Experimental study on the influence of lapping plate materials on the quality of both sides cylindrical rollers machining | Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports volume 15, Article number: 1858 (2025) Cite this article

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The both-sides machining method can obtain high precision cylindrical rollers, but there is a drawback that the lapping plate is easy to wear, which restricts further improvement in the quality of rollers machining. Aiming to solve this problem, a both-sides machining method using hard ceramic lapping plate is proposed. Friction and wear experiments with different lapping plate materials, along with the corresponding comparative machining experiments, demonstrated the superior performance of Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate in terms of roundness (0.23 μm), cylindricity (0.58 μm), straightness (0.489 μm), surface roughness (11.3 nm). By studying the influence of performance indicators, the optimal process parameters for cylindrical rollers machining were obtained. The durability of the Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate was also analyzed. The study fully confirm that the hard ceramic significantly enhances lapping plate wear resistance, machining precision and consistency, which provides a new approach to ultra-precision machining of cylindrical rollers.

Bearings are key precision basic components in the equipment manufacturing industry1,2,3,4,5. The performance of bearings directly determines the performance, quality and reliability of equipment6,7,8,9,10. Cylindrical roller bearings have the characteristics of high load and low noise, which are widely used in heavy duty, high-speed and precision mechanical equipment11,12,13,14,15,16,17. As a rolling element, cylindrical rollers bear the majority of the load of bearings, and their shape accuracy18,19, surface quality20, and batch consistency21 have a significant impact on the motion accuracy and service life of bearings22. Therefore, cylindrical rollers are the most critical parts of bearings.

Centerless grinding is the most widely machining method for cylindrical rollers in mass production, and many scholars have conducted research on it. Hu23 developed an ultrasonic elliptic vibration assisted centerless grinding (UEVCG) experimental platform, and carried out UEVCG experiments on micro-rod YAG crystals, which proved that UEVCG can effectively improve the surface quality and cylindricity of micro-rod YAG crystals. Cui24 presented an innovative approach for investigating the workpiece roundness generation in through-feed centerless grinding. This innovative approach improved the roundness and productivity of parts, especially on an industrial scale, for parts with roundness accuracy of 0.1 to 0.3 µm. Marco25 proposed a multistage approach for the execution of plunge centerless grinding operations, and suggested decomposing the centerless grinding process into multiple phases characterized by different workpiece heights and/or blade angle. Hyde26 proposed a new methodology to improve roundness process rapidly of centerless grinding by continuous multi‑angle variation. He found that changing the setup angles from an initial appropriate point to a final point result in better simulated and experimented roundness.

Although centerless grinding has high machining efficiency, due to issues such as position and speed errors, wear of the grinding wheel and guide wheel, the machining conditions between workpieces cannot be consistent. This makes it difficult to ensure the machining accuracy and consistency of cylindrical rollers27. Both-sides lapping/polishing method has been widely used in the field of ultra-precision machining of silicon wafers, sapphire wafers, quartz wafers and other planar components. It has accumulated a wealth of theoretical and experimental research foundations, and can achieve high shape accuracy, surface quality, and consistency28,29,30.

Yao31 inspired by the both-sides lapping/polishing method, and proposed to apply the both-sides machining method to the cylindrical rollers32,33. Yao studied the motion state of cylindrical rollers, the uniformity of cylindrical surface machining track, the uniformity of lapping plate wear track and their influencing factors in the both-sides cylindrical roller machining process. The eccentric both-sides machining experiments of bearing steel GCr15 cylindrical rollers were carried out. Under the optimal machining conditions, the average roundness of a batch of workpieces reached 0.36 μm, the diameter deviation reached 0.13 μm, the minimum roundness of a single workpiece reached 0.295 μm, the minimum surface roughness Ra reached 8 nm, and the shape accuracy, surface quality and batch consistency of the workpiece were significantly improved34.

In both-sides cylindrical roller machining, the upper and lower lapping plates are typically made of cast iron, stainless steel, or other metal materials, while the cylindrical rollers are generally made of bearing steel, ceramics, or other metals35. The hardness and wear resistance of cylindrical rollers are superior to or similar to that of the lapping plates, causing the lapping plates surface to wear easily and deform, which in turn affects parameters such as the roundness, cylindricity, roughness and consistency of the cylindrical rollers36. The challenge of maintaining consistent machining accuracy due to lapping plates wear remains an unresolved issue in both-sides cylindrical roller machining.

