Modeling, simulation, and experimental verification on material removal and rounding process of centerless cylindrical finishing with free abrasives and soft pad

In this paper, the centerless finishing process using free abrasives and soft pad was developed and applied in fine machining the bearing cylindrical roller of AISI 52100 steel on self-made machine, improving roundness and its deviation on roller’s circular profile. A novel modeling and simulation method of material removal and rounding process for cylindrical workpiece was proposed in three-body abrasive wear pattern, combining geometry, kinematics, elastic contact, and single grain’s micro-cutting. The equivalent elastic modulus of roller and pad in contact is a key parameter for simulation, and its value was obtained through loading experiment and data processing. The finishing simulation and experiments were carried out under different loading forces. Their diameter’s results are in good agreement, and roundness’s results are in considerable agreement with error of less than 7%, demonstrating the validity of modeling and simulation method. Through data processing and analysis, it is indicated that the roundness is improved obviously; but with a slight material removal rate, the effect of loading force on roundness is greater than that of material removal. The reasons for above results are analyzed and discussed, taking into account three-body elastic contact, contact area and depth, and number of abrasive grains in finishing region.