What Is Surface Grinding?
Surface grinding is the final step in the metal and wood processing process (cutting, grinding, and polishing). In addition to finishing to improve the aesthetics of the workpiece, surface polishing is used to remove minute irregularities and fine precision adjustment to prevent rust and dirt from adhering to the workpiece. It is also used for paint removal, rust removal, and base finishing prior to painting.
Surface grinding includes abrasive grinding using a grinding stone with embedded abrasive grains, polishing with abrasives, and electropolishing, in which processing is performed in an electrolytic solution.
Uses of Surface Grinding
Surface grinding is widely used for DIY projects, removing scratches from car and motorcycle bodies, manufacturing industrial products, and in construction and building sites. Typical applications are as follows:
- DIY: Used for woodworking surface finishing, plastic processing, etc.
- Automobiles: Used to remove rust and scratches, and to produce a mirror-finish on the body after painting.
- Industrial Products: Used for finishing of furniture, bearings, bearings, aircraft propellers, ship screws, metal pipes, granite, etc.
- Construction and Architecture: In addition to paint removal from bridges and surface preparation prior to painting, it is also used for surface treatment of concrete, asphalt, and stone.
Types of Surface Grinding
Surface grinding processes include grinding wheel polishing, lapping, buffing, barrel polishing, electrolytic polishing, and chemical polishing. The features of each are described below.
- Abrasive Wheel Polishing: Abrasive wheel polishing is a process in which a grinding wheel with embedded abrasive grains is rotated and polished.
- Lapping: Lapping is a process in which the workpiece is placed on a flat surface called a lap and force is applied from above to rub the abrasive grains against the workpiece. There are two types of lapping methods: wet lapping using a liquid abrasive and dry lapping using a lap with embedded abrasive grains.
- Buffing: Buffing is a process in which a cloth buff is coated with an abrasive and rotated to polish the surface grinding of the workpiece.
- Barrel Polishing: Barrel polishing is a process in which the workpiece, abrasive stones, abrasive, and water are simultaneously fed into a large machine, which rotates or vibrates to mix them together.
- Electropolishing: Electropolishing is a surface grinding process in which the workpiece is immersed in an electrolytic solution and an electric current is passed between the anode and a suitable cathode.
- Chemical Polishing: Chemical polishing is a process in which the object is immersed in a chemical polishing solution (acidic liquid) to dissolve and polish fine surface irregularities.