Tool & Cutter

Grinding Machine
 Objectives
• Identify and state the purposes of the main
parts of a cutter and tool grinder
• Grind clearance angles on helical and
staggered tooth cutters
• Grind a form-relieved cutter
• Set up the grinder for cylindrical and internal
grinding
 Universal Cutter and
Tool Grinder
• Designed primarily for grinding of cutting
tools such as milling cutters, reamers, and
taps

• Permits variety of other grinding operation

with addition of various attachments
– Internal, cylindrical, taper, and surface grinding
– Single-point grinding
– Cutting-off operations
Parts of the Universal Cutter
and Tool Grinder
• Base
– Heavy, cast-iron, boxlike construction
– Top of base machined to provide ways for
saddle

• Saddle
– Mounted on ways of base
– Moved in and out by crossfeed handwheels
– Upper part has machined and hardened ways at
right angles to ways on top of base
• Wheelhead
– Mounted on column at back of base
– Raised or lowered by wheelhead handwheels
– May be swiveled through 360º
– Spindle mounted in antifriction bearings
• Tapered and threaded at both ends to receive
grinding wheel collets
• Speed varied by stepped pulleys to suit size of wheel
• Table
– Two units: upper and lower table
• Lower table mounted on upper ways of saddle
Rests and moves on antifriction bearings
• Upper table fastened to lower table and may be swiveled for
grinding tapers
– Unit may be moved longitudinally by three table
traverse knobs
• Also traversed slowly by means of slow table
traverse crank
• Locked in place laterally and longitudinally
• Stop dogs
– Mounted in T-slot on front of table
– Control length of table traverse
Accessories and Attachments

• Right- and left-hand tailstocks

– Mounted in T-slot of upper table and support
work for certain grinding operations
– May be placed at any point along table

• Centering gage
– Used to align quickly tailstock center with center
of wheelhead spindle
– Used to align cutter tooth on center
• Universal workhead
– Mounted on left side of table
– Used for supporting end mills and face mills for grinding;
cylindrical grinding when equipped with pulley and motor;
– May have chuck mounted to hold work for internal
grinding and cutting-off operations

• Adjustable tooth rest

– Supports cutter tooth; fastened to wheelhead or table
– Another form: universal micrometer flicker type has
micrometer adjustment for small vertical movements
• Plain tooth rest blades
– Used for grinding straight-tooth milling
cutters
• Rounded tooth rest blades
– Used for sharpening shell end mills, small
end mills, taps, and reamers
• Inverted V-tooth rest blades
– Used for grinding periphery of staggered-
tooth cutters
• Hook, or L-shaped, tooth rest blades
– Used for sharpening slitting saws, straight-
tooth plain milling cutters with closely
spaced teeth, and end mills
• Offset tooth rest blades
– Universal type suitable for most applications
• Coarse-pitch helical milling cutters and large
face mills with inserted blades
• Cutter grinding mandrels and arbors
– Used when grinding milling cutters to they
are held in same manner as they are held for
milling
• Plain milling and side facing cutters
– Held on standard milling machine arbor, should
be held on grinding mandrel or cutter grinding
arbor
• Grinding mandrel
– Should be used to hold cutter
– Straight length is a sliding fit into cutter and
slightly tapered end will hold cutter securely for
grinding
 Milling Cutter Nomenclature

