Analysis of Zinc Phosphate as a Lubricant in Surface Grinding Process Based on the Taguchi Method

Grinding is one of the most popularly used surface finishing process characterized by excellent process capabilities in terms of surface finish and material removal rate. It has wide applications in manufacturing industry as it can handle a wide variety of workpiece materials and forms. However it needs very high specific energy and gives rise to very high temperature, which results into high residual stresses, micro cracks and burn. To reduce these ill effects normally coolants are employed, which reduce the friction and provides effective cooling of work wheel interface. Conventional applications of coolants are many times ineffective due to inaccessibility of the fluid to grinding zone and film boiling. Many of the conventional coolants pose health hazard and support the green house effect. This paper deals with the use of solid lubricant, Zinc Phosphate carried in the proper medium to grinding zone and reducing the friction and hence eliminating the thermal ill effects on the grinding process. Results show that the grinding force, grinding energy and the surface roughness decreases with the help of the use of Zinc Phosphate compared with dry grinding and grinding with the conventional coolants.