Therefore, this study proposes a both-sides cylindrical rollers machining method based on hard ceramic lapping plates. The conventional lapping plates used in both-sides rollers machining, typically made of cast iron, stainless steel, and other metal materials, are replaced with ceramic materials such as Al2O3, ZrO2 and SiC. The high hardness of ceramic lapping plates ensures that the surface does not easily deform during the machining process, resulting in cylindrical rollers with extremely high shape accuracy37.

The both-sides machining system of cylindrical rollers is mainly composed of upper and lower ceramic lapping plates, retainer, workpiece and pressure head, as shown in Fig. 1a. The upper and lower ceramic lapping plates are required to have a superb flatness (PV < 0.3 μm). The cylindrical rollers are placed in the positioning groove of the retainer, between the upper and lower lapping plates. The retainer is coaxial with the upper lapping plate. The lower lapping plate rotates under the drive of the motor, the upper lapping plate rotates under the action of friction of the rollers, and the cylindrical rollers do sliding and rolling motion during the machining. The machining load is transmitted to the whole machining system by the pressure head. The eccentricity between the upper and lower lapping plates can be changed by adjusting the position of the pressure head.

Principle of both-sides machining of cylindrical rollers: (a) machining system, (b) forming principle under ideal conditions, (c) in the actual situation38.

The cylindrical forming principle of both-sides cylindrical rollers machining based on ceramic lapping plates is shown in Fig. 1b. Assuming the surface of upper and lower lapping plates are absolutely ideal and will not wear out, high precision cylindrical forming can be divided into three stages. In the initial stage, the accuracy and batch consistency of the cylindrical rollers between the upper and lower ceramic lapping plates are poor, and only cylindrical rollers with larger diameters or raised high points contact with the upper and lower lapping plates. In the second stage, sliding and rolling friction occur between the cylindrical rollers and the lapping plates, and the contact high points of the cylindrical rollers are gradually removed, so that the shape accuracy of the rollers is improved and the diameter tends to be consistent. In the third stage, when all the raised high points of the cylindrical rollers are removed, the height (diameter) of all cylindrical rollers is the same, and the surface of the cylindrical rollers is completely in contact with the upper and lower lapping plates. The micro edges on the surface of the lapping plates uniformly remove a small amount of material from the cylindrical rollers, ultimately achieving high shape accuracy and high consistency machining of the cylindrical rollers.

By analyzing the cylindrical forming principle of both-sides machining method, it can be concluded that the process of improving the shape accuracy and consistency of cylindrical rollers is actually the process of copying the surface shape of upper and lower lapping plates. Therefore, the flatness of the upper and lower ceramic lapping plates is the key to achieving high shape accuracy and high consistency. As shown in Fig. 1c, in the actual machining process, the upper and lower lapping plates are not absolutely ideal flat. The surface of the lapping plates will gradually be worn with the increase of machining time, and the surface shape accuracy will also deteriorate, thereby affecting the shape accuracy and consistency of the cylindrical rollers after machining. In summary, in the process of cylindrical rollers machining, the better the wear resistance of the lapping plates, the longer the time for the lapping plates to maintain excellent flatness, and the better the quality of the cylindrical roller after machining. The key factors for obtaining high-quality cylindrical rollers through both-sides machining can be summarized in two points: 1. Excellent flatness of the lapping plates; 2. Good resistance of the lapping plates. Therefore, it is essential to study the wear resistance of lapping plates made of different materials.

To investigate the wear characteristics of different lapping plate materials, the friction and wear experiments were carried out. Al2O3 ceramic is widely used in industry due to their high hardness and excellent wear resistance. Therefore, this study selected Al2O3 ceramic as the hard lapping plate material. Cast iron and stainless steel are the most commonly used lapping plate materials in both-sides machining. Al2O3 ceramic, cast iron and stainless steel were made into friction and wear samples with a diameter of 20 mm and a thickness of 4 mm. To better simulate actual machining scenarios, bearing steel (cylindrical roller material) was selected as the ball wear head material, and friction and wear tests are conducted using a friction and wear testing machine. The specific conditions of friction and wear experiments are shown in Table 1. After the experiments were completed, the wear on the surface of each sample was observed using a super depth microscope.

