Cubic boron nitride (CBN) is the second hardest material after diamond and, due to its excellent physical properties, it plays a very important part in grinding with dressable/profileable wheels. The two hardest materials know to man meet during the dressing/profiling process. This interaction requires specially designed diamond dressing tools.

“Useable Layer”

The most important tools to dress vitrified bonded CBN wheels feature a “useable layer” of diamonds. Controlled wear of the dressing tool continuously provides new, sharp diamonds to regenerate the grinding wheel. The second variety of dressing tools available today can be divided into plated (RIG) and sintered (RI) dressing tools. Both varieties feature many, randomly distributed diamonds in a bonding matrix. The wear resulting from the dressing forces is used to maintain close to constant dressing conditions. The dressing forces can be precisely fine-tuned by proper selection of the diamond pattern and the bond material.

RIG-Tools

Dressing tools with plated diamond (product group RIG) have a steel carrier body to which one layer of diamond is attached with a nickel bond. Vitrified bonded CBN wheels dressed with these tools have an excellent stock-removal capability. However, as there is only one layer of diamond, the life of the dressing tool is relatively short.

RI-Tools

Sintered tools (product group RI) feature a thick layer that is impregnated with diamond grit therefore greatly improving the tool life. The metal bond features excellent heat-removal capabilities and the diamond layer can be shaped very accurately (i.e. in a radius form) for dressing of profiled wheels.