Test protocol for micro-geometric wear of sintered diamond tools

The main component of a diamond tool is the diamond in the form of grains which constitute the actual cuts of the tool. The present study proposes a test protocol regarding the wear of diamond grains in sintered tools: a set of parameters, which characterise the grade of wear of a diamond grain, and its relationship with the cutting ability of the examined tools are established. The proposed protocol shows the procedure and the equipment for carrying out the tests, the properties of the material to use, the format of the report to present the obtained results. The developed test protocol indicates an universally applicable way to measure the wear of the diamond grains constituting the tool. It is an indispensable instrument for correctly carrying out the wear tests and for a reliable interpretation of the results. The protocol developed so far mainly regards laboratory tests, considering the slowness and the precision of the involved measurements. Given the total absence of norms, this protocol could be absorbed by national and international norm establishing organisations. This protocol has also been applied to two types of tools and the results obtained have appeared reliable and repeatable. The test protocol proposed in this study makes it possible to overcome the difficulties connected to scarcity of technical data regarding the properties of the tool which is typical in this field in that the recipes, with which the tools are produced, are patented.