Abstract: Based on the random spatial movement of grains, a numerical approach is proposed for a grinding wheel 3D model while regarding the shape of grains as a sphere. The grains located on the grinding wheel surface are extracted to generate a visual topology as a function of x, y, z and the sphere grain model is converted into an irregular hexahedron. The dressing process is modeled as well in terms of a single point diamond. This grinding wheel characters are calculated through measuring its topology with a laser sensor, which are used to experimentally validate the simulation results. The estimated parameters for grinding wheels, such as grains protrusion height, grains spacing, are compared to discuss the difference between the experimental and numerical results. The frequency of grains protrusion height is approximately normal distribution prior to being dressed, and it is conditionally converted into uniform distribution after dressing. The spacing represented by most grains is from 0.2 mm to 0.6 mm. This grinding wheel model and its corresponding dressing approach are successfully validated, and that provides a valuable basis for investigating its effect on the ground workpiece surface.

Key words: Dressing model, Grains protrusion height, Grinding wheel topology, Simulation