Figure 2 shows the measured friction coefficients of three types of lapping plate materials in the friction and wear experiments. The friction coefficient of Al2O3 ceramic is the smallest, ranging from 0.17 to 0.18. The friction coefficient of cast iron is 0.2–0.22. The friction coefficient of stainless steel is the highest, ranging from 0.25 to 0.28. Al2O3 ceramic is the hardest material, so the coefficient of friction is the smallest, stainless steel is the softest, leading to a relatively higher friction coefficient. During the friction and wear experiments, there was a certain eccentricity between the wear head and the sample, and the sample rotated at a high speed. Consequently, there was a slight lateral oscillation when the wear head contacted the surface of the sample, which is manifested as a wear area with shallow wear marks and a width slightly larger than the contact diameter of the wear head on the surface of the sample. These shallow wear marks were caused by the oscillation of the wear head, and these areas were removed when measuring the wear depth and width. Figure 3 shows the surface wear of three types of lapping plate materials after friction and wear experiments. The effective wear width and depth of the three materials were measured, with results shown in Fig. 4. The wear width of the Al2O3 ceramic is 536.5 μm, and the wear depth is 3.61 μm. The wear width of cast iron is 1331.5 μm, with a wear depth of 16.13 μm. The wear width of the stainless steel is 2376.5 μm, and the wear depth is 57.62 μm. The wear of Al2O3 ceramic exhibited the least wear, followed by cast iron, while stainless steel showed significant wear.

The friction coefficient measured by the friction and wear experiments.

Surface wear of three types of lapping plate materials: (a) Al2O3 ceramic, (b) Cast iron, (c) Stainless steel.

Surface wear data and model comparison of different materials.

In general, the higher the hardness of a material, the better its wear resistance39. Therefore, in many cases, the hardness value is used as one of the important indicators for measuring the wear resistance of a material40,41. The results of friction and wear experiments correspond with this theory, demonstrating that Al2O3 ceramic shows excellent wear resistance when contact with bearing steel materials. This provides a solid experimental foundation for using Al2O3 ceramic material as lapping plate material in this study.

The friction and wear experiments showed that Al2O3 ceramic has good wear resistance. In order to explore the relationship between the wear performance of the lapping plates and the machining quality of the cylindrical rollers, the machining(polishing) experiment of different lapping plate materials were carried out.

The materials of lapping plates used in the both-sides machining experiment of cylindrical rollers were consistent with those in the friction and wear experiments, namely Al2O3 ceramic, cast iron, and stainless steel. The diameter of the upper lapping plate was 180 mm, and that of the lower lapping plate was 240 mm, with an initial flatness of 0.3 μm for both lapping plates before use. The machining object was the bearing steel cylindrical rollers, and a length of 10 mm, having a Rockwell hardness of approximately 63 HR. During the machining process, the eccentricity of the upper and lower lapping plates was set to 3 cm, the machining load was 3 kg. The rotational speed of the lower lapping plate was set to 60 rpm, while the upper lapping plate remained stationary. Only pure water was used during the machining process, without any other polishing slurry. After every 0.5 h of machining, the roundness, cylindricity, straightness, surface roughness and removal quality of cylindrical rollers were measured, and the average value was taken as the record value. The measuring instruments used were the cylindricity meter and roughness profilometer from Taylor Hobson, UK. The specific experimental conditions are shown in Table 2. Figure 5 shows the lower lapping plate surface of different materials after machining.

The surface of the lower lapping plate after machining: (a) Al2O3 ceramic, (b) Cast iron, (c) Stainless steel.

Figure 6 shows the variation of roundness of cylindrical rollers during machining as a function of time. As can be seen from the figure, the initial average roundness of the cylindrical rollers is 1.1–1.2 μm, and the roundness gradually decreases with the machining time. After 2 h of machining, the roundness of the cylindrical rollers using Al2O3 ceramic and stainless steel lapping plates was relatively better, and the average roundness reached 0.28 μm and 0.62 μm, respectively. The cylindrical rollers machined with the cast iron lapping plate show a relatively poorer average roundness of 0.76 μm, and there is a deterioration in roundness between 1–1.5 h of processing.

The variation of roundness with machining time.

