New technology for the trueing of microgrinding wheels

Abstract

Microgrinding wheels are suitable for the microstructuring of hard and brittle materials but usually they can only manufacture structures with rectangular geometries because of their limited profile geometries. The use of microgrinding wheels with a special profile is uncommon. This is due to the fact that microgrinding wheels with a profile are difficult to manufacture; furthermore, the renewing process after the profile has worn is difficult to accomplish. A new and successful approach is to true the microgrinding wheels by miniaturized diamond profile rollers. The technology of trueing grinding wheels by diamond profile rollers is highly favored and well established in macroscopic grinding technology. Easy kinematics, high quality, and short processing times make this technology very efficient. Moreover, this technology allows for a periodical renewing of the profile inside the grinding machine. Confirmed by those technological advantages, the authors developed diamond tools in order to realize a truing process for microgrinding wheels.