Mount the wheel dresser on the grinder table. Bring the rotating grinding
wheel up close to the diamond and start the coolant flow. Never dress
without coolant. Frictional heat buildup can cause the diamond to come
loose or separate from its mount. Lack of lubricating properties, along
with cooling, abrades the diamond needlessly.
Best results will be obtained if the diamond is brought into contact
with the center of the wheel; fed in a maximum of .002? then traversed
each direction (left and right) off the edge of the wheel. Learning the
best traverse rate for dressing the wheel is a matter of trial and
error for each operator. You have to be fast enough to prevent glazing,
but slow enough to minimize spiral lead marks.
Dressing from the center of the wheel outward to each edge helps
minimize the effect of the spiral lead marks on the finish of the
workpiece. Do not remove more than .002? per pass. Excessive in-feed
will cause the wheel to act like it’s loaded. This results from wheel
material being “pasted” into newly exposed wheel porosity.
The type of dress applied to the grinding wheel may be changed to
suit different grinding needs. A rapid traverse will remove large
amounts of material quickly. A slower traverse will produce a more
desirable finish, but won’t remove material as rapidly.
Whenever the sides of a grinding wheel are found to run out, they
should be dressed. With the dresser mounted to the table, bring the
diamond into contact with the grinding wheel near its front corner,
then feed in a maximum .002?. The wheel is then fed in and out until
the necessary amount has been dressed from the wheel. Always dress off
enough material to provide a continuous, smooth surface on each side of
the wheel.
When regrinding a crankshaft, every possible attempt should be made to
duplicate the original corner radii to prevent the crankshaft from
being weakened. Position the diamond in the holder facing out the
front. Slide the holder back, and position and lock the radius adjuster
at the desired dimension. Then slide the diamond holder forward until
the diamond contacts the radius adjustment stop. Tighten the diamond
holder, then unlock and retract the adjustment stop.
Feed the wheel into position fully forward. Using fine feed, bring
the diamond into contact with the front face of the wheel and dress
full width. Then back the wheel away from the diamond .004?; loosen the
swivel lock and remove one of the stop pins so the upper swivel can be
rotated though 90° of travel.
While pivoting the diamond through its 90° arc, bring the wheel into
contact and dress off the required amount from one corner. Repeat this
process for the opposite corner by replacing the first stop pin and
removing the second pin to provide 90° rotation in the opposite
direction.
Be sure to keep your diamond dresser tools sharp. Rotate the diamond 30°-45° after each dressing operation.
Jim Tapp is an ASE-Certified Master Machinist. He is employed as
a Technical Support Manager by Goodson Shop Supplies, located in
Winona, MN.