• Primary clearance
– Clearance ground on land adjacent to tooth face
– Angle formed between slope of land and line
tangent to periphery
– Prevents land behind cutting edge from rubbing on
work
• Secondary clearance
– Ground behind primary clearance
– Gives additional clearance to cutter behind face
• Cutting edge
– Formed by intersection of face of tooth with land
– Angle formed by face of tooth and primary clearance
called angle of keenness
– Cutting edges may be on one or both sides as well as
periphery
– Straight teeth;cutting edge engages along full width of
tooth at same moment
– Helical teeth; length of cutting edge contacting work
varies with helix angle
– Produce shearing action reducing vibration and chatter
• Helix angle (shear angle)
– Angle formed by angle of teeth and center line of cutter
– Measured with protractor or by bluing edge of cutter
teeth and rolling cutter against straightedge over sheet
of paper
• Marks left by teeth easily measured in relation to axis of
cutter
• Land
– Narrow surface behind cutting edge on primary
clearance produced when secondary clearance ground
on cutter
– On face mills, land called face edge
• Tooth angle
– Included angle between face of tooth and land caused
by grinding primary clearance
– Angle should be large as possible to provide
maximum strength at cutting edge and better
dissipation of heat generated during cutting
• Tooth face
– Surface on which metal being cut forms chip
– Flat as in straight-tooth plain milling cutters and
inserted face-tooth mills
– Curved as in helical milling cutters
 Cutter Clearance Angles
• General rule followed by large machine tool
manufacturer for grinding cutter clearance
angles:
– High-speed steel cutters
• 5º primary clearance plus additional 5º for secondary
clearance

– Carbide cutters used on machine steel ground

• 4º primary clearance plus additional 4º for secondary
clearance
Clearance angles for high-speed steel
cutters
Material to Primary Secondary
Be Machined Clearance Angle Clearance Angle

High-carbon and alloy steels 3° to 5° 6° to 10°

Machine steel 3° to 5° 6° to 10°

Cast iron 4° to 7° 7° to 12°

Medium and hard bronze 4° to 7° 7° to 12°

Brass and soft bronze 10° to 12° 13° to 17°

Aluminum, magnesium, and plastics 10° to 12° 13° to 17°

 Primary clearance angles for
cemented-carbide cutters

Periphery
Type of Cutter Steel Cast Iron Aluminum
Face or side 4° to 5° 7° 10°
Slotting 5° to 6° 7° 10°
Sawing 5° to 6° 7° 10°
 Methods of Grinding
Clearance on Cutters
• Three methods of grinding
– Clearance
– Hollow
– Circle

• Type of cutter being ground will

determine method used
 Clearance Grinding
• Produces flat surface on the land

• Four in. flaring-cup wheel used and is offset slightly

to permit long cutters to clear opposite side of wheel

• Tooth rest set between center and top of wheel

(never below center)

– Higher tooth rest placed, less clearance

• Tooth rest may be attached to table or wheelhead
(depends on type of cutter)
 Hollow Grinding

• Land produced is concave

• Six inch diameter dish or cutoff wheel
– Cutoff wheel produces better finish
• Better to grind diagonally opposite teeth in
rotation and take light cuts
• Wheel and cutter centers must be aligned
• Clearance obtained by raising or lowering
wheel
 Circle Grinding
• Provides only minute amount of clearance and used
mainly for reamers
– Reamer mounted between centers and rotated backward
so heel of tooth contacts wheel first
– As tooth rotates against wheel, pressure of wheel causes
cutter to spring back slightly
• Set on center
• Secondary clearance must be by clearance or hollow
grinding
• Also used to obtain concentricity of milling cutters
prior to clearance or hollow grinding
 Methods of Checking Cutter
Clearance Angles

• Three methods of determining tooth

clearance on milling cutter
– Dial indicator
– Brown & Sharpe cutter clearance gage
– Starrett cutter clearance gauge
To Check Cutter Clearance
with a Dial Indicator

• Clearance determined by movement of

indicator needle from front to back of cutter
land
• Basic rule used to determine clearance:
– Land of 1/16-in width, 1º clearance equivalent
to .001 in. on dial indicator
• Cutter diameter does not affect measurement
To Check Cutter Clearance with a
Brown & Sharpe Clearance Gage

• Inside surfaces of hardened arms (90º) placed

on top of two teeth of cutter
– Cutter revolved to bring face of tooth into contact
with angle ground on end of hardened center
blade
– Clearance angle of tooth should
correspond with angle marked
on end of blade
– Two gauge blades furnished
Checking Cutter Clearance with a
Starrett Cutter Clearance Gage

