Infeed — Industry Glossary Entry

Infeed is the per-pass depth that the grinding wheel advances into the workpiece, measured in millimetres (mm) or micrometres (µm) per pass. Infeed is the primary control on grinding time, surface finish, and thermal load on the workpiece.

Typical infeed by operation

• Roughing: 0.005–0.010 mm/pass
• Semi-finishing: 0.002–0.005 mm/pass
• Finishing: 0.001–0.002 mm/pass
• Hone restoration: 0.0005–0.001 mm/pass

Why infeed matters

• Too coarse: grinding cracks, thermal damage, surface roughness
• Too fine: excessive grinding time, wheel glazing, no real benefit
• Multi-pass with finer infeed: better finish than single-pass with coarse infeed
• Spark-out at the final infeed removes residual stress and produces a stable finish

See also.