Superabrasives is the term normally used to indicate diamonds and CBN. These abrasives can produce remarkable results when employed in the appropriate way for special uses. The graphic drawing shows the different hardness ( referring to the Knoop scale) of the various well known abrasives of today.

Although the Diamond and the CBN are both defined as super abrasives, the areas in which they are used can vary drastically according to the materials to be ground. The table below gives an indication of the materials normally worked on with diamonds and CBN:

DIAMONDS

CBN

Hard metals (Widia…)

Steel for tools

Glass

Steel for moulds

Ceramics

High alloy metals

Fiberglass

Iron alloys

Reinforced plastics

Aerospace alloys

Hard stones

Stainless steel

Abrasive materials

Abrasion resistant ferrous materials

Electronic materials and components

  

The most important elements which define a diamond grindstone and a CBN are in order of sequence:

  1. Shape of the grindstone
  2. Type of abrasive
  3. Granulometry
  4. Hardness
  5. Density
  6. Agglomerate
  7. Thickness, expressed in millimetres, of the utilized abrasive edge