• Used to check clearance on all types of inch

cutters from 2 to 30 in. in diameter providing
teeth are evenly spaced
– Also small cutters and end mills from ½ to 2 in
• Gage consists of frame graduated from 0º to
30º, fixed foot, and beam
• Blade used to check angle of land on tooth
– Indicated on protractor on top of frame
 Cutter Grinding
Operations and Setups

• Important milling cutters ground properly and

to correct clearance angles
– Will not cut efficiently and life shortened
• Important to sharpen cutters when show wear
• Cutters should be sharpened when wear
land .006 in. for cutters up to ½ in. diameter,
and .020 in. for cutters over ½ in. diameter
Common Signs of Cutter Wear

• Surface finish on workpiece gets poorer

• Unusual noise and smoking while cutting
• Large burr appears on edge of workpiece
• Accuracy of cut changes
• Chips being produced turn blue
• Wear land on teeth is visible
Procedure to Grind a Plain Helical
Milling Cutter

Primary Clearance
1. Mount parallel-ground test bar between
tailstock centers and check alignment with
indicator
2. Remove test bar
3. Mount 4-in. flaring-cup wheel (A60-L 5-V
BE) on grinding head spindle so wheel
rotates in counterclockwise direction
4. Adjust machine so wheel revolves at proper
speed
5. True face of wheel and dress cutting edge so it
is no more than 1/16in wide
6. Swivel wheelhead to 89º so wheel will touch
cutter on left side of wheel only
7. Using centering gage, adjust wheelhead
spindle to height of tailstock centers; Lock
wheelhead spindle
8. Mount cutter on mandrel and place
temporarily between footstock centers on
machine table
9. Set up tooth rest, on which offset tooth rest
blade has been mounted, on wheelhead
housing
• Adjust top of tooth rest to approximately center
height
10. Move table until cutter near tooth rest
11. Adjust tooth rest between two teeth at
approximate helix angle of cutter teeth
12. Chalk or blue top of tooth rest blade
13. Move cutter over tooth rest blade and rotate
it until tooth rests on top of blade
14. While holding tooth face against rest,
traverse table back and forth to mark point
where tooth bears on tooth rest blade
15. Remove mandrel and cutter from between
centers
16. Using centering gage, adjust tooth rest so
center of marked bearing point on tooth rest
is at center height and in center of grinding
surface of wheel
17. Place dog on end of grinding mandrel and
mount work between tailstock centers
18. Adjust cutter tooth onto top of tooth rest
blade
19. Set cutter clearance setting dial to zero and
lock and adjust dog into pin of cutter
clearance gage
20. Set wheelhead graduated collar to zero
21. Loosen wheelhead lock and the cutter
clearance setting dial lock
22. Holding cutter tooth on tooth rest blade,
carefully lower wheelhead until required
clearance is shown on cutter clearance dial
• Flaring-cup wheel: distance calculated either
1. Distance = .0087 x clearance angle x cutter dia
2. Distance = sine of clearance angle x cutter dia /2
• If hollow-ground
1. Distance = .0087 x clearance angle x wheel dia
  Vertical wheelhead adjustment for
cutter clearance angles

• Cutter Clearance Angle and Distance

Diameter 4° 5° 6°
• (in.) in. mm in. mm in. mm
• 1/2 .017 0.45 .022 0.55 .026 0.65
• 3/4 .026 0.65 .033 0.85 .040 1
• 1 .035 0.9 .044 1.1 .053 1.35
• 1 1/4 .044 1.1 .055 1.4 .066 1.65
• 1 1/2 .053 1.35 .066 1.65 .079 2
• 1 3/4 .061 1.55 .076 1.95 .092 2.35
23. Remove dog from end of mandrel and unlock
table
24. Adjust table stops so wheel clears cutter
sufficiently at each end to permit indexing for
next tooth
25. Start grinding wheel
26. Carefully feed cutter in until just touches wheel
27. At rear of machine, turn table traverse knob
with left hand; right hand holds arbor firmly to
keep cutter tooth on tooth rest
28. Grind one tooth for full length and return to
starting position
29. Traverse table until cutter clear of tooth rest
and rotate cutter until diagonally opposite
tooth comes in line with tooth rest blade
30. Grind this tooth without changing infeed
setting
31. Check for taper by measuring both ends of
cutter with micrometer
32. Remove any taper, if necessary, by
loosening holding nuts on upper table and
adjusting table
33. Grind remaining teeth
34. Finish-grind all teeth by using a .0005 in.
depth of cut
35. If land over 1/16 in. for larger cutters, grind
secondary clearance
 Procedure to Grind the Secondary
Clearance of a Plain Helical Milling Cutter

