玻璃在自然界是一种易碎的材料。使用玻璃和陶瓷等脆性材料生产机械性能良好的零件，无论采用何种制造方法（即细磨或微精加工），都取决于对低切削深度下材料去除机理的理解。脆性材料，如玻璃和陶瓷，通常在磨削过程中通过裂纹的产生和扩展对作用力作出反应。在正常载荷以上，塑性区的Pn应力将以横向和中间裂纹系统的形式产生断裂损伤。低于临界法向载荷时，形成的微裂纹可能不会扩展到大块材料中。正是这种无微裂纹的材料去除对脆性材料中机械性能良好的零件的生产至关重要。

Glass is a brittle material available in nature. The production of mechanically sound parts from brittle material such as glasses and ceramics, irrespective of the method of fabrication - i.e. fine grinding or microfinishing, hinges on the understanding of the mechanism of material removal at low depths of cut. Brittle material such as glasses and ceramics normally respond to the applied force during grinding by generation and propagation of cracks. Above a normal load, Pn stresses in the plastic zone will generate fracture damage in the form of lateral and median crack systems. Below the critical normal load microcracks formed may not propagate into bulk material. It is this microcrack-free material removal that is central to the production of mechanically sound parts in brittle materials.