A New Diamond Wheel Containing Boron Doped Diamond Abrasives Enabling Electrically Conductive Cutting Edge and High Thermal Stability

Electrically conductive cutting edges diamond grinding wheels (EC-cutting edges D wheels) have properties such as, 1) convenient precise forming by EDM, 2) realization of high cutting edge density, 3) sufficiently large chip pockets along with fine cutting edges on large diamond grits, 4) contact sensing of the cutting edges with workpiece due to electrical conductivity, 5) expected application to the grinding of various types of steels due to high thermal resistance. Until now, the grinding ability of the sharp edges generated on the electrically conductive CVD diamond thick film wheel by electrodischarge trueing (ED trueing) was confirmed by grinding experiments using a small diameter lapping wheel and a small diameter disk wheel. In this research work, metal bonded diamond wheels containing boron doped electrically conductive diamond (EC diamond) grits, which possess high oxidation temperature, were trial manufactured. From the results of grinding test for an optical glass (BK7), it was found that the wear and grinding force for the EC diamond grits wheel were significantly low compared to a conventional diamond grits wheel. Furthermore, from the results of the investigation on ED trueing performance, a high trueing efficiency along with the possibility of cutting edge tip formation was confirmed.