Finite Element Residual Stress Computation for Combined Grinding/Burnishing Applied to 100Cr6 Steel

Combining grinding with ball burnishing: “REGAL” is a newly developed technique consisting in grinding and burnishing performing simultaneously by placing the burnishing tool on the grinding machine. This combined manufacturing process ensures obtaining a better surface quality by taking advantage of the workpiece being thermally affected by the grinding process, reducing surface damages obtained after grinding like tensile residual stress results and enhancing roughness results by the burnishing process. REGAL ensures also reducing manufacturing energy and time by combining grinding and burnishing acting simultaneously instead of each one acting separately. Further, the surface integrity would be enhanced by REGAL process in terms of hardness, surface roughness, and compressive residual stress obtained at a more important depth compared to burnishing process, which extends workpiece lifetime, decreases fatigue and improves wear resistance. In this paper, the residual stress results are studied thanks to 3D finite element simulations of the grinding, ball burnishing and combined grinding/ball-burnishing processes. The finite element method helps to compare the residual stress results obtained after combining two different processes one thermomechanical (grinding) and the other purely mechanical (burnishing) both with different manufacturing parameters to regular grinding and burnishing process.