Journal of Materials Processing Technology 191 (2007) 232234

Sintering and vitrification heat treatment of cBN grinding wheels

M.J. Jackson
Center for Advanced Manufacturing, College of Technology, Purdue University, 401 North Grant Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA

Abstract
Vitrification heat treatment of grinding wheels has been studied with great interest over the past 10 years but with very little work published in
the area of superabrasive grinding wheels that use cubic boron nitride (cBN) and diamond as the abrasive medium. It has been shown that heat
treatment of vitrified bonding systems has a remarkable effect on the resulting wear of the grinding wheel, which is shown by wide variations in the
wheel wear parameter, grinding ratio. However, grinding wheels that contain cBN and diamond require bonding systems that fuse together under
lower forming pressures and vitrification temperatures. This paper describes the initial stages of powder selection, consolidation and vitrification
heat treatments applied to these types of grinding wheels, and shows that using bonding materials that contain very low quartz content can decrease
the tendency for the grinding wheel to wear out very quickly.
2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Powder forming; Vitrification; Grinding wheels; Manufacturing

1. Vitried cBN bondsraw materials
Vitrified bonds are composed of glasses that are formed when
clays, ground glass frits, mineral fluxes such as feldspars, and
chemical fluxes such as borax melt when the grinding wheel
is fired at high temperatures. With reference to raw material
nomenclature, a frit is a pre-ground glass with a pre-determined
oxide content, a flux is a low melting point siliceous clay
that reduces surface tension at the bond bridge-abrasive grain
interface, a pre-fritted bond is a bond that contains no clay
minerals (i.e., clays and fluxes), and firing refers to vitri-
fication heat treatment that consolidates the individual bond
constituents together. Considering individual bond constituents,
mineral fluxes and ground glass frits have little direct effect
on the ability to manufacture grinding wheels. However, most
clays develop some plasticity in the presence of water (from
the binder) which improves the ability to mold the mixture so
that the wheel, in its green state, can be mechanically handled.
Chemical fluxes, including borax, tend to produce variations
in mixing quality and stability, and because of their low melt-
ing points they fuse at the initial stages of heat treatment, and
in some cases, before temporary organic binders such as dex-
trin have burnt away. If fluxes are present in a large quantity,
i.e., high bond content or containing a large proportion of flux,
Tel.: +1 765 494 0365; fax: +1 765 494 6219.
E-mail address: jacksomj@purdue.edu.
then the remaining organic binder can sometimes be encap-
sulated by molten flux. When this occurs, a black centre is
formed which creates a structural weakness in the middle of
the wheel. However, despite the disadvantages of using borax
it is invaluable as a means of modifying the chemical compo-
sition of the bond. In some circumstances, bonds consisting
of pre-fritted glass powder can give advantages such as per-
fectly formed glass bonds and an absence of adverse reactions
when siliceous ingredients, like clays and mineral feldspars, are
heated to high temperature. An example of the latter is the sud-
den expansion of quartz at its inversion temperature (573 C),
which causes cracks to form within glass bond bridges and
a subsequent loss in bonding strength. However, if clays and
mineral fluxes are used then firing procedures may be modi-
fied to reduce, or possibly dissolve, quartz particles. A further
benefit of pre-fritting the bonding materials beforehand avoids
the use of highly active chemical fluxes such as borax which
may attack and impair the properties of new abrasive materials,
i.e., solgel abrasives and cBN grains. However, none of the
benefits associated with clay materials would be available, and
handling strength in the green state would have to be developed
using organic plasticising agents (binders) alone, with a greater
risk of difficulties with binder burn-out and black centre.
Clearly, the solution to the choice of bonds and their ingredi-
ents lies in sensible compromise depending on the type and
size of wheel, manufacturing circumstances, the life between
wheel dressings, and the higher costs associated with pre-fritted
materials.

