Grinding temperature and wheel wear of porous metal-bonded cubic boron nitride superabrasive wheels in high-efficiency deep grinding

Abstract

High-efficiency deep grinding experiments of Inconel 718 nickel-based superalloy was carried out with the porous metal-bonded cubic boron nitride superabrasive wheel, in which the uniform and large pores were formed by the broken alumina bubble particles in the working layer after wheel dressing. Grinding temperature, energy partitioning into workpiece, and wheel wear were investigated. Results obtained show that long maintenance of low grinding temperature, that is, 50 °C–170 °C, is obtained in high-efficiency deep grinding with the porous metal-bonded cubic boron nitride wheel. The energy partitioning into the ground workpiece is ranged from 2% to 6%, which is smaller than that with the conventional vitrified cubic boron nitride wheels and alumina abrasive wheels. Sufficient storage space for chips and coolants contributes to the excellent performance of the porous metal-bonded cubic boron nitride wheel in high-efficiency deep grinding. Abrasion wear and grain fracture are the dominant wear patterns of the porous cubic boron nitride wheel in the steady wear stage, while chips loading and grain pullout play a critical role in the final dramatic wear behavior of the porous wheel.