Wheel dressing apparatus and method

In a grinding machine, having a rotatable grinding wheel with a main face and a second face intersecting the main face, an improved wheel dressing apparatus for conditioning both the main and second faces comprising in combination:

• a. a housing, fixed with respect to said grinding wheel when dressing;
• b. a carrier bracket, movable on said housing with respect to said grinding wheel;
• c. a way system on said housing oriented to move said bracket along a pathway generally parallel to said main face;
• d. a dressing nib, carried by said carrier bracket to dress said main face;
• e. a dressing wheel, rotatably carried in a wheel housing on an axis transverse to said main face, wherein said dressing wheel and wheel housing are carried in tandem with said nib on said bracket along said pathway to dress said second face;
• f. flexible leaf springs, affixed at one end to a nib holder and affixed at the opposite end to said carrier bracket to support and maintain nib attitude while providing a translational axis for relative movement of said nib with respect to said carrier bracket when dressing;
• and
• g. crossed leaf springs establishing a flexural pivot joint, affixed at one end relative to said wheel housing and affixed at the opposite end relative to said carrier bracket, to vary the included angle between the intersection of said main and second faces.

In a grinding machine, having a rotatable grinding wheel with a main face and a second face intersecting the main face, an improved wheel dressing apparatus for condition both the main and second faces comprising in combination:

• a. a housing, fixed with respect to said grinding wheel when dressing;
• b. a carrier bracket, movable on said housing with respect to said grinding wheel;
• c. a way system on said housing oriented to move said bracket along a pathway generally parallel to said main face;
• d. a dressing nib, carried by said carrier bracket to dress said main face;
• e. a dressing wheel rotatably carried in a wheel housing on an axis transverse to said main face, wherein said dressing wheel and wheel housing are carried in tandem with said nib on said bracket along said pathway to dress said second face;
• f. flexible leaf springs, affixed at one end to a nib holder and affixed at the opposite end to said carrier bracket to support and maintain nib attitude while providing a translational axis for relative movement of said nib with respect to said carrier when dressing;
• and
• g. a dressing wheel slide affixed to said wheel housing and adjustably carried on a way system on said carrier bracket so as to linearly position said dressing wheel relative to said carrier bracket to vary the dressing length of said second face.

A method for dressing a nib-dressed main face and a wheel-dressed second face of a grinding wheel in a grinding machine, comprising the following steps:

• a. rotating the grinding wheel;
• b. carrying a dressing nib and a dressing wheel on a common carrier bracket;
• c. moving said bracket in a direction substantially parallel to the main face;
• d. dressing the entire main surface with said nib as said bracket is moved in said parallel direction;
• e. commencing rotation of said dressing wheel after said main surface is dressed;
• and
• f. continuing movement of said bracket in said parallel direction to dressingly engage the rotating dressing wheel with the second face.