Modelling of grinding gap macro geometry and workpiece kinematics in throughfeed centreless grinding

The paper discusses the simulation of a throughfeed centreless grinding process in a virtual environment (VE). The developed simulations are based on an analytical grinding gap model describing the grinding gap macro geometry and workpiece kinematics. First of all, the model is embedded in a desktop application (Cegris), which facilitates regulating wheel truing and the determination of set-up variables, both of which yield an optimal grinding gap macro geometry in a reduced set-up time. Finally, the Cegris is ported to a CAVE (CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment) for an interactive visualisation of the process, an application used to train machine tool operators.