Centerless grinding machine

Abstract

In a centerless grinding machine, a work blade for rotatably carrying a workpiece is movable by a blade feed device in a direction normal to a first line extending across the axes of grinding and regulating wheels. Present diameters of the wheels, a desired finish diameter of the workpiece and a predetermined value representing the sine of a center height angle are stored in a data memory. The center height angle is represented by the sum of angles which a second line extending across the axes of the grinding wheel and the workpiece and a third line extending across the axes of the regulating wheel and the workpiece respectively make relative to the first line when the workpiece is finished to the desired finish diameter. When each of the wheels is dressed, a data rewriting circuit replaces the diameter of each wheel being stored in the data memory with a new diameter after such dressing. Based upon those data being stored in the data memory, a calculation circuit calculates a center height position at which the axis of the workpiece with the desired finish diameter is to be located for maintaining the center height angle constant independently of the variations in diameters of the wheels. The blade feed device positions the work blade to the calculated center height position so that the center height angle can be maintained constant.