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Titanium grinding wheel recommendation

praff

Aluminum
Joined
Feb 1, 2016
Can someone recommend a wheel for grinding grade 5 titanium??

I am grinding small parts to be flush with another surface. Probably grind less than 15 thou total and like i said it is a small part (1”x2” ish). I am grinding on a boyar schultz manual machine and like to grind dry. If I absolutely need to use mist coolant, I will, but definitely would rather not. I grind in about .0005” doc and speedy across x axis and take my time moving in y axis. I am using a general purpose open grain structure wheel now that I use to grind 4140 without issue. When using it for titanium, it wants to load up and generate quite a bit of heat. My instincts tell me to go harder in wheel hardness, but I am a newbie to grinding and not sure.

Recommendations from someone would be a great help so I dont end up buying a bunch of wheels to find one to work. Thanks in advance.
 
We have had luck with a Norton 1/2" wide X 7" Norton 46H (brown in color)on titanium. It won't hold a sharp corner but gets rid of stock. You didn't mention the type of wheel that is loading up. 60 grit and up will probably be too hard but not everyone grinds the same.
 
We have had luck with a Norton 1/2" wide X 7" Norton 46H (brown in color)on titanium. It won't hold a sharp corner but gets rid of stock. You didn't mention the type of wheel that is loading up. 60 grit and up will probably be too hard but not everyone grinds the same.

Perfect!!! Thanks for recommendation, I will give one a shot. I haven’t been in shop for past couple days so I dont have specs on the wheel I have been using. It’s a norton and I believe around 60grit open structure type wheel (pink) but I am not sure what hardness is on it.
 
I have used an air cool gun for such work with some success on jobs not using coolant.

Cold Air Guns, Nozzles | Industrial Spot Air Cooling Equipment

Have suspended part (s) a tad off the chuck to allow better cooling so coolant could surround the part. That can also be done with air cool.

Have employed a two-wheel grind so a very course open structure wheel would rough in, perhaps so open and course that I might down feed only to being part to + .0015 or .002. Then with a wheel change go for surface finish needs.

Tickle and cross is such a time waste for getting to size so any time one can avoid that can be a benefit. Yes, you can’t do full wheel down with a finish wheel and often not with using a low HP spindle.

For this job and material, I would mount two dressing diamonds off chuck. One at a height of part + .020 and one at part + .002. so frequent dressing could be used with no/little loss of time. And the .002 set would tell you that at dress you are exactly at +.002.(so this diamond becomes the finish size gauge)

Likely use a finished part at near high limit size for my spotter with a tad of tape, and a grease pencil mark so avoiding taking off chuck for final measure. With a full chuck going long way with having a spacer between parts shaped like an H so coolant or air flow could surround part, and so that space would be a RPM catch up area. Would have chuck long parallels to move the job off the bump rail, perhaps 3 of theses so I would move about the whole chuck at times.

Likely I would fill the chuck long way with space between with spacers being H shaped and bumping at the higher point of the part..The H shape would allow coolant or air to help keep part (s) cool.

Have used soapy water with some washing soda added for rust avoidance for materials the like to load wheel.

For wheel selection guess I would call Radiac and ask for advice. I have had very good success with their pink wheels for Likes-to-load materials.

QT OP:[so I don't end up buying a bunch of wheels] Agree chasing wheels is a bugger.

I might add the not for this job but many jobs block-in-blocks and black in parallel with not being full flat to the part but with spaces for coolant flow can make many jobs/parts stay cooler.
 








 
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