Experimental investigation on microgrooving characteristics of ceramics using electroplated diamond wire tools

Abstract

For precision machining such as slicing and grooving of hard and brittle materials, wire tools with electroplated diamond abrasives have been widely used. Slicing with electroplated diamond wire tools, in particular, is quickly becoming a common method for machining hard materials. Many studies have been published on the machining properties of electroplated diamond wire tools. However, there are very few reports on the tool wear of wire tools. In particular, the influence of work material on the machining and wear characteristics of electroplated diamond wire tools is still unclear. Fundamental grooving experiments are used to investigate the effect of the workpiece’s material properties on the grooving characteristics and the wear characteristics of the wire tool. Two types of ceramics, alumina (Al₂O₃) and zirconia (ZrO₂), were used as work materials in this study. The grooving experiments revealed that the workpiece material affects the machining characteristics. Alumina, which is brittle, was found to be more machinable than zirconia, which has a high toughness for the same hardness. The wear of the electroplated diamond wire tools, on the other hand, showed no significant difference.