In recent years SiC has emerged in industrial applications. However, due to its unique thermal and mechanical properties, economical machining always meets obstacles. In this study, high-speed grinding in conjunction with a high workpiece speed by a diamond grinding wheel is proposed as a solution. A rotating-4-component-dynamometer has been employed for the force measurements, followed by a series of tests on the surface quality including surface roughness, scanning electron microscope observations and residual stress analysis. It has been found that the combination of the elevated grinding wheel speed and the higher workpiece speed can lead to low grinding forces and thermal energy at almost all levels of the material removal rate in this study. Besides, the grinding-induced damage layer will be eliminated and the surface quality can be improved. With an elevated wheel speed, a brittle-ductile transition can be found based on the observation of the ground surface and the orientation of the surface roughness and the residual stresses. In view of the grinding energy analysis and surface quality tests, it can be concluded that high-speed grinding is an effective solution for the high quality and high efficiency cylindrical grinding of SiC.

Keywords: High-speed grinding, Ceramic, Surface integrity, SiC.