This paper presents a study of the grinding wheel sharpness (cutting ability). Grinding is a precision machining process which is widely used in the manufacture of components requiring fine tolerances and smooth surfaces. In grinding, the abrasive tool is the grinding wheel, which is basically compounded by the core, the bond and the abrasive grains. The tools tested in this research were conventional (Al2O3) and superabrasive (CBN) grinding wheels. Among the superabrasive ones, three specific bond types were tested: resin, vitrified and high performance resin bond. Consequently, it was possible to evaluate the comparative cutting ability among the different types of grinding wheels tested. So the conventional wheel (Al2O3) presented the highest sharpness.
grinding wheel; bond; superabrasive
