Superabrasive Grinding FAQ
Know Exactly What You Need?
Give us a call and we will get you a quote within 24 hours. And once you place an order, your products will be shipped within 2 weeks.
New Project and Not Sure What You Need?
We will have one of our highly experienced application development engineers create a wheel for your specific needs based on the material you are working with, your machine type, your processes, and your desired outcome.
Thinking of Converting from Standard Abrasives to Superabrasives?
Let us help you to understand the advantages! Our Team will work with you to understand your processes and develop a superabrasive wheel solution that will allow you to run longer, faster, and with better finishes – saving you time and money!
Why Superabrasives?
There are many operations where standard abrasives are used with adequate results. So why should you consider a superabrasive wheel? Superabrasive grinding wheels last longer, grind faster, cut cleaner, leave a better finish, & create a sharper edge. Take your project to the next level and let us engineer a wheel for your specific application. A specifically engineered wheel will outperform any “off the shelf” product and a superabrasive wheel will help you grind more efficiently while helping you make more money.
Diamond Wheels Care and Maintenance
How Should I Mount My Superabrasive Wheel?
Our diamond wheels are trued to the bore in the manufacturing process. Flanges, back plates and spindle should be clean, free of burrs and run true. By using an indicator and tapping lightly on a wood block held against the wheel, indicate the wheel until it is within .0005″ of true rotation. Tighten the flanges securely and recheck before using. The use of permanent mounting should be practiced where convenient.
How Should I Use Coolant On a Wheel?
Coolant must be applied in the proper place or it will not cool the wheel or material being ground properly. Coolant should always be directed so that the full flow is at the point of contact between the diamond wheel and the work piece and in the same direction as the rotation of the wheel. Soluble oil may be mixed with water to prevent corrosion of machine parts. Weak solutions are recommend however, because strong alkaline solutions will reduce the normal life of resin wheels.
Is there a difference between dry and wet grinding wheels?
When ordering Resin Bonded Wheels, please specify if they are to be used for wet or dry grinding. Some Resin Bonded Wheels are
made for dry grinding only, and a coolant will only prove detrimental to the life of these wheels. All Metal Bonded Wheels must be operated with a coolant.
How Fast should the wheel speed be?
Speed: For optimum performance, diamond wheels should not be operated at surface speeds of more than 6,000 or less than 5,000 surface feet per minute. Speeds at the upper end of the this range are recommended for interrupted cuts and small areas of contact between wheel and workpiece.
Feeds: Avoid excessive wheel feeds. The following feeds are recommended for most satisfactory finish and longer
wheel life: .001″ thorugh 120 grit – .0005″ through 220 grit – .00025″ finer than 220 grit.
On finishing passes, allow wheel to “spark out” to obtain best finish.
How often do I need to dress a Grinding Wheel?
Due to the exceptionally free cutting properties of our diamond wheels, frequent dressing is not necessary. They may be dressed with a soft bonded aluminum oxide or silicon carbide dressing stick. When a beveled or gouged condition has occurred in a face type wheel, it should be taken off the grinder and the diamond section lapped on cast iron plate using 120 grit silicon carbide and water. Straight type wheels may be trued on the grinder by using a brake type truing device or, for Resin Bonded Wheels only, by dry grinding a piece of low carbon steel until the wheel is trued.
How should I prepare & Use a Borazon Wheel?
Truing allows the grinding face to be properly presented to the work piece. An untrued wheel can adversely affect surface finish, stock removal capability and wheel life.
–Multiple point (14-40 mesh) or impregnated (40 to 100 mesh and finer) diamond dressing tools are recommended.
–.0005″ Infeed per pass (.01mm)
–Single point & cluster diamond tools not recommended
–Finer mesh diamond allows better initial work piece finish
Truing brake or motorized dress:
-Coarse grit, J to M hardness, silicon carbide or aluminum oxide wheel
–.001″ Infeed per pass (.025 MM)
The truing device should be applied until contact has been made with the entire Borazon wheel grinding face. Flood coolant should be used whenever possible. The use of enriched solutions (5-10%) of “heavyduty” water soluble oils is effective in extending Borazon CBN wheel life. After truing, a resin bonded wheel must be properly dressed.
What do I need to do before using a wheel For the First Time?
Effective grinding wheel cutting performance requires a sharp abrasive grain whose cutting points are well exposed to the work piece. Ultra-hard Borazon CBN crystals remain sharp and once the wheel is cutting well, the grinding process will keep the wheel open, exposing the crystals and virtually eliminating the need for continual dressing. New wheels usually have a smooth grinding face since the Borazon crystals and the
surrounding bond are flush to the cutting surface. Dressing enhances grain exposure and abrades away some bond. Prior to dressing, a wheel may seem to be “loaded”, producing poor cutting performance and work piece burning.
Hand held aluminum oxide or silicon carbide stick:
Soft (G, H hardness)
Fine grit (200-400 mesh)
If later, the wheel produces burning and poor cutting action, the same stick can be used to reopen the wheel.