Description
PCBN offers high potentials in turning or milling of ferrous materials and highly heat resistant materials. Due to its thermal stability PCBN achieves a longer tool life than PCD despite its lower hardness. These properties currently lead to high production costs of the PCBN inserts. Generally, plunge face grinding with diamond grinding cup wheels is the final machining step in the process chain of the PCBN-insert production. The grinding process of PCBN inserts is characterized by a high amount of grinding wheel wear from the first contact. Normally the ratio between the worn grinding layer and the material removal is lower than one. To increase the productivity the relationships between grinding wheel properties, process parameters and PCBN insert specifications have to be obtained. In an initial step the main factors on the grinding wheel wear and cutting mechanisms are determined. The statistically evaluated results show, that the productivity of the grinding process can be adjusted independently of the achieved PCBN inserts. The process parameters affects only the productivity in the considered area. High insert qualities like sharp cutting edges and low roughness values on the flank face can be produced by the use of small abrasive grains.
