CBN wheel choice

Is there a good resource somewhere for the best type of CBN wheel to get?

I have never used one, have seen a couple but not in use and not for my application.

I make broadheads, blades are 1055 carbon steel, heat treated to 54HRC. they are 1.2mm thick and ground single bevel.

I currently use alum oxide wheels, but they are hard to get in my sizing, 305mm x 150mm x 127 bore, it's a vertical wheel style, type 6A2 wheels, straight cup.

I got a norton one locally last time, it lasted 2-3 weeks, and that wasn't grinding every day or heavy, as i am only taking a thou per pass, up to 36thou, using synthetic coolant. It was, supposedly, exactly the same as the previous one that lasted around 8 months, with far more use. The worn wheel has been sent back for them to test as to why.

I do between 35 and 56 blades at a time, depending on shape, all in jigs on a 3500mm mag bed.

Now i'm looking at changing to a CBN wheel. After a bit of research, and confusion, i think i need an electroplated CBN wheel, over a resin bonded one, in probably a 150 or 180 grit. Thoughts?

The electroplated CBN look more like a diamond wheel, from what i have been able to see, whereas the resin bonded are totally different, with a much smoother looking surface.

I'm hoping to be able to get as close to a razor sharp finish as possible, sparking out for the last 8-10 passes is what i do now, so i am guessing it will be the same with CBN.

Cheers

Where is the confusion? A plated wheel is done once the layer of grit dulls and you can't dress it. Once it wears out you'll need to get it stripped and replated or get a new one. A resin bonded wheel can be trued and dressed many times before it needs to be replaced. There are metal bond wheels also but you don't want one of those.

There are diamond wheels available in both electroplated and resin bonded forms as well, so your comment regarding that seems a little uninformed. A plated wheel has the grit hanging out and very exposed so they cut very freely. A resin wheel has the grit embedded in resin/epoxy/whatever so after the wheel is trued, a dressing operation is necessary to expose the grit a bit so it will cut more freely. This is generally done with a stick of aluminum oxide hone type material that is pressed into the spinning wheel several times to remove some of the bond material so that the diamond particles are more exposed.

eKretz said:

Where is the confusion? .

Click to expand...

But, but, but, a plated looks so much more aggressive in the pictures. .... Certainly it must cut faster.