Effects of grinding process parameters on the surface topography of PCBN cutting inserts

PCBN as a cutting tool material is a proper choice for machining difficult-to-cut materials. This is due to its hardness, chemical stability and toughness. The surface quality of PCBN tools, which are commonly ground with diamond wheels, strongly depends on the grinding parameters. The cutting forces, temperature, loading and wear of the grinding wheel influence the quality of the ground PCBN surface. The effects of cutting parameters on the cutting forces, roughness and loading of the grinding wheel during plunge face grinding of PCBN inserts are studied in this work. It was found that increasing the cutting speed from 20 to 40 m/s can decrease the cutting forces and surface roughness up to 20% and 30%, respectively. Additionally, the amount of oversize in roughing and the roughing parameters have a significant influence on the induced cutting forces in the finishing stage and the surface quality of the ground PCBN inserts.