In Cylindrical grinding, the workpiece rotates about a fixed axis and the surfaces machined are concentric to that axis of rotation. Form grinding is a specialized type of cylindrical grinding where the grinding wheel has the exact shape of the final product. The grinding wheel does not traverse the workpiece. Cylindrical grinding produces an external surface that may be either straight, tapered, or contoured. The basic components of a cylindrical grinder include a wheelhead, which incorporate the spindle and drive motor; a cross-slide, that moves the wheel head to and from the workpiece; a headstock, which locates, holds, and drives the workpiece; and a tailstock, which holds the other end of the work.

 

To improve the cylindricity of cylindrical surface, the traverse grinding is divided into a rough traverse grinding and a finish traverse grinding. In the rough traverse grinding, a traverse grinding is carried out with a large depth of cut which would causes a deterioration of the cylindricity at one end of the cylindrical surface. In the finish traverse grinding, a traverse grinding is carried out with a small depth of cut to improve the cylindricity. The position of the wheel head is compensated based upon the measured diameter of the cylindrical surface so that the entire area of the cylindrical surface has a desired diameter. This compensation also improves the cylindricity of the cylindrical surface.

Traverse cylindrical grinding removes material from external cylindrical surface by rotating the workpiece and the wheel in opposite directions. The workpiece is supported between centers. The resulting surfaces can be straight, tapered, or contoured. It is used for hard or brittle workpiece or parts requiring fine surface finishes.