In the grinding process, the surface shape of the grinding wheel is directly transferred to the workpiece. Therefore, if the surface shape of the grinding wheel can be determined before actual processing, the ground shape of the workpiece after processing can be predicted. Here, a measured focus position recalculation method applying the point autofocus profiling method is proposed. This study was performed to measure the three-dimensional surface shape of the grinding wheel using the proposed surface shape measuring device. The measurement results of a steel ball, abrasive grains, and a grinding wheel confirmed that all measured objects could be measured with high accuracy.

The grinding wheel cover is one of the most important safety parts that protect the machine tool operator from abrasive fragments. The wheel cover material and thickness are defined in ISO 16089 and JIS B 6033, which are specifications for grinding machine safety. There have been few studies regarding collision using brittle projectiles, so the related phenomena have not been clarified. Especially, the relations between collision safety and mechanical properties of cover material have not been evaluated quantitatively. This study involved collision experiments of an abrasive projectile (WA46O8V) against four types of wheel cover material with different tensile strengths (SS400, SUS304, C2801, and A5052) to determine the effects of the stress-strain curve on collision safety. The experimental results indicated that the collision safety can be predicted by yield ratio and the integral value of the stress-strain curve of the cover material. In addition, the applicable conditions of the derived prediction equation for collision safety were clarified using FEM analysis.

In the double-sided polishing of glass substrates using suede pads, the polishing rate gradually decreases with polishing time. It was assumed that the pad surface properties affect the friction coefficient. This study was performed to verify the effects of the contact rate by contact image analysis using a prism. In a continuous 6-batch polishing test using a single-sided single-wafer polishing machine with a suede pad, it was confirmed that the contact ratio increased markedly as the number of batches progressed. The extreme increase in contact ratio reduces the friction coefficient and decreases the polishing rate by reducing retention of the slurry containing abrasive grains at the polishing interface.