INVESTIGATING THE PERFORMANCE OF CUSTOM MANUFACTURED CERMET MOUNTED POINTS WHEN GRINDING TI6AL4V ALLOYS

The use and implementation of mounted grinding points in industrial applications are wide spread, ranging from the bio-medical and automotive industries to the aerospace and mining industries. These smaller variants of the larger, more conventional grinding wheels are more affordable to produce, but equally effective in grinding applications. Generally, the abrasive materials implemented in the manufacturing of mounted points do not include the cermet WC-12-wt-%-Co, but rather use alumina-or silicon carbide. This study investigates the use of this WC-12-wt-%-Co cermet as abrasive medium. The resin was varied to manufacture two sets of cermet WC-12-wt-%-Co mounted points that contained 12-wt-% and 16-wt-% resin content, respectively. The grinding performance of these mounted points were evaluated in terms of the tool wear rate, the surface finish and the surface hardening of the Ti6Al4V work piece. The grinding tool wear rate of the 16-wt-% mounted points were more gradual than for the 12-wt-%. The 16-wt-% mounted points produced a smoother surface finish and work hardening occurred on most of the Ti6Al4V work piece surfaces.