presented and discussed a proposal for optical inspection using laser scatterometry, as well as image processing and analysis techniques. It involves the acquisition of an image of scattered light during the illumination of tested surfaces by a laser light (wavelength λ = 635 nm). The analysis of such an image can enable the procurement of the values of geometric and photometric parameters, which then be correlated with, for example, the selected parameters of surface roughness obtained by other techniques. Experimental investigations were carried out on grinding wheel active surfaces after internal cylindrical grinding of hard-to-cut materials. The discussed methods were confirmed to be useful, which could be an interesting alternative to solving the important problem of diagnostics of abrasive tools in machining processes.