Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology Manufacturing and Assembly

Advanced Internal and External Grinding Operations Training

SAQA US 258675 | NQF 4 | Credits 16 | Duration 13 Days
From $2,349 per delegate

Description

This course equips learners with advanced skills to produce complex components through internal and external grinding operations. It focuses on precision techniques, quality control, and safety compliance in industrial grinding environments.

Learning Outcomes

  • Apply advanced grinding techniques to produce complex internal and external profiles within specified tolerances.
  • Select and set up appropriate grinding wheels, coolants, and work-holding devices for complex operations.
  • Evaluate workpiece quality using precision measuring instruments and adjust processes to meet specifications.
  • Demonstrate adherence to safety protocols and maintain grinding equipment for optimal performance.
  • Analyze grinding parameters to optimize cycle times and surface finish quality.
  • Implement corrective actions for common grinding defects such as burns, chatter, or dimensional errors.

Target Audience

Experienced machinists, toolmakers, and production technicians who require advanced grinding competencies to handle complex workpieces and tight tolerances.

Prerequisites

None — open enrollment

Course Outline

Day 1: Introduction to Advanced Grinding

Objectives:
• Understand the scope and objectives of advanced grinding operations
• Identify different types of grinding processes and their applications
• Review safety protocols and personal protective equipment requirements
• Recognize the importance of precision and surface finish in grinding

Topics:
• Overview of advanced grinding: internal vs external
• Grinding wheel composition and selection criteria
• Safety standards (SANS 10147, OHS Act)
• Machine types: cylindrical, surface, centerless grinders
• Workpiece materials and their grindability
• Introduction to grinding parameters: speed, feed, depth of cut

Day 2: Grinding Wheel Technology

Objectives:
• Describe the structure and bonding of grinding wheels
• Select appropriate wheel specifications for given applications
• Understand wheel dressing and truing techniques
• Apply wheel balancing and handling procedures

Topics:
• Abrasive materials: aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, CBN, diamond
• Bond types: vitrified, resin, metal, electroplated
• Wheel grade, grain size, and structure
• Dressing tools: single-point, multi-point, rotary
• Truing methods for form and concentricity
• Wheel mounting and balancing procedures

Day 3: Grinding Parameters and Cutting Fluids

Objectives:
• Calculate and set optimal grinding parameters
• Understand the role of cutting fluids in grinding
• Select appropriate coolant type and delivery method
• Monitor and adjust fluid concentration and filtration

Topics:
• Grinding forces and power requirements
• Specific material removal rate (Q'w)
• Cutting fluid types: water-based, oils, synthetic
• Coolant delivery systems: flood, mist, through-spindle
• Filtration and maintenance of coolant quality
• Environmental and health considerations

Day 4: Workholding and Fixturing

Objectives:
• Identify workholding methods for internal and external grinding
• Set up chucks, collets, and magnetic chucks correctly
• Apply steady rests and supports for slender workpieces
• Ensure workpiece concentricity and runout minimization

Topics:
• Three-jaw and four-jaw chucks: centering and gripping
• Collets and expanding mandrels for internal grinding
• Magnetic chucks for surface grinding
• Steady rests: fixed and traveling
• Fixture design for complex geometries
• Measuring and correcting runout

Day 5: External Cylindrical Grinding

Objectives:
• Perform external cylindrical grinding operations
• Set up and operate cylindrical grinding machines
• Achieve specified tolerances and surface finishes
• Inspect workpieces using precision measuring instruments

Topics:
• Machine setup: wheel selection, dressing, balancing
• Traverse and plunge grinding techniques
• Taper grinding and form grinding
• Measurement: micrometers, dial indicators, surface roughness testers
• Common defects: burn, chatter, scratches
• Corrective actions for quality issues

Day 6: Internal Grinding Operations

Objectives:
• Perform internal grinding of bores and holes
• Select appropriate internal grinding wheels and spindles
• Apply coolant effectively in internal grinding
• Inspect internal diameters for roundness and taper

Topics:
• Internal grinding machine types: universal, production
• Wheel selection for internal grinding: size, shape, arbor
• Workholding for internal grinding: chucks, mandrels
• Spark-out and dwell techniques
• Measuring internal dimensions: bore gauges, air gauging
• Troubleshooting internal grinding problems

Day 7: Surface Grinding Operations

Objectives:
• Perform surface grinding on flat workpieces
• Set up magnetic chucks and adjust wheel height
• Achieve flatness, parallelism, and surface finish requirements
• Apply reciprocating and creep-feed grinding

Topics:
• Surface grinder components: spindle, table, wheel guard
• Wheel selection for surface grinding
• Magnetic chuck setup and demagnetizing
• Reciprocating grinding: crossfeed and downfeed
• Creep-feed grinding for deep cuts
• Inspection: surface plate, dial indicator, optical flats

Day 8: Centerless Grinding

Objectives:
• Understand the principles of centerless grinding
• Set up regulating wheel, grinding wheel, and work rest
• Perform through-feed and in-feed centerless grinding
• Control roundness and size in centerless operations

Topics:
• Centerless grinding: advantages and limitations
• Components: grinding wheel, regulating wheel, work rest blade
• Through-feed: angle and speed of regulating wheel
• In-feed: plunge grinding for stepped parts
• Setting the work rest height and support
• Common problems: lobing, chatter, out-of-roundness

Day 9: Grinding of Difficult Materials

Objectives:
• Identify challenges when grinding hardened steels, carbides, and ceramics
• Select appropriate wheels and parameters for difficult materials
• Apply techniques to minimize heat generation and surface damage
• Understand the use of superabrasives

