A novel laser-assisted truing and dressing technique for vitrified CBN wheels

Abstract

The preparation of vitrified CBN or diamond wheels by truing and dressing has a large influence on the grinding performance. A worn diamond dresser cannot produce sufficient protrusion of cutting grain edges. To reduce the wear of diamond dressers and hence guarantee a desired wheel surface, a novel truing and dressing method, namely, laser-assisted truing and dressing, is proposed and tested to achieve good dressing quality and efficiency. A systematical experimental feasibility study on this newly proposed laser-assisted truing and dressing technique is conducted by investigating truing efficiency, truing accuracy, dresser wear, dressed wheel profiles, and specific forces in comparison with those of the conventional single diamond methods. Experimental results show that the new laser-assisted truing and dressing technique offers a number of advantages over the conventional single-tip diamond dressing and truing method. In addition, the underlying mechanism of the laser truing and dressing process is investigated through the careful analysis of the properties of chips and the microscopic structural characteristics of wheels.