Increase feed rate or depth of cut?

Dear Doc: We surface-grind, and there’s disagreement at the shop. When increasing stock removal, is it better to increase the feed rate or the depth of cut?

The Doc replies: The answer is the always popular “It depends.” It depends on what’s your biggest issue, as in “If I keep pushing it, what am I most worried about: thermal damage, chatter or excessive wheel wear?”

If your main problem is grinding burn, increase the feed rate, or table speed. Temperatures will increase but not as much as if you increase the DOC. If your principal concern is chatter, increase the DOC. If your biggest issue is wheel wear, increase your DOC.