Surface hardening process with grinding (Grind hardening), comparison and application

Grinding, as one of the machining processes, is considered as one of the most important final production processes. During this process, very high heat is generated, which is a problem in the machining process, and efforts are made to remove it. Recently, efforts have been made to use this problem as an opportunity. By controlling the amount of heat transferred to the workpiece, its surface can be heat treated. Therefore, grind hardening is a new and non-traditional machining process that can be used for surface hardening and grinding of metal parts. Grind hardening process has the potential to replace the traditional methods of surface heat treatment by integrating this process in the grinding phase. The key advantage of this method is the elimination of workpiece movement during production, reduce cost, increase efficiency, and the reduction of redundant setups. In this research, the functional principles of the process, the latest developments of this method and a comparison between this process and alternative methods of surface heat treatment have been discussed. Its challenges have been discussed and examined, and the opportunities and situations of using grind hardening by have been stated.