Roughness prediction of workpiece surfaces finished by electrophoretic grinding wheels

In the development of a new kind of grinding tools with electrophoretic principles, we need to estimate the surface roughness under specific conditions. According to the electrophoretic characteristics of the ultra-fine abrasives, this paper explains the forming mechanism of electrophoretic grinding wheel (EGW) and focuses on prediction of surface roughness finished by an EGW. A fuzzy prediction system on surface roughness (FPSSR) is set up with iterative self-organizing data cluster analysis based on fuzzy similar relations. It is used to estimate the surface roughness of a work-piece dynamically under specific conditions. The result shows that the surface roughness predicted by FPSSR meets well with real experimental results.