Feasibility Study on Near-Dry Electrical Discharge Dressing of Metal Bonded Diamond Grinding Wheels

Diamond grinding wheels are important tools to carry out precise or ultra-precise grinding of difficult-to-machine materials; however, the difficulty of dressing diamond grinding wheels is a bottleneck problem in their wide application. The objective of this study is to identify the feasibility of near-dry electrical discharge dressing (EDD) of metal bonded diamond grinding wheels. Through design of experiment (DoE), sets of tests were carried out to select proper dielectric mist composition and electrode material, to quantify the dielectric mist composition, to choose the electrode shape and rotating speed, and to investigate the influence of electric discharge parameters on dressing performance. By applying optimized experimental parameters to near-dry EDD of metal bonded diamond grinding wheels, more diamond grits protruded out of the grinding wheel surface, and the worn diamond grinding wheel got sharpened.