In the next few chapters, the distinction will be made repeatedly between operation with conventional abrasives such as alumina and silicon carbide and operation with superabrasives such as CBN and diamond. The wheel designs tend to be distinctly different. One reason is the expense of the raw materials used for diamond and CBN superabrasives. Another reason is that these materials, especially CBN, tend to call for higher wheel speeds to take advantage of the potential for increased production rate and long wheel life. The higher speeds also drive the difference in wheel design.
The following sections provide essential information on basic dimensions and geometry of grinding wheels in these two categories. Figure 4.1 and Figure 4.2 contrast the difference in wheel design at the two extremes between a conventional wheel and an electroplated superabrasive wheel. In-between these two extremes lies a range of wheel designs including high-speed segmented designs as described below.
FIGURE 4.1 Conventional abrasive wheel.