1. Reset dog on mandrel as for grinding primary

clearance
2. Loosen clearance dial setscrew
3. Hold cutter tooth against tooth rest and lower
wheelhead until secondary clearance shown on
setting dial
4. Lock dial, remove dog, and proceed to grind in
same manner as for primary clearance
5. Grind secondary clearance until land is required
width
Procedure to Grind a Staggered Tooth
Cutter

1. Carry out steps 1-7 for grinding primary

clearance on plain helical milling center
2. Mount staggered-tooth cutter tooth rest
blade in holder and mount unit on
wheelhead
3. Place high point of inverted V exactly in
center of width of grinding wheel cutting
face and at center height
4. Place centering gage on table and adjust
wheelhead eight until highest point of tooth
rest blade is at center height
5. Mount cutter between centers with dog
loosely on mandrel and adjust table until one
cutter tooth rests on blade and lock table in
position
6. Set cutter clearance dial to zero and tighten
dog on mandrel
7. Loosen cutter clearance dial lock and
wheelhead lock
8. Lightly holding cutter tooth onto tooth rest
blade, lower wheelhead until required clearance
shows on clearance setting dial
9. Remove clearance setting dog and unlock table
10. Set stop dogs so wheel clears both sides of
cutter enough to allow indexing for next tooth
11. Start grinding wheel
12. Adjust saddle until cutter just touches grinding
wheel
13. Grind one tooth and move cutter clear of tooth
rest
14. Rotate next tooth, which is offset in opposite
direction, onto tooth rest and grind it on the
return stroke
15. After grinding two teeth, check them to see if
same height. If not, adjust. Repeat process until
teeth are within .0003 in.
 Secondary Clearance

• Need to provide adequate chip clearance

when milling deep slots
– Secondary clearance of 20º to 25º recommended on
staggered-tooth cutters

– Suggested enough be ground to reduce

width of land to approximately 1/32 in.
• Permit regrinding of primary clearance at least once
without need for grinding secondary clearance
 Procedure to Grind the Secondary
Clearance on a Staggered-Tooth Cutter

1. Remove tooth rest from wheelhead and

mount it on table between tailstocks
• Universal micrometer flicker-type tooth rest and
straight blade should be used to permit cutter to
be rotated
2. Place centering gage on table and bring
center of one tooth to center height
• Mark tooth with layout dye or chalk
3. Locate dog on clearance setting dial pin and
tighten it on mandrel
4. Rotate cutter to desired amount of clearance
using clearance setting dial
5. Adjust tooth rest under, or on side of marked
tooth
6. Swivel table to right or left to grind straight land
7. Grind secondary clearance on this tooth until
land is 1/32 in. wide
8. Grind all remaining teeth having the same
slope or helix
9. Swivel table in opposite direction and
follow steps 6, 7, and 8 to set up and grind
remaining teeth
 Procedure to Grind Side
Clearance

• Side of teeth of any milling cutter should not

be ground unless absolutely necessary
1. Mount cutter on stub arbor in workhead
2. Mount flaring-cup wheel
3. Tilt workhead to desired primary clearance
angle
• Generally 2º to 4º
• Secondary clearance is about 12º
4. Place centering gage on wheelhead and adjust
one tooth of cutter until it is on center and level
• Clamp workhead spindle
5. Mount tooth rest on workhead using flicker-type
rest and plain blade
6. Raise or lower wheelhead so grinding wheel
contacts only tooth resting on blade
7. Grind primary clearance on all teeth
8. Tilt workhead to required angle for secondary
clearance and grind all teeth
 Grinding a
Form-Relieved Cutter
• Ground on face of teeth rather than on
periphery
• Form of cutter will be changed when it is
sharpened
• On the first time, grind backs of teeth before
grinding cutting face
– Ensures all teeth same thickness
– Necessary since locating pawl on grinding fixture
bears against back of tooth when ground
Procedure to Grind a Form-
Relieved Cutter

