Fractal Analysis of Self-Sharpening Phenomenon in cBN Grinding

This paper presents a fractal analysis of the self-sharpening phenomenon of the grain cutting edges in cBN grinding. To clarify the self-sharpening mechanism due to the micro fracture of the cutting edges, the changes in three-dimensional profile of the cutting edges in the grinding process have been measured using a scanning electron microscope with four electron probes and evaluated on the basis of the fractal analysis. The fractal dimension for surface profile of the cutting edge formed by the micro fracture is higher than that of the cutting edge formed by the ductile attritious wear. Therefore, the complicated changes in shape of the cutting edge due to the self-sharpening can be evaluated quantitatively using the fractal dimension.