Improvement of the manufacturing process of abrasive stones for honing

Abstract

In the present work, the mixing process of different components of abrasive stones of cubic boron nitride used for rough honing was studied. Stones are made by the sintering process of abrasive grains, a metallic bond, and a humectant that favors covering of each abrasive grain by the bond. Incorrect mixing of abrasive grains with the bond and humectant can result in stones with nonuniform abrasive grain distribution. As the abrasive stone wears out, grain distribution will vary and modify efficiency of the honing operation. Tin is the metal having the lowest melting point among metals in the bond. By means of a scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis, tin segregation was discarded, which could have led to abrasive grain segregation. Later, mixing tests of the different components of the stones were performed at different mixing times