Grinding of cemented carbide with electrical spark assistance

The paper presents the behaviour of WC-TiC-(TaNb)C-Co cemented carbide whilst diamond grinding with electrical spark discharges incorporated at the wheel-work interface. The effect of the current and the pulse on-time of the discharges on the material removal rate and grinding forces is studied to elucidate the mechanism of material removal. The results indicate that the discharges enhance the grinding performance by effectively declogging the wheel surface. The increase in the wear resistance of the material at low discharge power is interpreted in terms of the role of fracture toughness in the wear of the composite. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.