1. Swing wheelhead so spindle is 90º to table

travel
2. Mount dish wheel and proper wheel guard
3. Mount gear cutter sharpening attachment on
table to left of grinding wheel
4. Place gear cutter on stud of attachment so
back of each tooth may be ground
5. Place centering gage on wheelhead and adjust
wheelhead until center of tooth face is on center
6. Move table in until back edge of tooth is near
grinding wheel
• Rotate cutter until back of tooth is parallel with face
of wheel
7. Engage edge of pawl on face of tooth and clamp
pawl in place
8. Grind back of this tooth
9. Move table to left so that cutter is clear of
grinding wheel
10. Index cutter so that pawl will bear against next
tooth
11. Grind backs of all teeth
12. Reverse cutter on stud and adjust pawl against
back of tooth, after face of tooth has been brought
to bear against centering gage fastened to
attachment
• Swing centering gage out of way
13. Adjust saddle to bring face of one tooth in line
with grinding wheel.
• Thereafter, adjust saddle only to compensate for wheel
wear
14. Loosen one setscrew and tighten other to rotate
cutter against grinding wheel
15. Grind one tooth, traverse table, and index for next
tooth
16. Grind all tooth faces
Procedure to Grind Work Parallel
Between Centers

• With motorized workhead, cutter and tool

grinder may be used for cylindrical and
plunge grinding
• Work ground between centers or held in
chuck
• Mount motorized workhead on left end of
table
2. Examine centers of machine and work to see that
they are in good condition
3. Using centering gage on wheelhead, adjust
wheelhead to tailstock center height
4. Mount a 6 in. straight grinding wheel on wheelhead
spindle so that wheel rotates downward at front of
wheel
5. Mount a parallel hardened and ground test bar
between centers
6. Using dial indicator, align centers for height and
then align side of bar parallel with table travel
• Remove bar and indicator
7. Mount work between centers
8. Set stop dogs so that wheel overlaps work by
one-third width of wheelface at each end
9. Start grinding wheel and workhead
• Workpiece should revolve in opposite direction to that
of grinding wheel
10. Bring revolving work up until it touches
grinding wheel
11. Traverse table slowly and clean up workpiece
• Work travels approximately one-quarter width of wheel
for each revolution of work
12. Measure each end of workpiece for size and
taper
13. After work parallel, set crossfeed graduated
collar to zero
14. Feed work into grinding wheel
approximately .001 in. per pass until work
within .001 in. of finished size
• Use .0002 in. cuts for finishing
15. Feed in work until graduated collar indicates it
is proper size
16. Traverse table several time to permit wheel to
spark out
• Same procedure followed for taper grinding,
except table must be swung to half angle of
taper
Procedure for Internal Grinding

1. Mount test bar in workhead spindle and align it

both vertically and horizontally
• When grinding tapered hole, workhead spindle
must be aligned vertically and then swung to half
included angle of taper
2. Mount internal grinding attachment on
workhead
3. Center grinding wheel spindle using centering
gage
4. Mount proper grinding wheel on spindle
5. Mount chuck on motorized workhead
6. Mount work in chuck
7. Set rotation of workhead in opposite direction
to that of grinding spindle
8. Start grinding wheel and workpiece
9. Carefully bring wheel into hole of workpiece
10. Set table travel so that only one-third of wheel
overlaps hole at each end
11. Clean up inside of hole and check for size,
parallelism, and bell-mouthing
12. Set crossfeed graduated collar to zero and
determine amount of material to be removed
13. Feed grinding wheel in about .0005 in. per pass
14. When work is close to finished size, let wheel
spark out to improve finish and remove spring
from spindle
15. Finish-grind hole to size