Topics:
• Grindability of tool steels, stainless steels, and superalloys
• Grinding carbides and ceramics with diamond wheels
• Heat generation and thermal damage: burn, cracking
• Coolant strategies for difficult materials
• Superabrasive wheel selection and dressing
• Safety considerations for CBN and diamond wheels

Day 10: Precision Measurement and Inspection

Objectives:
• Use advanced measuring instruments for grinding quality control
• Interpret surface finish parameters (Ra, Rz, Rq)
• Perform statistical process control (SPC) in grinding
• Calibrate and maintain measuring equipment

Topics:
• Surface roughness measurement: profilometers, comparators
• Roundness and cylindricity measurement
• Dimensional gauging: air, electronic, laser
• Statistical process control: X-bar and R charts
• Gauge repeatability and reproducibility (GR&R)
• Calibration standards and traceability

Day 11: Troubleshooting and Process Optimization

Objectives:
• Diagnose common grinding defects and their root causes
• Implement corrective actions to improve quality
• Optimize grinding parameters for productivity
• Apply lean manufacturing principles to grinding processes

Topics:
• Defect analysis: burn, chatter, scratches, taper
• Wheel loading and glazing: identification and correction
• Vibration analysis and balancing
• Cycle time reduction techniques
• Design of experiments (DOE) for parameter optimization
• Total productive maintenance (TPM) for grinders

Day 12: Automation and Advanced Grinding Technologies

Objectives:
• Understand CNC grinding and programming basics
• Describe the role of automation in grinding cells
• Identify in-process gauging and adaptive control systems
• Evaluate new trends: high-speed grinding, hybrid processes

Topics:
• CNC grinding machine axes and control
• Basic G-code programming for cylindrical grinding
• In-process gauging: touch probes, laser systems
• Adaptive control: force, power, and temperature monitoring
• Robotic loading/unloading in grinding cells
• High-speed grinding and ultrasonic-assisted grinding

Day 13: Integrated Practical Assessment and Course Review

Objectives:
• Demonstrate competence in setting up and operating grinding machines
• Produce components to specified tolerances and surface finishes
• Complete a comprehensive practical assessment
• Review key concepts and prepare for certification

Topics:
• Practical assessment: internal and external grinding tasks
• Inspection and documentation of results
• Troubleshooting during assessment
• Safety and housekeeping review
• Final Q&A and course evaluation
• Pathways for further specialization

Practicals

48 hours of practicals To be conducted online or on-campus or in-house
Overview

Hands-on practical sessions are integral to this course, allowing learners to apply theoretical knowledge in a supervised workshop environment. Learners will set up and operate cylindrical, internal, surface, and centerless grinders, producing components to tight tolerances. These sessions reinforce safe work practices, precision measurement, and troubleshooting skills.

Practical Activities
  • External Cylindrical Grinding Practical — Learners set up a cylindrical grinder, select and dress a grinding wheel, and grind a stepped shaft to within ±0.01 mm tolerance and surface finish Ra 0.4 μm. (12h)
  • Internal Grinding Practical — Learners mount an internal grinding spindle, select a suitable wheel, and grind a bore to specified roundness and size within ±0.005 mm. (12h)
  • Surface Grinding Practical — Learners set up a surface grinder with a magnetic chuck, grind a steel block to flatness within 0.005 mm and surface finish Ra 0.2 μm. (10h)
  • Centerless Grinding Practical — Learners set up a centerless grinder for through-feed grinding of cylindrical pins, achieving diameter tolerance ±0.01 mm and roundness within 0.002 mm. (8h)
  • Integrated Assessment Practical — Learners complete a combined task: grind an internal bore and external diameter on a single workpiece, inspect all dimensions, and submit a quality report. (6h)

Summatives

Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course via daily exercises, scored practical assignments, and a final summative test at the end.

Practical Assignments — 30%

Practical assignments are observed and scored against a rubric during the practical sessions. Each delegate's practical mark is averaged into a single 100% score and contributes 30% to the final total.

Daily Exercises — 20%

Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 20% to the final total.

Final Test — 50%

On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 50% to the overall mark.

Final Total
Component Out of Weight
Practical Assignments (rubric-scored) 100% 30%
Daily Average (multiple choice) 100% 20%
Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice) 100% 50%
Final Total 100%

All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.

Certificate

Certificate of Completion

Awarded to delegates who achieve an overall mark of 50% or higher on the Final Total (Practicals 30% + Daily Average 20% + Final Test 50%).

How it works
  • Certificates are auto-generated on the AATICD LMS as soon as the marks pass the 50% threshold.
  • Each certificate is a branded PDF with the delegate's name, the course title, the unit standard ID, NQF level, credits, and the date of issue.
  • You can download or print your certificate from your LMS dashboard at any time after issue — there's no reissue fee and no expiry date.
  • If you scored under 50% you can sit the final test again at the next scheduled session at no extra cost.
Where to find it

Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.

Training Discounts

Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.

Delegates Discount
5 3% off
10 6% off
15 9% off
20 12% off
25 15% off
30 18% off
50 30% off
75 35% off
100 40% off

3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.

Upcoming Training Sessions
Online training — attend live sessions from anywhere via our virtual classroom.
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On-Campus training — face-to-face sessions at our training venues across Africa and beyond.
Showing all 534 sessions across 26 venues
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Training Discounts
Delegates Discount
5 3% off
10 6% off
15 9% off
20 12% off
25 15% off
30 18% off
50 30% off
75 35% off
100 40% off

3% off per 5 delegates, up to 40% for 100+

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