Analysis of causes, Al2O3 ceramic has a much higher hardness than bearing steel and exhibits excellent wear resistance. As a result, during the machining, the high points on the outer circle of the rollers are continuously removed, and the upper and lower ceramic lapping plates always maintain a good surface shape, ultimately producing rollers with excellent roundness. The hardness of cast iron is similar to that of bearing steel, so in the early processing, the high point of the outer circle of the roller is removed, and the roundness becomes better, at the same time, but at the same time, the surface of the cast iron plate is gradually worn. In contrast, cast iron has a hardness similar to that of bearing steel, so in the early stages of machining, the larger high points on the roller’s outer surface are removed, improving the roundness. However, as the surface of the cast iron lapping plate also gradually wears down, when a significant amount of the roller’s high points have been removed, the contact area between the rollers and the cast iron plate increases. Due to their similar hardness, mutual wear occurs, causing the flatness of the lapping plate to deteriorate, which explains the fluctuations in roundness after a certain amount of machining time. Stainless steel has a lower hardness than bearing steel. During machining, the stainless steel lapping plate can be seen as a “soft” polishing pad with “trap” effect, where the high points on the roller’s outer surface can “sink” into the stainless steel surface and gradually be removed, improving the roller’s roundness. However, as the stainless steel lapping plate wears down and its flatness deteriorates, the roundness of the rollers becomes slightly worse compared to using the Al2O3 ceramic plate. By comparing the upper lapping plates made of Al2O3 ceramic, cast iron, and stainless steel after a period of use (Fig. 7), it is evident that the surface wear of Al2O3 ceramic plate exhibits minimal, while the stainless steel plate shows the highest wear, and the cast iron plate is intermediate between the two.

Comparison of wear of different lapping plates: (a) Al2O3 ceramic, (b) cast iron, (c) stainless steel.

Figure 8 shows the variation in cylindricity of the cylindrical rollers during machining. The results of cylindricity improvement are almost identical to those of roundness, with Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate being the best, followed by stainless steel, and cast iron performing the worst. Al2O3 ceramic has high hardness and excellent wear resistance, which allows the high points on the roller’s surface to be removed. The generatrix of the roller comes into full contact with the Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate, and then replicates the surface shape of the lapping plate. As a result, the cylindrical rollers processed with Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate achieved the best average cylindricity of 0.56 μm. In contrast, the cast iron lapping plate wears down due to mutual abrasion with the rollers during machining, leading to surface shape deterioration. The roller’s generatrix replicates the distorted surface of the lapping plate, resulting in the worst average cylindricity of 1.73 μm. For stainless steel lapping plate, the hardness is lower than that of the rollers, so the high points on the roller’s surface can be removed within a certain machining time, improving the cylindricity. However, after the stainless steel lapping plate wears out, it can no longer further enhance the roller’s cylindricity. Nevertheless, since the hardness of the stainless steel is lower than that of the rollers, it does not significantly degrade the roller’s cylindricity in a short period. The average cylindricity of the rollers machining with stainless steel lapping plate is 1.61 μm.

The variation of cylindricity with machining time.

The results of cylindrical roller straightness are quite similar to those of cylindricity, both reflecting the condition of the roller’s generatrix after machining. The straightness of the cylindrical rollers is essentially determined by the straightness of the ceramic plate in the machining region, meaning that the straightness of the rollers indirectly reflects the wear condition of the lapping plate surface.

Figure 9 shows how the straightness of the cylindrical rollers change with machining time. The Al2O3 ceramic, being the hardest material with the least wear, produced rollers with the best average straightness of 0.49 μm. Cast iron, though harder than stainless steel, has a hardness similar to that of bearing steel. This leads to mutual wear between the cast iron lapping plate and the rollers, quickly deteriorating the surface shape of the lapping plate and resulting in poor straightness, measured at 1.63 μm. Stainless steel has lower hardness, but it removes high points on the roller’s generatrix through its own wear. Although stainless steel lapping plate cannot provide robust support like Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate, but it will not cause excessive wear on the workpiece material. Thus, the rollers machining with stainless steel lapping plates has better straightness than those machining with cast iron, with an average straightness of 1.47 μm.

The variation of straightness with machining time.

