Editing Grinding machine (section)

==Overview==

The grinding machine consists of a bed with a fixture to guide and hold the workpiece and a power-driven grinding wheel spinning at the required speed. The wheel’s diameter and the manufacturer’s rating determine the speed. The grinding head can travel across a fixed workpiece, or the workpiece can be moved while the grinding head stays in a fixed position.

Fine control of the grinding head or table position is possible using a [[Vernier scale|vernier]] calibrated hand wheel or using the features of [[numerical control]]s.

Grinding machines remove material from the workpiece by abrasion, which can generate substantial amounts of heat. To cool the workpiece so that it does not overheat and go outside its [[tolerance (engineering)|tolerance]], grinding machines incorporate a [[cutting fluid|coolant]]. The coolant also benefits the machinist as the heat generated may cause burns. In high-precision grinding machines (most cylindrical and surface grinders), the final grinding stages are usually set up so that they remove about 200&nbsp; nm (less than 1/10000&nbsp; in) per pass - this generates so little heat that even with no coolant, the temperature rise is negligible.