0924-0136/$ see front matter 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2007.03.010
 M.J. Jackson / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 191 (2007) 232234
2. Vitried cBN bondsdissolution of quartz
Crack formation in vitrified bond bridges is usually asso-
ciated with the rapid displacive transformation when -quartz
reverts to -quartz at 573 C on cooling from the vitrifica-
tion temperature. To maintain the integrity of bond bridges
containing coarse particles of quartz during vitrification, the
grinding wheel must remain at the vitrification temperature
until the quartz particles have dissolved. Jackson and Mills
developed a quartz dissolution model using a refractory alumino-
alkalisilicate glass bonding system [1] that is used in vitrified
silicon carbide grinding wheels, and an alumino-borosilicate
glass bonding system [2] that is also used in high-performance
corundum and cBN grinding wheels. Experimental mixtures
were prepared and vitrified at a number of different tempera-
tures for a range of soaking durations. The amount of residual
quartz was measured using the powder X-ray method. The exper-
imental results were compared with the dissolution model with
constants derived from the experimental conditions. The resid-
ual quartz content for various vitrification conditions compared
with predicted results for an alumino-borosilicate glass bonding
system used for bonding cBN is shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 1 shows
the vitrification of the bond at 950 C, and Fig. 2 shows the vit-
rification behaviour of the bond at 1000 C. It is shown that the
model is better at predicting the residual quartz content after
short soaking times, which is appropriate when manufacturing
grinding wheels as the duration at the vitrification temperature
is usually one to six hours. Although the dissolution model
predicted the mass fraction of quartz remaining after vitrifica-
tion very accurately at short soaking periods, other factors that
affect the dissolution of quartz must be examined in order to
improve the accuracy of the model. In addition to further studies
being made on comparing the models with experimental data on
alumino-borosilicate bonding systems used extensively in vitri-
fied abrasive tools, it is desirable to know the influence of the
ratio of clay content to flux content in the vitrified bond. An
Fig. 1. Comparison of various dissolution models with experimental data for
an alumino-borosilicate glass bonding system that is typically used in vitrified
cBN grinding wheels. The vitrification temperature is 950 C (1223 K).
233
Fig. 2. Comparison of various dissolution models with experimental data for
an alumino-borosilicate glass bonding system that is typically used in vitrified
cBN grinding wheels. The vitrification temperature is 1000 C (1273 K).
increase of this ratio causes an increase in the mullite content of
the bond matrix and results in a change in the composition of
the melt towards lower alkali content and higher silica content.
Both these factors will lead to a decrease in the dissolution rate
of quartz in the vitrified bond. Another factor influencing the
dissolution rate is the phase distribution within the matrix. In
the experiments conducted by Lundin [3], the particle sizes of
kaolin and feldspar phases were smaller than the quartz parti-
cles. If the mean particle size of the feldspar increases so that it
becomes the same as the mean particle size of the quartz phase
then it will cause an uneven distribution of the mullite phase
in the glass melt. The feldspar relict regions will then become
larger and the distribution of the quartz particles in the matrix
will become skewed. Consequently, the dissolution rate of the
quartz phase is reduced. The origin and type of quartz is another
factor that affects its dissolution rate. Therefore, experiments
must be conducted which examines the affect of quartz shape
and size, crystal shape and size, lattice defects, twinning, the
degree of crystallinity, and level of impurities on the quartz dis-
solution rate. It is also desirable to conduct experiments to study
the dependence of the quartz dissolution rate on the K2 O/Na2 O
ratio in the mineral flux between the two extreme cases of using
potash feldspar and soda feldspar. The effects of the two types of
feldspar on the rate of reaction and the experimental activation
energy are also important factors when considering the dissolu-
tion rate of quartz. In addition to the further development of a
dissolution model for vitrified bonding systems, experiments are
currently being carried out to investigate the factors that affect
the dissolution rate of quartz. Manufacturers of vitrified abra-
sive tools using diamond and cubic boron nitride as the abrasive
medium will be provided with the knowledge to design firing
cycles which eliminate the deleterious effects associated with
quartz particles.
3. Wear of vitried cBN grinding wheels
The dissolution of quartz during heat treatment has a signifi-
cant effect on the wear of vitrified cBN grinding wheels. Fig. 3
shows the effect of using a high and a low quartz content bonding
system on the wear of vitrified cBN grinding wheels grinding a
large number of tool steel materials. The classification of tool