Figure 10 shows the change in surface roughness of the cylindrical rollers during machining. The results indicate that the surface roughness of cylindrical rollers machined with stainless steel lapping plate is the lowest, followed by those machined with Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate, and highest with cast iron plate. This outcome can be explained by the fact that stainless steel is the softest of the three materials, resulting in a gentler plowing and scratching removal action on bearing steel surface, hence achieving the lowest surface roughness of approximately Ra 11 nm. Al2O3 ceramic, being the hardest, caused a slower reduction in surface roughness during the first 1.5 h of machining. However, once the high points on the roller surface are removed, the surface becomes smoother, and because the friction coefficient between the roller and the Al2O3 ceramic surface is minimized, the resulting surface roughness is relatively good, around Ra15nm. In contrast, the hardness of cast iron is similar to that of bearing steel. After the high points on the roller surface are removed, mutual wear between the roller and the cast iron lapping plate began. This prevent further reduction in surface roughness, and in some cases, roughness even increased. After 2 h of machining, the average surface roughness for rollers machined with cast iron lapping plate is around Ra 26 nm.

The variation of roughness with machining time.

Figure 11 depicts the variation of material removal rate(MRR) with machining time. At the initial stage, the MRR follows the trend where higher plate hardness leads to faster removal of high points on the cylindrical surface, resulting in a greater MRR. As machining continues, the high points on the roller surface are gradually removed, and the MRR is influenced by factors such as plate hardness, plate wear, friction coefficient, and others. Cast iron, similar in hardness to bearing steel, exhibits the highest MRR due to mutual abrasion between the roller and the plate. Al2O3 ceramic, although the hardest, has the lowest friction coefficient with bearing steel, resulting in a moderate MRR. Stainless steel, being the softest, exerts the weakest material removal action on the roller surface after initial removal, thus showing the lowest MRR.

The variation of MRR with machining time.

Through comprehensive comparison of roundness, cylindricity, straightness, surface roughness, and MRR, it is evident that using Al2O3 ceramic as the lapping plate offers significant advantages in machining precision compared to the other two materials.

In addition to precision requirements, the consistency of various indicators after cylindrical roller machining is also crucial. During the machining with different lapping plate materials, seven rollers positioned at fixed locations were compared. Figure 12 illustrates the variation in roundness consistency of cylindrical rollers before and after machining. It can be observed from the figure that the roundness of different cylindrical rollers fluctuates significantly before machining, indicating poor consistency. After 2 h of machining using Al2O3 ceramic and stainless steel lapping plates, the roundness consistency of the rollers noticeably improves. However, rollers machined with cast iron lapping plate still exhibit poor roundness consistency, primarily due to mutual abrasion between the roller and the lapping plate.

Roundness consistency.

Figure 13 shows the variation in cylindricity consistency of the cylindrical rollers before and after machining. Before machining, the cylindricity consistency of the rollers is poor, with noticeable variations across different samples. After machining, the cylindricity consistency of the rollers improves significantly when using Al2O3 ceramic and stainless steel as the lapping plates, while the consistency of the rollers machined with cast iron plate shows only slight improvement, with significant fluctuations remaining. The rollers machined with Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate demonstrated a clear advantage in terms of cylindricity and its consistency.

Cylindricity consistency.

Figure 14 illustrates the variation in straightness consistency of the cylindrical rollers before and after machining. Similar to the roundness and cylindricity results, the straightness consistency of the rollers is poor before machining. After machining, the straightness of the rollers improved for all three types of lapping plates, with the Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate yielding the best straightness.

Straightness consistency.

In summary, the use of Al2O3 ceramic as the lapping plate material offers significant advantages in both machining precision and consistency compared to the cast iron and stainless steel lapping plates. Figure 15 shows the roundness, cylindricity, surface roughness, and straightness of an optimized cylindrical roller after being machined with the Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate.

The roundness, cylindricity, surface roughness, and straightness of a cylindrical roller after machining.

The experiments in the previous section, which investigated the effects of different lapping plate materials on the machining quality of cylindrical rollers, has demonstrated that using Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate achieves better machining precision and consistency. To determine the optimal machining parameters for Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate, this section focuses on an optimization experiment for cylindrical rollers with dimensions of φ6.5 × 10. The effects of retainer eccentricity, lapping plate flatness and machining load on roundness, cylindricity, straightness, surface roughness and MRR of cylindrical rollers after machining were studied. The measurement methods during machining are consistent with those used in the previous section, and the specific experimental conditions are shown in Table 3.

