The cylindrical grinder is a type of grinding machine used to shape the outside of an object. The cylindrical grinder can work on a variety of shapes, however the object must have a central axis of rotation. This includes but is not limited to such shapes as a cylinder, an ellipse, a cam, or a crankshaft.[1]
Cylindrical grinding is defined as having four essential actions:
While the majority of cylindrical grinders employ all four movements, there are grinders that only employ three of the four actions.[1][2]