234 M.J. Jackson / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 191 (2007) 232234
Fig. 3. Effect of the abrasive number on the grinding ratio for a high-quartz
content and a low quartz content cBN bonding system grinding tool steel mate-
rials in the cylindrical surface grinding mode. Tool steel material is marked on
the trend lines, and is a function of the carbide content in their microstructure
expressed as an abrasive number.
steels is in the form of an abrasive hardness number, which is a
weighted average of the number of carbides contained within the
tool material. As shown in Fig. 3, the grinding ratio, or G-ratio,
is a measure of the efficiency of the grinding wheel. It is the
quotient of the volume of workpiece material removed and the
volume of the wheel material removed. The figure demonstrates
the effectiveness of reducing the quartz content of the bonding
system. This can be done by using a low quartz content bonding
system, or by vitrifying the grinding wheel over a longer time
period. X-ray diffraction techniques have been used to charac-
terize the bonding system and is an effective method used in the
selection of raw materials used for high efficiency cBN grinding
wheels.
4. Effect of bond composition on grinding wheel
performance
The performance of vitrified grinding wheels is governed
largely by the fired composition of the glass bond that con-
trols two important factors; thermal expansion coefficient and
chemical durability (resistance of the glass bond to attack and
degradation by aqueous coolants). Ideally, the thermal expan-
sion coefficients of the bond and the abrasive grain should be
the same in order to obtain good adhesion. Thermal matching
avoids stresses forming at the interface when the grinding wheel
cools during the final stages of firing. The use of empirical mod-
els for calculating the thermal expansion coefficient has been
investigated for a variety of alumino-alkalisilicate and alumino-
borosilicate glasses used in vitrified bonds. The mechanical
grade or hardness of a grinding wheel is an important property
that is adjusted by changing the bond content. An A-grade rep-
resents the softest wheel and Z-grade denotes the hardest wheel
possible. The amount of bond determines the sturdiness and
strength of the bond bridges between adjacent particles of abra-
sive. However, if there is an inherent weakness in the cohesion
between abrasive and bond, then bonding strength or hardness
of the wheel is no longer governed by bond content alone. In
some cases a bond with a lower thermal expansion coefficient
than the abrasive is made to deliberately put the abrasive into
tension so that it acts as a more friable grain. However, as a
general rule it is better to achieve thermal matching as far as
possible then select the right abrasive and grade for the applica-
tion concerned. There are sometimes other factors that influence
bond composition and selection. These may be viscosity related
owing to the particular conditions of manufacture, or may be
related to reactivity between bond and abrasive. Chemical dura-
bility against aqueous solutions may also be an important factor.
These factors are dependent on chemical composition that is not
independently controllable across the full property spectrum.
The nature of the compromise depends entirely on the size and
specification of the wheel, its operating speed, and other appli-
cation details, but in general terms the reasoning is described
below. Alkali oxides (sodium and potassium oxides especially)
are the principal constituents that are used to raise the thermal
expansion coefficient of the glass to the same level as that of
cBN abrasive. However, alkali oxides also act as fluxes and tend
to decrease the viscosity of glass, which might not be accept-
able for large grinding wheels. In addition to this, alkali oxide
levels reduce the resistance of the glass to attack by aqueous
coolants. However, potassium oxide tends to increase wheel
strength by reducing viscosity locally between glass bond and
abrasive grain. In order to reduce attack on the glass bond,
i.e., to raise its chemical durability to an acceptable level so
as to guarantee wheel safety and life, it is normal practice to
incorporate calcium and/or aluminium oxides into the glass
structure. In effect these oxides lock the alkali ions (such as
sodium and potassium) into the atomic lattice that reduces their
effect on glass solubility. In cases where an acceptable compro-
mise cannot be reached then boric oxide is substituted for part
of the alkali oxide to balance viscosity and durability require-
ments, without reducing the coefficient of thermal expansion
too much.
5. Conclusions
The development of vitrified bonding systems for new cBN
abrasive materials involves a number of compromises in order
to balance grinding performance, ability to manufacture, wheel
safety, and consistency. The precise nature of the raw materials
used in vitrified formulations is dependent on the ability of the
grinding wheel to be manufactured and the complete dissolution
of the quartz phase during vitrification.
References
[1] M.J. Jackson, B. Mills, J. Mater. Sci. 32 (1997) 52955304.
[2] M.J. Jackson, B. Mills, Br. Ceram. Trans. 100 (2001) 18.
[3] S.T. Lundin, Studies on Triaxial Whitewares, Almqvist and Wiksell, Stock-
holm, Sweden, 1959.