Figure 16 shows the influence of process parameters on the roundness after machining. As can be seen from the figure, the better the shape accuracy of the lapping plate, the better the roundness of the machined roller. As the machining load and eccentricity increase, the roundness of the rollers first improves and then deteriorates. This is because the high points of the rollers are gradually removed by the lapping plate, and the generatrix replicates the lapping plate’s shape. Therefore, the roundness after machining is proportional to the lapping plate’s shape accuracy. Within a certain range, increasing the machining load results in a higher MRR, which leads to faster removal of the roller’s high points and better roundness. However, when the machining load becomes too large, it can cause wear on the lapping plate, affecting its shape accuracy and thereby degrading roundness. As eccentricity increases, more axial sliding friction occurs on the roller’s surface. Sliding friction helps remove the high points on the roller surface, but if it is excessive and unevenly distributed, it can lead to inconsistent material removal across different generatrixes, resulting in a decline in roundness. The experimental results show that the machining parameters conducive to obtaining better roundness are as follows: eccentricity 3 cm, flatness 0.3 μm, load 6 kg.

Influence of process parameters on roundness.

Figures 17 and 18 show the influence of process parameters on cylindricity and straightness after machining. It can be seen from the figures that the influence of process parameters on the cylindricity and straightness of the rollers is consistent, which is similar to their effect on the roundness. A better lapping plate surface profile leads to improved straightness of the roller’s generatrix since the roller’s profile replicates the plate 's shape. The quality of the rollers’ cylindricity depends on both the roundness and the straightness of the generatrix. Therefore, the roundness, straightness, and cylindricity all improve with the surface accuracy of the lapping plate increases. As the machining load increases, the high points on the roller surface are quickly removed, enhancing the straightness and cylindricity. However, if the load is excessive, the lapping plate may wear out quickly, reducing its surface accuracy, which in turn negatively affects the improvement in straightness and ultimately decreases the cylindricity. Thus, the straightness and cylindricity of cylindrical rollers initially improve with increasing load but gradually deteriorate afterward during machining. The contact between the cylindrical rollers and the lower lapping plate involves a combination of sliding and rolling friction. The larger the eccentric distance, the more sliding friction occurs along the roller’s axial direction. Sliding friction facilitates the removal of high points on the roller surface, but if the axial sliding friction is not evenly distributed around the circumference, the straightness will decrease. In summary, the optimal process parameters for achieving good cylindricity and straightness, consistent with those for roundness, are: eccentric distance of 3 cm, flatness of 0.3 μm, and load of 6 kg.

Influence of process parameters on cylindricity.

Influence of process parameters on straightness.

Figure 19 shows the influence of process parameters on the MRR. From the figure, it can be observed that the MRR increases with the increase in lapping plate flatness, machining load, and eccentric distance. The higher the surface accuracy of the lapping plate, the faster the high points on the surface of the cylindrical rollers are removed. Once the high points are removed, the better flatness of lapping plate results in a weaker cutting action on the rollers, thereby lowering the MRR. As the machining load increases, the friction force on the roller surface also rises, leading to a higher removal rate. Similarly, a larger eccentric distance results in greater sliding friction between the rollers and the lapping plate, further increasing the MRR.

Influence of process parameters on MRR.

By comparing the influence of process parameters on the performance indicators of rollers, it can be found that the MRR is inversely proportional to the machining performance indicators of the rollers. The goal of this study is to achieve high precision and high consistency cylindrical rollers, with a focus on efficiency thereafter. Therefore, based on a comprehensive analysis, the optimal process parameters for cylindrical rollers with dimensions of φ6.5 × 10 are: eccentric distance of 3 cm, flatness of 0.3 μm, and load of 6 kg. As shown in Fig. 20a, the surface quality of the cylindrical roller before machining was poor, with clear machining marks left by the centerless grinding. Figure 20b presents the cylindrical roller surface after machining, where the machining marks from the centerless grinding were completely removed. Only some pits, formed during the roller’s material shaping process, remained, indicating a significant improvement in surface quality.

