Study on process and manufacturability of metal-bonded diamond grinding wheel fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM)

Abstract

Selective laser melting (SLM) technology is used to fabricate metal-bonded grinding wheel based on mixed powders consisted of metal powders and diamond abrasives. Taguchi method is adopted to obtain the optimal SLM process parameters for grinding wheel considering laser power, scanning speed and layer thickness. Specimens are fabricated with different SLM process parameters for compression and three-point bending tests. Materials characterization and manufacturing limit test are performed on the specimens fabricated by the optimal SLM process. Results indicate that laser power of 250W, scanning speed of 2.5m/s and layer thickness of 20μm are determined as the optimal SLM process in terms of comprehensive mechanical property and formed surface quality. Moreover, diamond abrasives are firmly embedded into aluminium binder with good bonding condition for SLM-fabricated composite. Furthermore, manufacturability of SLM-fabricated composite is evaluated by manufacturing limits of several common structures. In summary, work in this study fully proves the feasibility of SLM-fabricated metal-bonded grinding wheel and provides a solid basis for the further investigation on the novel grinding wheel with customized porous structures.