Single Grit Diamond Grinding of Spectrosil 2000 Glass on Tetraform 'C'

Single crystal diamond grits with a 600 μn mesh size were used as grinding grits capturing the interaction between grinding wheel and workpiece under low to high grinding speeds. The analysis considered the critical depth of cut corresponding to the brittle/ductile material removal transition, machined groove morphology carried out with AFM (Atomic Force Microscope) and SEM respectively. Subsurface integrity of the machined groves and wear mechanisms of the diamond grit after single grit grinding were also considered. The results showed that the single grit grinding method integrated with the advanced on-position monitoring methods and imaging techniques is capable of providing accurate fundamental data and defines guidelines for realizing ductile machining of brittle materials with high surface quality.