Surface micrograph of the cylindrical rollers: (a) before machining. (b) after machining

The surface shape accuracy of Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate has an important impact on the quality of the cylindrical rollers machining. Although Al2O3 ceramic possess good hardness and wear resistance, but prolonged use can still lead to surface wear, resulting in decreased machining precision for the cylindrical rollers. As shown in Fig. 21, after 25 h of machining, the surface shape of the upper and lower lapping plates has been severely worn, resulting in form grooves. The surface shape of the plates has changed from an initial value of 0.3 μm to 1.42 μm and 4.59 μm, respectively. The wear depth of the upper plate is approximately 0.47 μm, while the wear depth of the lower plate is around 1.45 μm. If the lapping plates continue using for cylindrical roller machining at this point, the machining precision will not be guaranteed.

Surface profile of the Al2O3 ceramic lapping plates after 25 h of machining: (a) upper lapping plate, (b) lower lapping plate.

To investigate the wear of the lapping plate and its impact on quality of rollers machining, we aim to determine the use and dressing intervals for the lapping plates through wear experiments. The wear state of the lapping plates is related to size of the workpiece, machining load, plate speed, and eccentricity. Generally, higher machining load, wheel speed, and eccentricity result in faster wear of lapping plate. additionally, different workpiece sizes also affect the wear condition of the lapping plates.

In this section, φ6.5 × 10 cylindrical roller was used as the machining objects. The maximum machining load, plate speed, and eccentricity from the previous section’s parameters were adopt as experimental conditions. The initial flatness of the lapping plate was set to an even more stringent value of 0.15 μm. Through multiple repetitive experiments, the relationship between machining time and the surface shape accuracy of the lapping plate, as well as the machining precision of the cylindrical roller, were observed to assess the wear of the lapping plate and the need for dressing. A total of 10 repeat experiments were conducted, and the accuracy of rollers and the wear conditions of lapping plates were recorded every hour. The specific experimental conditions are detailed in Table 4.

As machining time increases, the flatness of the plate gradually deteriorates, as shown in Fig. 22. The roller retainer is concentric with the upper lapping plate, resulting in sliding friction between the rollers and the upper plate. However, the roller retainer is eccentric to the lower plate, leading to both rolling and sliding friction between the rollers and the lower plate. Consequently, the surface of the lower plate is more susceptible to wear than that of the upper plate, resulting in faster wear of the lower plate within the same machining time. Figures 23, 24 and 25 illustrate the relationships between machining time and the roundness, cylindricity and straightness of the rollers. As shown in the figures, during the initial machining stage, the surface shape accuracy of the lapping plate is good, and the roundness of the roller decreases rapidly. After 2 h of machining, the roundness, cylindricity and straightness of the rollers reach their minimum values. As machining continues, the worn surface shape of the lapping plate leads to a gradual deteriorate in the roundness, cylindricity and straightness of the rollers. After 6 h of machining, the flatness of the upper plate becomes 0.561 μm, while that of the lower plate is 0.793 μm. The roundness of the machined cylindrical rollers is 0.511 μm, which does not meet the G1 roundness requirement (0.5 μm). At this point, the cylindricity is 0.99 μm and the straightness is 1.43 μm.

Relationship between lapping plate roller flatness and machining time.

Relationship between roundness and machining time.

Relationship between roller cylindricity and machining time.

Relationship between roller straightness and machining time.

Figure 26 shows the surface morphology and flatness of the upper lapping plate after 2 h of machining. It can be observed that a ring-shaped groove has formed on the surface of the upper plate, with the flatness PV value changing from 0.15 μm to 0.328 μm. Measurement of the groove reveals that the wear depth of the lapping plate is about 0.14 μm, and the wear width is approximately 12 mm, which is slightly larger than the length of the roller, due to a certain gap between the retainer and the rollers.

The upper lapping plate after 2 h of machining: (a) Wear morphology and flatness, (b) Wear depth and width of ring-shaped groove.

Figure 27 shows the surface morphology and flatness of the lower lapping plate after 2 h of machining. It can be observed that a ring-shaped groove has formed on the surface of the lower plate, with the flatness PV value increasing from 0.15 μm to 0.372 μm. By measuring the groove, it is found that the groove wear depth is about 0.27 μm, which is significantly greater than the wear depth of the upper plate. This is due to the simultaneous occurrence of both rolling and sliding friction between the rollers and the lower plate, whereas only rolling friction occurs with the upper plate, resulting in a faster wear rate for the lower plate.

