The influence of the types of cluster composite abrasives on the performance of fixed abrasive pads in processing quartz glass

Abstract

To enhance the material removal rate (MRR) and surface quality of quartz glass lapping, a new method is proposed utilizing a fixed cluster composite abrasive pad (FCCAP) for processing quartz glass. Firstly, cluster composite abrasives (CCA) with a particle size of 28 μm were prepared using the normal temperature and pressure sintering method, including cluster Al2O3-diamond composite abrasives (CADCA), cluster diamond-diamond composite abrasives (CDDCA), and cluster SiO2-diamond composite abrasives (CSDCA). Secondly, using CCA as the abrasive and relying on ultraviolet curing technology, three types of FCCAP were prepared: fixed cluster Al2O3-diamond composite abrasive pads (FCADCAP), fixed cluster diamond-diamond composite abrasive pads (FCDDCAP), and fixed cluster SiO2-diamond composite abrasive pads (FCSDCAP). Simultaneously, to validate the performance of the prepared FCCAPs, three types of fixed single crystal abrasive pads were prepared using the same process with single crystal Al2O3 (SCA), single crystal diamond (SCD), and single crystal SiO2 (SCS) with a particle size of 28 μm. Using quartz glass as the processing object, lapping experiments and friction and wear experiments were conducted, with MRR, surface roughness Ra, and coefficient of friction (COF) selected as evaluation indexes to compare and study the lapping performance of the six pads. FCCAP demonstrated higher machining efficiency, with FCDDCAP achieving the highest MRR of 3.611 μm/min. Additionally, after FCCAP lapping, the surface roughness Ra of quartz glass is lower, to some extent repairing surface damage such as large scratches. Among them, FCSDCAP achieved the lowest surface roughness of 91.564 nm. Finally, FCCAP exhibits superior friction and wear performance, with FCSDCAP samples having the highest average COF of 0.127. Under the same abrasive particle size conditions, FCCAP has better processing capabilities, enabling efficient lapping of quartz glass.