High speed grinding of silicon nitride with resin bond diamond wheels

This paper reports on the high speed grinding performance of silicon nitride using resin bond diamond wheels. The investigation focuses on the effect of wheel speeds on material removal mechanisms and ground surface quality. With a wheel of grit size 160 μm, the effect of wheel speed on the ground surface quality was insignificant because brittle fracture was prevalent during grinding. When using a wheel of grit size 20 μm, the ground surfaces exhibited predominantly ductile flow and were significantly influenced by wheel speed. The maximum chip thickness was used to interpret the associated material removal mechanisms. It was also found that the spindle vibration caused by high wheel speeds could limit the improvement of surface quality.