The lower lapping plate after 2 h of machining: (a) Wear morphology and flatness, (b) Wear depth and width of ring-shaped groove.

Figures 28 and 29 show the surface morphology and flatness of the upper and lower lapping plates after 6 h of machining. At this time, the wear depth of the upper plate has reached 0.518 μm, and that of the lower plate is 0.872 μm. As a result, the machining precision of the rollers gradually deteriorates. The experiments were carried out under relatively extreme machining parameters, and the evaluation basis is G1, the highest grade requirement of Chinese National standard for cylindrical rollers. After 6 h of machining, the lapping plates were worn to the point that they could no longer machine G1 roundness rollers, and the surface shape of the lapping plates needed to be dressed to improve the machining precision of the rollers. From this, it can be inferred that under the optimal machining parameters, the roundness of the machined cylindrical rollers could reach G1 level within a 6 h usage range, at which point the cylindricity and straightness of the rollers would also be at a favorable level.

The upper lapping plate after 6 h of machining: (a) Wear morphology and flatness, (b) Wear depth and width of ring-shaped groove.

The lower lapping plate after 6 h of machining: (a) Wear morphology and flatness, (b) Wear depth and width of ring-shaped groove.

In this paper, the influence of lapping plate materials on the quality of both-sides cylindrical rollers machining were conducted. The main conclusions are as follows:

In the friction and wear experiments against bearing steel, Al2O3 ceramic exhibited the lowest friction coefficient, ranging from 0.17 to 0.18. Additionally, Al2O3 ceramic demonstrated excellent wear resistance, with the least amount of surface wear recorded: wear width of 536.5 μm and wear depth of 3.61 μm.

The results of the cylindrical rollers machining experiments indicate that using Al2O3 ceramic as the lapping plate material offers significant advantages. Rollers machined with the Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate achieved roundness, cylindricity, straightness, and roughness of 0.23 μm, 0.58 μm, 0.489 μm, and 11.3 nm, respectively. These results demonstrate superior machining precision and consistency.

The machining experiment with Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate revealed that the better the shape accuracy of lapping plate, the better the roundness, cylindricity and straightness of the rollers. As the machining load and eccentricity increased, these indexes improved initially, but then deteriorated. The MRR increased with the lapping plate flatness, machining load and eccentricity. The optimal process parameters are: eccentricity 3 cm, flatness 0.3 μm and load 6 kg.

After the Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate using for 6 h under extreme process parameters, the roundness of the machined rollers exceeded 0.5 μm, which failed to meet the G1 level requirements. It can be inferred that, under optimal process parameters, within 6 h of use, the roundness of the machined cylindrical rollers can reach G1 level, with cylindricity and straightness also being at favorable levels.

The use of Al2O3 ceramic lapping plate to machine cylindrical rollers has improved both accuracy and consistency. In the future, it is expected to become a new technological approach for batch ultra precision and high consistency machining of cylindrical rollers.

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to the laboratory policy but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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This research has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52305483, 52275467, 51935008), Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (Grant No. LTGC23E050001), and the Science and Technology Plan Project of Quzhou (Grant No. 2023K207).

College of Mechanical Engineering, Quzhou University, Quzhou, 324000, China

Tianchen Zhao, Jiahong Ruan, Kaiping Feng, Luguang Guo, Junkai Ding & Xiaoliang Jiang

School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310014, China

Tianchen Zhao

Ultra-Precision Machining Centre, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China

Jiahong Ruan, Hongyu Chen, Binghai Lyu & Junkai Ding

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T.C. Zhao and K.P. Feng wrote the main manuscript text. J.H Ruan prepared all figures. G.L. Guang and X.L. Jiang analyzed the data. H.Y. Chen and B.H. Lyu guided the methodology. J.K. Ding conducted experiments. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Correspondence to Kaiping Feng.

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Zhao, T., Ruan, J., Feng, K. et al. Experimental study on the influence of lapping plate materials on the quality of both sides cylindrical rollers machining. Sci Rep 15, 1858 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85260-3

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Received: 03 November 2024

Accepted: 01 January 2025

Published: 13 January 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-85260-3

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