Honing of oxide ceramics

摘要

Ceramic materials are characterised by certain exceptional properties such as their hardness and hot strength and are, therefore, ideally suited for use as components which in use will be subjected to mechanical and thermal stresses. However, these properties make it difficult to carry out the mechanical processing generally required in order to produce the finished dimensions or the surface finish required. By reason of the lengthy machining times involved, machining costs are a significant factor in determining the overall process economics in the manufacture of ceramic functional components. Improvements in machining are therefore fundamental for the more widespread use of these materials. Prof Dr. h.c. mult. Dr.-Ing. G. Spur and Dipl.-lng. U.-P. Weigmann of the Technical University of Berlin report on the honing of ceramics with diamond.