LAUSR

Abstract For the machining of stone like basalt, granite, marble or limestone, but also for concrete, brickwork etc. mainly diamond impregnated tools are used. Due to new possibilities regarding the production of diamond impregnated tools, but also regarding diamond synthesis, it is likely that for further improvements in the performance of diamond impregnated tools, the shape of the single grains becomes increasingly important. When machining stone or concrete with diamond impregnated tools, several diamond grains penetrate the material and generate the material removal. A simplified method for the analysis of grinding processes is the single grain scratch test. This approach is widely used to understand the fundamental mechanisms at a single grain engagement. Within this paper, results are presented and discussed, which are gained in scratch tests on basalt stone. Its focus is the analysis of the influence of the grain shape on the process forces and the mechanical work. It can be assumed that different grain shape cause different material removal mechanisms. In order to analyze this influence tests with three different diamond grains and varying process parameters (cutting speed and feed speed) were conducted. The process results strongly indicate that a diamond grain with a leading edge is advantageous regarding the material removal mechanism of basalt stone.