Increasing Sintered Tools Performances in Stone Cutting by Air Cold Plasma Treatment of the Diamonds

摘要

Diamond tools allow to cut and to polish natural stones. They are constituted by a support, abrasive grits and a binding. The support gives the right shape and strength to the tool; the abrasive grits constitute the cut edges; the binding blocks the abrasive on the tool support in order to assure cutting ability and long tool life. The characteristics of diamond abrasive and the adhesion between the diamond grains and the bond determine properties of diamond tools. In this work the cold plasma treatment of the diamonds has been analyzed in order to improve the adhesion between the metallic matrix and the diamond grains. Experimental tests have been carried out following the traditional process and the innovative one, with diamond treated by cold plasma. The evaluation methodology pertains to establish criteria for developing new diamond tool and, therefore, it includes the measurement of several technological parameters directly related to the cutting performance of the tools (cutting force and tool wear). The results show the appropriateness of the methodology for the optimisation of diamond tool manufacturing processes.