Grinding of PCBN cutting inserts

PCBN cutting inserts have been more often used in order to attend to the demands of an economically viable process and to lead to a proper workpiece surface quality. A proper application of this cutting material requires its adequate processing. Plunge-face grinding is used for finishing the inserts after sintering. To choose a suitable grinding tool and process parameters, the properties of the ground cutting inserts must be taken into account. Therefore, the influence of PCBN grain size and composition on the insert cutting edge and surface quality has to be investigated. This work aims to give an overview of material removal mechanisms, process forces and abrasive grain wear during grinding different PCBN inserts. It was found that the insert quality depends mainly on the material removal mechanism, which in the studied case is defined by the PCBN grain size. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.